Are you thinking about getting an iPad? Late last week, Apple announced on its website that the iPad will be available to purchase starting Saturday, April 3, 2010. And starting this Friday, March 12, you can pre-order an iPad from the Apple Online Store or you can go to any Apple Retail Store and reserve an iPad that you can pick up on April 3, 2010. If I've learned anything from the launches of the different models of the iPhone, it is that supplies will be limited on the first day, so if you want to starting using your iPad on April 3, you should make plans to give Apple your $499 (or more) early this Friday.
Last night was the Oscars (I guess technically it was called the 82nd Annual Academy Awards) and Steve Jobs was in attendance. I'm sure that he was thrilled to see that his other company, Pixar, won the Oscar for Animated Feature Film for its latest movie, Up. (What a wonderful film, from its amazing first ten minutes to the beauty and humor throughout the movie.) But by not being at home, Jobs missed the chance to see the first televised commercial for the iPad. Hopefully he has a DVR.
If you also missed it too (or just want to see it again), you can view the ad here on Apple's website, or here is a version from YouTube:
I presume that one reason for running the ad was to publicize the April 3 availability date. But this was also Apple's first chance to show the public at large what the iPad is all about. In the ad, Apple chose to show off the following built-in apps: Safari (displaying the New York Times and Facebook websites), Photos, Videos, iPod, Calendar, Maps and Mail. The ad also shows off two of the apps developed by Apple that you can download from the App Store: Pages, which costs $9.99, and iBooks, which is free.
This isn't the first time that Apple has used the Oscars to show off the iPhone operating system. On February 26, 2007, Apple ran an ad for the original iPhone during the Oscars. It was a great commercial, one which served not only to whet the public's appetite for the first iPhone but also as an homage to many great actors. Here it is from YouTube:
It is incredible when you think how far Apple has come with the iPhone operating system over the last three years.
I didn't buy the original iPhone when it first came out, although I was mighty tempted to do so. Likewise, I don't plan to buy an iPad on April 3, 2010, but let's be honest, we all know that I'll get one at some point. It's just a question of when. Maybe, like the iPhone, I'll wait until the second model comes out. Or maybe not. I suspect that many of you are having similar thoughts.
