While the news of Apple’s iPad having 3G wasn’t exactly a surprise, the move to a new format for the SIM certainly was. The SIM — that tiny card that holds your contact info and account information that you find in your GSM handset — is a 15 x 25mm plastic card whereas the new Micro SIM (also known as a 3FF SIM) is a diminutive 12 x 15mm, about 52% smaller. Needless to say, it’s not physically compatible with your current phone. This card was developed by the ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) to offer things like more storage space on-chip for provider applications, increased control and security functions — over what, we don’t know — and the new smaller form factor allows it to fit in tiny devices.

- Hype: 177.000 tweet in 1 ora (compresi i miei, ho contribuito

- Hype: il titolo AAPL in borsa

“OK, il prezzo è giusto” ?

- Un po’ di specifiche (da Mashable):

• UN MESE di durata in stand by.
• SCREEN: 9.7-inch IPS LCD screen. The LCD provides the backlighting, but most of the technology is IPS, or In-plane switching. This gives it a stronger viewing angle than most screens.
• RESOLUTION: 1024×768 pixels (132 pixels per inch)
• SIZE: 0.5 inches thin.
• DIMENSIONS: 9.5 inches x 7.5 inches x 0.5 inches
• WEIGHT: 1.5 pounds (1.6 pounds for 3G) – 680 grammi
• CHIP: 1 GHz Apple A4 chip. They went in-house instead of going to Intel.
• MEMORY: Three models with 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB solid state hard drives.
• INCLUSIONS: Accelerometer, Microphone, 30-pin connector, Compass, full capacitive multi-touch, Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11n Wi-Fi, 3G access on higher-end models
• BATTERY LIFE: 10 hours at full blast. On standby, it will last over a month.

Summary: It’s thin, it’s light and it’s fast.

- Prezzi

• $499: 16 GB, Wi-Fi only
• $599: 32 GB, Wi-Fi only
• $629: 16 GB, Wi-Fi and 3G
• $699: 64 GB, Wi-Fi only
• $729: 32 GB, Wi-Fi and 3G
• $829: 64 GB, Wi-Fi and 3G

- What the iPad Lacks (e scommetto che queste cose saranno in iPad 2)

While in a lot of respects the iPad is a sleek, powerful device that will surely create massive lines on launch day, it is missing a lot of features we had hoped would be in it.

Here are just a few of the things that you won’t find on the Apple tablet:

- No camera: There is no front-facing camera for video conferencing, and there is no back-facing camera for taking photos. This is a major omit from the device. Hell, most netbooks and smartphones have a camera or two.

- No multitasking: You cannot run multiple apps at the same time. To make this a useful device, it needs to be able to do things like run Last.fm while tweeting. This is one we hope Apple will fix with a future iPhone OS update, but for now it can’t run multiple apps.

- No HDMI Output: You can’t plug your iPad into your TV.

- No USB port: You can’t plug in your favorite keyboard into the device…or anything else, really. It will plug into your computer via the same cord you charge iPhones and iPod touches with.

Una nota sulla camera: nell’SDK l’emulatore di iPad permette di scattare foto…

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