While there's no confirmation of the rumor, there's no reason to doubt that BestBuy may eventually sell the iPad. After all, BestBuy sells the iPhone. However, iPad BestBuy rumors over date are more in doubt.
The iPad BestBuy rumors, some say, point to an in-store release of early March or even late February. There are quite a few reasons that that makes no sense at all.
iPad search results may contain poisoned links that lead to rogue antivirus software, as fraudsters unleash a favorite malware-pushing tactic.
Antivirus makers Trend Micro and Panda Security, along with the threat-tracking Internet Storm Center, have posts warning about malicious results for search terms such as "apple tablet announcement." Crooks have for years used such SEO poisoning to snare unwary surfers.
According to Trend, clicking one of the malicious links leads to rogue antivirus software, another online scam that uses fake but professional-looking software to warn of nonexistent infections. Victims are exhorted to purchase a license for the worthless software to clean up the supposedly discovered malware.
While Trend includes a screen shot of a malicious result that it says appeared on the first page of search results, I don't see that particular link returned when I run a current search. Let's hope that means Google and the other search engines are already filtering out the scams.
And in the meantime, if you're after real iPad news, PC World has an abundance of articles for you, including a video and hands-on picture tour.
I'm no Apple fanboy, but seeing Steve Jobs on stage in person is exciting, and it isn't just about his personal magnetism. Apple has $29 billion in the bank and Steve seems determined to spend it building really cool stuff. The iPad certainly fits that bill. Just a little slab of a display lets you play games, browse the Web, watch movies, view pictures, read eBooks, get directions, send e-mail, manage your calendar, and, well, anything else developers want to write applications to do. But after the ridiculously hyped build up and the dramatic launch event, I'm still not sure what most people will use it for. What's the iPad's killer app?
Most of us already carry a laptop and smartphone. I don't think the iPad will replace either one. I know Steve wants the iPad to slide neatly between the two, but I'm getting on a plane tomorrow and my bag is already hurting my back. I can't carry more. So, again, what is the iPad for?
Kindle Killer?
Yes, it can certainly replace the Kindle I'm carrying. Granted, the Kindle is half the weight and offers, probably, 10 times the battery life. Still, for color pages and all the added functionality, I think the Kindle gets left at home—and possibly re-gifted to a less technologically-sophisticated relative. (When is Mother's Day, again?) So yeah, the Kindle has to change or die.
Can the iPad replace my iPod? No, because I already ditched my iPod. I listen to all of my music on my Palm Pre. Besides, it isn't like you can bring the iPad to the gym. What about GPS? Again, I use my phone. Can it replace my phone? Not really. Although, the iPad does support Bluetooth and with an unlimited data plan…wait, it still uses AT&T. Never mind.
What about replacing my laptop? Honestly, I like keyboards too much, as does everyone that has used virtual one. And despite the addition of touch-enabled versions of Keynote, Numbers, and Pages, it isn't a work system. Yes, you can give presentations on the iPad, but it isn't designed to replace primary systems. So, what is left for the iPad to do? Quite a lot actually.
I think Apple getting into the ebook business is hugely disruptive, but I will address that in another column. Instead, I would say that the iPad is going to be used as a flexible, interactive window on our digital lives. In case you don't know, your "digital life" includes what you read, what you watch, what you write, what you share, who you know, where you have been, and where you are going. Remember, everything that runs on the iPhone will run on the iPad. That means every recipe finder, work-out tracker, social media updater, language translator, photo viewer, guitar-chord tuner, and finger painting app available in the App Store will work on the iPad.
So, really, there isn't a single killer app for the iPad for the same reason that there is no killer app for the personal computer or the iPhone. The iPod and the Kindle had killer apps because they were single-function devices. The iPad is a platform, and although it won't change everything, it will change a lot.
There is still a chance the iPad will be on someone's shelf 2 years from now as a $500 photo frame, but at this point, my bet is that the iPad succeeds. If not, Mother's Day is May 9th.
