DRM News

If you’ve been living under a rock you might not have noticed the announcement on pretty much every news site, but if you’re breathing you have already probably heard about it. So you’re going to hear more about it from me. Why? Because why should I buck the trend of media to over-report on something?

I am sure the Apple fans are overcome in orgasmic glory right now, but here are some simple facts about the new iPad.

• Its an ebook
• It’ll play games
• It’ll play movies
• Reads email
• iTunes access
• Web-browsing
• Turns on its side like the iPod and iPhone
• Data plans run through AT&T for $15-$30

Gamasutra reports on pricing:

Pricing for the iPad lands in between iPods and Macbooks. Wi-fi-only iPads cost $499, $599, and $699 for 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB variants, respectively. Models with wi-fi and 3G go for $629, $729, and $829.

Edge reports on its weight:

It’s said to be half-an-inch thick, weighs 1.5 pounds and features a 9.7 inch IPS display. Jobs described the device as "super high quality” and it will be available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models.

They also quote Jobs as saying that this will give users the ability to hold the whole web in their hands. Not to be confused with Sony’s PSP that lets you hold the whole world in your hands.

Steve Jobs said its something between a laptop and a smart phone and I’m sure this is a good thing. Yes I feel the need to go out and buy one as soon as it comes out. No wait, its passed. I think I have to give up my geek card now. While I think a lot of what this does is actually pretty cool, I just don’t feel the need to get the new ‘it’ device every 6 months. That may be because I don’t have any money to do that, but I like to think its because I’m practical. Don’t shatter my illusions.

Techradar has an in-depth first impression that is worth checking out.

Not to be outdone both Asus with their Eee Pad and HP with their HP mini are entering this market.

(update) Yesterday I deliberately left out the protest by Defective by Design, I hadn’t seen any concrete complaints, mostly just claims without proof. Today I’m starting to see some more issues come up, and that Defective by Design is probably right. Apparently the iPad is a proprietary, locked down device. Only specific software approved by Apple will be allowed. So Defective by Design isn’t wrong to call it a very harsh DRM system.

Adobe appears to have an issue with that, as the iPad will NOT have flash support. Considering that Flash is heavy on the internet this is a rather odd decision to make.

One other thing that is a potential problem area for Apple is the prior claim by Fujitsu on the iPad name. Apple has until Feb 28th to dispute Fujitsu’s claim. So the iPad, may have to change its name.