iPad powered by custom 1GHz Apple A4 chip
By Paul Miller 
posted January 27th 2010 1:31PM
posted January 27th 2010 1:31PM
Update: we got a picture of the processor courtesy of the iFixit Twitter feed. The chip was apparently manufactured in September of last year! Also, we've got hands-on with the iPad for your external fixations.
Does that mean that now we will be getting even less leaks?
It is interesting for them to use their own chip though
@Junzhi .. not really. Everyone has known about this even since they acquired PA Semi.
@taligent
Yeah I know except that nobody knew the specs for this thing which is what I had in mind
Nokia could just do the same for N900. Just bigger screen (no hw keyboards) and it would kick iPad's balls.
The custom chip has me at ends, I'll be honest. If it's powerful enough to get the job done, that's one thing, but without multi-tasking that takes a big piece out of the equation. Honestly, I still think I'm more interested in a Windows 7 Tablet at this point. This really just seems like a giant iPod. The price point was shockingly low for an Apple product, but I guess when you look at what it's capable of it makes sense.
Details man. DETAILS! Is it completely new, or based off reference ARM designs like the A8?
10 hours eh.....My Kindle is pointing and laughing in the iPad's general direction. Yes the iPad can do more. However if its just books you are looking at using...there is a reason why specialized devices are still a "good thing". This thing is jack of all trades, master of pretty.
So, you're telling me within the next 6 months, the newest Android Windows Mobile phone will be quicker than this 10inch tablet? Qualcomm is set to release 1.5ghz dual core chips within 2010, and yet apple chose a CPU which is no more powerful than a Snapdragon?
I'm not an Apple fanboy, but even I'm disappointed by this tablet. And what's with no MBP upgrades? Core 2 Duos are outdated now!
@cherryboom Yes, just remember that speed is 'superfluous' when you spend twice as long waiting for apps to load on that then on a smartphone a quarter the size and half the price.
Give me an AdobePad! C'mon Adobe take on Apple on this one Please!!! Google, Nokia and Microsoft are just begging for a kick Apple-ass device
So here's a question: Everyone is feeling let down by this over-hyped and over-sized iPod touch, but what would it have needed to be worthwhile?
My votes:
1) Front facing camera for videoconferencing
2) Multitasking!
3) GPS
4) Ability to dock to an iPod/iPhone and sync as if it were a laptop
5) Optional Stylus input.
6) OLED option at the high end
@JPB
7) HDMI / DisplayPort out
Bleh! 1 GHZ? I waited, and now I am going to buy another Lenovo with a keyboard.
The first company that produces a ChromeOS tablet with data supplied, at a reasonable rate from any cell phone carrier, with at least one USB port, will get my money. This reminds me why the last Apple product I owned was an Apple ][+
My Lenovo S-10 is more powerful, just as portable and can do more, more easily (and has a great keyboard).
100% DISAPPOINTED. What I was looking for:
-at LEAST a 12 inch screen
-full sized keyboard
-quad core processor(s)
-ATI Radeon 5850 graphics
-Bluray drive
I mean, will it even run Crysis? Nobody is going to buy it if it wont!!
WEAKWEAKWEAKFAILFAILFAIL
@jtl909
the word douce comes to mind when i read your post...
@gettingmymacon
DANG IT!!! douche...
@cherryboom Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the internet and real life phenomena known as sarcasm? Try and actually understand before you condemn.
If you want to watch video iPad presentation full, follow this: http://bit.ly/99N8cC
Would be interesting to see how it stacks up against e-book readers.
And $499 isn't that much compared to some good e-ink readers. But the device could be much more than a generic e-reader. Unless Apple cripples it in some unexpected way.
No other company has now enough influence to make such device mainstream. If they would have proper PDF reader on board - I'm all for it.
The sole issue is whether Apple has found some 'magical' means of reducing the eye strain that often accompanies long sessions looking into an LCD display.
If you want to watch video iPad presentation full, follow this: http://bit.ly/99N8cC
@leetmeat I'm completely disapointed. I was expecting a full fledged Mac OS X, so it could replace a notebook. But this!? Its a unpocketable iPhone... Why choose it instead of an iPhone?
Altough, the netbook avid crowd may put this thing to a use...