The prices: Leading up to today's event, pricing rumors were all over the map, but most touted estimates in the range of $700 to $1000. So it was quite a shocker to learn that the iPad would start at just $499 for a 16GB Wi-Fi model. Let's put that in perspective: it's the same price as a 32GB iPod touch just two years ago, and only $200 more than the current 32GB touch, despite having a much larger screen, more powerful hardware, and more features. But perhaps the more telling comparison is that Amazon's similarly-size Kindle DX, with its non-color, non-touch-sensitive screen and much more limited functionality, is priced at $489. Unless you're a hardcore e-ink fan, the iPad seems like a relative bargain in comparison.
Of course, if you want to spend more, you can: $599 for a 32GB iPad or $699 for a 64GB model. And you can tack on $130 to any model to get 3G wireless support.
Pre-paid, no-contract, unlocked 3G: There were plenty of rumors about 3G wireless support, but the big surprise was the iPad's options for getting 3G service. Unlike the iPhone, where you're locked into a two-year contract at $30 a month, AT&T will offer two iPad data plans: $15 a month for 250MB of data, or $30 a month for unlimited data. The kicker? These are pre-paid, no-contract rates, and you can activate service at any time right from the iPad itself. So you can, say, enable 3G service before a big trip and cancel service when you get back.
Of course, these plans get you 3G service with AT&T--the mention of which drew audible groans from those in attendance at Apple's event. But the other part of the 3G surprise was that 3G iPad models will ship unlocked. Which means you should be able to plop in a SIM card for another GSM 3G network provider and avoid AT&T altogether, as well as use your US iPad overseas by buying a prepaid SIM card. (Update: It's actually a Micro SIM card, which not all providers currently offer.)
External keyboard support: Macworld editors have been aching for Bluetooth keyboard support on the iPhone since the first model was announced in January 2007. Despite the small screen on the iPhone and iPod touch, being able to use an external keyboard for "real" typing tasks would make the device much more useful, and even let us leave our laptops at home for some trips. Sadly, with each new version of the iPhone OS, we've been disappointed by this omission.
The iPad's huge screen--which has the potential to be great for working with email and text--and the announcement of iWork for iPad (see my next item) had several Macworld editors crossing their fingers that Apple wouldn't hold back on this obvious feature. This time around, Apple didn't disappoint. Not only will the company sell a dedicated Keyboard Dock, which holds the iPad upright while providing a full-size (but no-keypad) Apple aluminum keyboard, but the iPad will also work with standard Bluetooth keyboards. I am very, very pleased.
iWork for iPad: If the iPad really was just a big iPod touch, certain segments of the tech-buying public--business users and education, especially--may not have seriously considered purchasing it. But with the announcement of iWork for iPad, the iPad became a device that will also let you create, edit, and present Keynote presentations; work on spreadsheets and word-processing documents; and create newsletters and other basic page-layout documents. And support for Microsoft Office documents means you can import and work with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. It remains to be seen how well iWork for iPad handles these types of files, and what features it does and doesn't support, but with a real "office suite," a 9.7-inch screen, and the aforementioned support for external keyboards, the iPad is a much more capable tool than it's smaller sibling--and for many people, possibly a laptop replacement.
ePub support: Most people expected the iPad to double as an e-book reader. But Apple's announcement that the iPad's iBooks e-reading app will support the ePub standard was big news. Adopted by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) as an open-standards-based format for digital books, ePub allows publishers to create books in a single format for distribution to various e-book resellers and for use on any device that supports ePub. With more and more publishers and hardware vendors adopting the ePub standard, this news means it will be easier for publishers--big and small--to make their e-books available for the iPad and other e-readers.
(Questions still remain, however: Will Apple apply FairPlay copy protection to books you purchase through the iBookstore? Will you be able to import unprotected ePub documents into the iBooks app? We'll be working on the answers to these questions going forward.)
Bonus surprise: the iPad name: OK, so "iPad" was on many lists of possible names, including my own. Nevertheless, it was a bit of a surprise. As I noted in that article, you could argue that iPad is too close to iPod, that it sounds a bit gaming-centric, and that popular TV parodies had tainted the name. On the other hand, I wrote: "[iPad is] a simple, tablet-inspired play on the known-everywhere-in-the-world iPod name. 'Pad' would be a good brand for a tablet-style device that lets you record and explore your creative ideas." In other words, iPad was obviously going to be a love/hate name. But Apple went with it, and on the whole, I like it--it's already growing on me.
Updated 1/27/10, 3:11pm: Updated with information about Micro SIM card.
