Yesterday about 6pm GMT time Steve Jobs took to the stage to announce what was probably the worst kept secret in recent industry times. The Apple tablet, now known to be called the iPad. Rumours have been rife for months now about what it will look like, what performance specs it will have and what features it will have. Well here is a brief rundown of the confirmed facts.

• Dimensions – 9.5 inches x 7.5 inches x 0.5 inches
• Weight – 1.5 pounds (1.6 pounds for 3G)
• Chip – 1 GHz Apple A4
• Screen size – 9.7inches
• Resolution – 1024×768px
• Memory – 16Gb, 32Gb or 64Gb solid state drive
• Battery life – 10 hours use. On standby it will last over a month.
• Other – Accelerometer, Microphone, 30-pin connector, Compass, full capacitive multi-touch, Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11n Wi-Fi, 3G access on higher-end models

In summary its fast, light and basically a giant version of the iPod Touch with a few extra’s. Apple have stuck with the familiar iPod Touch & iPhone style interface with a home button and all the icons laid on on screens so familiar to users of those devices and easy to pick up for novice users.
Apple have introduced a new SDK for the iPad which will enable developers to build apps specifically for the iPad however all apps in the AppStore at the moment will also be able to run on the device. Apps already released will have the option of running in their standard resolutions or a “double pixel” mode which will enable them to run in full screen on the iPad. If you imagine the iPad to be a large version of the iPhone or iPod Touch then you wont be far off. The keyboard has also been enlarged but it will be a matter of personal choice as to whether you type using thumbs or all 10 digits like a standard desktop or laptop keyboard.
Included in the standard set of apps is pretty much the norm. Email, Safari, Maps etc. Safari still doesn’t have Flash capabilities however which is bad news for some web developers. Maps has a similar interface to the iPhone as does Email, however some new features such as message previews have been added. The photo app did get a big update to make it look more like the desktop version of iPhoto. Some new multi-touch inputs were added to make viewing and managing pictures easier.
In terms of connectivity all models come with 802.11n WiFi as should be expected but for about £80 more you can have a 3G enabled device. The bonus is you do not need to sign a contract with AT&T, the official launch partner. You pay for the 3G access you require on a monthly basis, currently priced at £9.23 for 250mb per month. This however is based on the US version and details of the UK pricing is yet to be fully worked out so expect it to change. The iPad uses a microGSM connection so it is not specifically bound to one carrier however not all 3G networks support this technology so options could be limited initially.
With the recent release of Amazon’s Kindle device eBooks have become more popular but Apple weren’t far behind in that department either. The new iBooks application is a direct stab at the competition offering an easy way to purchase and download books from Penguin, Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins and Macmillian and Hachette. These 5 are the confirmed publishers at the launch but expect more to be added later. Whether or not Apple has managed to steal the glory from Amazon remains to be seen but with the competitive price of the iPad being just £6 more than the Kindle its more likely to be when not if Apple sales overtake the Kindle.
The iPad also does movies. Purchasing a movie from the iTunes store will save it onto the pad and allow you to choose chapters or play the whole movie just like most DVD players. The other bonus is HD viewing but not through an external screen. The one downside to films is that this screen is not widescreen so there is a lot of black space top and bottom when viewing in widescreen mode. This may be resolved in future releases but nothing has been confirmed. In essence its good for watching films but nothing new or exciting.
As far as games go the iPad already has an impressive library inherited from the iPod Touch and iPhone market. All of these games will be compatible with the new device and new ones are predicted as well. At the launch event two games, N.O.V.A and Need for Speed were demonstrated. As you would expect, they were much like their smaller brothers but shown on a larger HD screen looked impressive. The first-person shooter N.O.V.A showed off some new gestures such as sliding two fingers to throw a grenade and using three fingers to open doors. Need for Speed used the accelerometer to steer and the touch pad to accelerate and brake as well as gestures to change the view. All in all developers will be able to use more input options to provide better and more immersive games. The iPad is certainly not up to the standard of a PC or console when it comes to gaming but it is not far off and catching up.
Aside from all the fun and leisure aspects of the iPad there are also arguments that it could replace the laptop as a main device. In terms of work and productivity a version of iWork developed specifically for the touch screen interface has been released and will be available from the iTunes App Store. Included in the package are Keynote, Apples standard presentation making software with the ability to easily add slides, make changes and browse the slides in a project. Pages will allow documents to be written and saved. The multi-touch interface allows pictures to be dragged and dropped into the text using auto-wrap as well as other standard formatting options. Spreadsheets and data-cells are all handled by Numbers. As well as creating various documents these apps will allow you to open and edit Microsoft Office documents from Word, Excel and Powerpoint.
Now the important part. Price. While some thought the iPad would retail as high as the £600+ mark the actual price was a pleasant shock. The cheapest model (16Gb + WiFi) comes in at around £307. The full list of prices is:

• £307 – 16Gb + WiFi
• £368 – 32Gb + WiFi
• £387 – 16Gb + WiFi + 3G
• £430 – 64Gb + WiFi
• £448 – 32Gb + WiFi + 3G
• £510 – 64Gb + WiFi + 3G

This is a pleasant surprise of the whole deal however this does not factor in the price of your WiFi or 3G connection although even that will work out cheap.
The iPad is found to be lacking though. There is no camera which would have been useful for video conferencing or taking pictures. There is still no support for running multiple apps at the same time. This is essential for any sort of productivity, even for simple things like checking working on a Pages document while referring to figures in a Numbers document. Hopefully this will be fixed in a future Apple update. There is also no HDMI output or USB connection. You won’t be able to watch movies or work on a larger screen and you are stuck with the default keyboard.
There is a list of features which would have been nice to see such as flash support and USB connectivity but for a first generation device its is a good start. We can expect updates in future editions.
Available from late March but if you want an iPad with 3G you will have to wait a little longer. No matter if you plan on using the device as a peripheral or instead of your laptop the iPad is sure to make waves in the industry as a first generation device. Will you be getting one? Have a vote in our sidebar poll.

I recently purchased a copy of the Website Owners Manual by Paul Boag (@boagworld). This book is anything but the normal "How to write a website" book. It is aimed at those who manage the whole process of website development, deployment and day to day upkeep of websites.
Paul himself is the host of the popular podcast on Boagworld and co-founder of Headscape, a UK based web design agency. His main goal in the industry is helping to acheive better communication between website developers / owners and their clients and stakeholders and this is the whole point of this book. It explains every aspect of a site only leaving out the technical side.
What is covered?
The book takes you on the complete journey of a website from initial concept through to testing, promotion and engaging your users.

• Secrets to a successful website (Download chapter as PDF)
• Stress-free planning
• The perfect team
• Differences over design
• Creating killer content
• User centric design
• Ensuring access for all
• Taking control
• Decoding technobabble
• Driving traffic
• Engaging your visitors
• Planning for the future

In each chapter, Paul uses his vast experience to guide the website owner through each section using proven strategies from start to finish.
The chapters tackle common problems that all those involved will tackle on one project or another e.g. design by committee, how to give good feedback and creating user persona’s. Each chapter concludes with a set of action points which can be used as a summary of each chapter and also to build an action plan for your site and the steps you should take. This is a welcome break from other more technical books which miss the little details like this and is what makes this book stand out from the crowd.


If you have any part in a website project either as a manager or developer then this book is for you. There is a huge amount of information packed into the 259 pages of content and every single bit is invaluable.


If you want to get your hands on a copy then try:

• Amazon.co.uk
• Manning publishers