Wrap up: Almost everyone would be better off with a Note + Smart (or MacBook + iPhone, as you prefere) combo...
pretty much what i expected and the device i've been waiting for since returning my kindle 2. Kindle was ok for prose, but nothing else. I'll use the iPad for music scores and reference works. And it can replace my laptop for media, internet browsing and much of my document editing (google docs).
Apple is going for a network appliance here, not a tablet computer. This is designed to read e-books, to do simple web browsing, to watch movies and play games.
It will fill those roles pretty well for a lot of non power users, and will be great for travelers with it's 10 hour battery. But, for the geeks, it falls short.
I'm disappointed, because I wanted an iPad that would let me forget about my laptop. In order to do that, it would need a camera for video calling (I use skype to talk to my family exclusively these days). It needs at least a 720p capable screen, but ideally a 720p OLED (1024x768 is close, but this really should be a bit higher to fit modern web pages on the screen). It needs HDMI out (and 1080p capability) so that I could carry movies around on this thing to play on real screens (the dock connector does not appear to support digital video output or HDMI, which is terribly lame). It needs a web browser that can handle hundreds of simultaneously open pages with grace (I open hundreds of tabs and bounce around between them while I browse).
So, this cannot replace my laptop for general use and is therefore redundant and I won't buy one.
You came close, Apple, but you bit it for me, mostly by not putting a camera on this thing. If I can't call or answer skype calls on this thing, with skype running as a background app, I have to use my laptop.
Sucks.
@cherryboom there is a LARGE difference between a Troll and a daydreamer.
It better have some nice graphics chip. It will need considerably more power then the iphone 3gs to play things at the same speed with just the larger screen.
this article tells us absolutely nothing. Apple just stuck an ARM IP inside their design, just like nVidia or Qualcomm or almost every modern chip manufacturer in the world does these days.
So tell us, what ARM core is the actual processor inside this "A4". Cortex A8, Cortex A9????? neon engine? single core? dual core? details please!!!!!
Most of you people I've been reading comments on are missing the point about this device. About the only thing I wish the thing had was a front facing camera and a corresponding iChat app. Other than that, this is pretty much the device they wanted to build at a very aggressive price. Buying an eBook reader for two bones is one thing. But for three bones more you get a much more flexible device that plays your music, lets you watch a movie and do most everything your iPhone will do with the stuff you already own? Watch Starbucks and airport lounges in the next six months and see the number of these showing up.
Most of you apparently don't have real jobs. For the rest of us who do, we see this as the ultimate business folio device....your iPad on one side and your paper pad and pen on the other side. You have your calendar, to-do list and customer presentations in one place, flat on the desk with nothing between you and the customer (like a laptop or netbook screen). Propping up a laptop in front of a customer is annoying which is why anyone in sales doesn't do it. They will buy a device like this that looks more professional.
As for things like multitasking, wait a little longer. Apple didn't want to dilute the message of something like that since they aren't ready to ship the SDK just yet and they didn't want to dilute the message of the iPad today knowing full well that the audience for this announcement was a lot broader than just the techies who cruise Engadget.
@sevenfeet yeah, so how is that different from any other tablet?
I'd also like to know, is this a Cortex A9 dual-core? Because if it is, then Apple are the first to actually release shipping product based on that, yes? Of course if it's just A8 then whatever, but it seems like it's significantly faster than the phones (more than a few megahertz would give) if you can believe the hands-on comments.
(Oh and well done Apple for naming their processor also with an A just to confuse matters...)
I doubt that this processor is designed to run anything other than iPhone OS.
What scares me and could be the reason for this product to even be pushed and release was maybe for apple to feed on of it's companies.
Think of it as a corporate nepotism, instead of banking on solid hardware from 3rd party partners Apple saw a way of selling a device running something made in house ... other companies could of bid, heck even an atom processor would of been a good choice but they chose the model of buying something from there left hand to be sold back by the left ... leading the cost of the device to reach these levels for a device that does not merit it.
Incredible move. In fact, gate density is cheap, a processor designed internally is totally brilliant. This is what gives apple ultimate control over the end-user experience. Awesome, incredible. My only disappointment is that I can't buy one today. Totally blown away. Amazing price. Unlocked! I just wish it was available tomorrow.
Help sign the petition! http://www.defectivebydesign.org/
I think that the NOKIA N900 is way better than this iCrap.
The iCrap it is just an other definition for cash cow.
And come on... no Multitasking... Apple... go back to grad school