ipad launch 2010

iPad mayhem at the London Apple stores

On May 28th Apple released its iPad in the UK and yes it was another crazy launch of an Apple gadget. People waiting in long queues even before the Apple store on Regent Street open its doors. Some had taken the morning off work just to get their hands on the Apple iPad before the bank holiday. gadgetgybe was there on Saturday and couldn’t believe how much interest Apple’s latest gadget the iPad had generated despite the relatively high price point. There was certainly no feeling of a double dip recession yesterday.

After Friday’s queues disrupted the traffic in front of Apple’s flag ship store in central London, the authorities made apple move them inside for the Saturday. Apple dedicated the entire upper floor to iPad 3G sales and allowed Apple fans to have a personal experience with a dedicated Apple representative so set up and explain the latest features and gadgets. Well done Apple, big customer service points for a very well thought out process that left everyone with a good feeling after they just spent about as much as they would on a MacBook Pro for a technically far inferior device (or so it seems).

iPad versions and prices

Apple launches its new iPad in the UK this weekend and here is what we thought about the hype. The iPad come in 3 different sizes 16Gb, 32Gb and 64GB, depending on whether you choose the WiFi only or WiFi & 3g versions and here are the price-points in pounds sterling (£):

Wifi only:

      16GB -£429.00
      32GB -£499.00
      64GB -£599.00

WiFi & 3g:

      16GB – £529.00
      32GB – £599.00
      64GB – £699.00

So is the iPad worth the wait and the money?

We’d say yes for now as the iPad is a great new gadget that despite looking like a large iPhone without the ability to make calls is able to revolutionise the way we consume media. Let’s be honest it’s great watching a movie on your iphone, but didn’t you sometimes wish the 16×9 format would stretch a bit beyond? The iPad offers precisely that and a lot more. Videos in HD, Podcasts that really come to life and most importantly news paper and magazine apps. There are already a bunch of publications that offer free apps to access their content in a new animated and interactive way.

Marvel comics and FT apps

One of our favourites is Marvel comics app, which allows you to read comics like never before. It turns them into a dynamic slideshow that comes really close to watching a movie. Other publications such as the financial time have a really nice flow to them as well, where you are able to view not only articles by clicking on them, but also view more details about graphs by again clicking on the charts.

Marvel Comic iPad App

FT iPad App

iPad Apps store developing quickly

The apps store for the iPad is still limited in choice, but it’s fair to assume that the amount of apps available is about to grow exponentially over the next few months as developers across Europe are getting their hands on an iPad. Another key factor for success of the iPad store is that these new apps cost a premium to the original iPhone apps, thus making it a more valuable to developers.

iPad as a unique gaming device

A third and currently booming market in the US is the iPad games market. Games have been heavily pudhed by developers who believe the accelerometer will bring additional value to their games. Playing Need for speed in such a way that turning the iPad will act as the steering wheel makes this a valuable proposition. Other strategy games such as Civilisation are also already available for teh iPad and great fun.

To see Steve Jobs’ keynote speech bout the iPad watch this video:

iPad keynote speech by Steve Jobs, CNet

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