IPad (1st generation)

The 1st-generation iPad is a tablet computer that was announced in a special media event by Apple CEO Steve Jobs on January 27, 2010. It was released in the United States as the first model of the iPad line on the following April 3rd. It was discontinued on March 2, 2011 with the introduction of the iPad 2.

Support
The first iPad came with iPhone OS 3.2 pre-installed and can only be updated to iOS 5.1.1. Though it featured the more advanced Apple A4 processor like the iPhone 4, the original iPad could not run iOS 6 like the older iPhone 3GS because its higher screen resolution of 1024 x 768 (vs. 480 x 320) left insufficient space within its 256 MB of RAM, which was also used for video memory.

Safari
The large multi-touch display on the iPad displayed web pages more closely to a desktop experience than typical mobile devices of the time. Text was more readable on the Safari browser at 1024 x 768, whether viewed in portrait or landscape mode. Navigating through the web was made easier and more intuitive by using the user's finger as a natural pointing device, scrolling through a page just by flicking a finger up or down on the screen. Another gesture was pinch to zoom in or out. Thumbnail view allowed the user to view and navigate all open pages in a grid. In iOS 5, the feature was updated with tabbed browsing.

Mail
See and touch your email in ways you never could before. In landscape, you get a split-screen view, showing both an opened email and the messages in your Inbox. To see the opened email by itself, you just turn iPad to portrait, and the email automatically rotates and fills the screen. No matter which orientation you use, you can scroll through your mail, compose a new email using the large, on-screen keyboard, or delete messages, with nothing more than a tap and a flick. If someone emails you a photo, you can see it right in the message. You can also save the photos in an email directly to the built-in Photos app. And iPad will work with all the popular email providers, including MobileMe, Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, Hotmail, and AOL.

Photos
With its crisp, vibrant display, and its unique software features, iPad is an extraordinary way to enjoy and share your photos. For example, the new Photos app displays the photos in an album as though they were in a stack. Just tap or pinch to open the stack, and the whole album opens up. Then you can flip through your pictures, zoom in or out, or watch a slideshow. You can even use your iPad as a beautiful digital photo frame while your iPad is docked or charging. And there are lots of ways to import photos: you can sync them from your computer, download them from an email, or import them directly from your camera using the Apple Camera Connection Kit.

Video
The large, high-resolution screen makes iPad perfect for watching any kind of video: from HD movies and TV shows, to podcasts and music videos. You can also easily move between wide-screen and full-screen with a double-tap. And because it's essentially one big screen, with no buttons or anything to distract you, the picture fills your line of sight. So you feel completely immersed in what you're watching.

YouTube
The YouTube app organizes videos so they're really easy to see and navigate. To watch one, you just tap it. When you're watching in landscape, the video will automatically play in full screen. And with its high-resolution display, the latest YouTube HD videos will look amazing on iPad.

Music
With the music app, all your music is literally at your fingertips. You can browse by album, song, artist, or genre, with a simple flick. To play a song, just tap it, and the now playing screen will show the album art at full size. Then you can listen to your music with either the powerful built-in speaker, or with wired or Bluetooth wireless headphones.

iTunes
Just tap on the iTunes Store icon, and you can browse and buy music, TV shows, podcasts - or buy and rent movies - wirelessly, right from your iPad. There are thousands of movies and TV shows (in both standard and high definition), along with thousands of podcasts, and millions of songs to choose from. You can even preview songs before you buy them. And you can sync iPad with the content you already have in your iTunes library on your Mac or PC.

App Store
iPad will run almost all 140,000 iPad apps from the App Store. Everything from games to business apps, and more. And new apps that have been designed just for iPad are highlighted, so you can easily find the ones that take full advantage of its features. Just tap the App Store icon on the screen and you'll be able to browse, buy, and download apps wirelessly, right to the iPad.

Maps
See more of the world with high-resolution Satellite and Street View images. You can even see topography with the new Terrain view. You can also search for a nearby business type (for example, "Restaurant") and then tap on that business to see the route and directions from your current location.

Calendar
iPad makes it easy to keep on schedule by displaying Day, Week, Month, year (only on iPad) or List views of your calendar. That way, you can see an overview of a whole month, or the details of a single day. iPad will even show multiple calendars at once, so you can manage work and family calendars at the same time.

Contacts
The Contacts app on iPad makes finding names, numbers and other important information quicker and easier than ever before. A new view lets you see both your complete contact list, and a single contact, simultaneously. Need directions? Just tap on an address inside a contact and it'll open Maps.

Home screen
The Home Screen gives you one-tap access to everything on iPad. You can also customize your Home Screen by adding your favorite apps and websites, or using your own photos for the background. And you can move apps around to arrange them in any order you want.Plus you can delete apps by tapping the circular black button.

Spotlight search
Spotlight Search allows you to search across iPad, and all of its built-in apps. Including Mail, Contacts, Calendar, iPod, and Notes. It'll even search apps you've downloaded from the App Store. So no matter what you're looking for, it's never more than a few taps away.

Articles

 * Live from the Apple 'latest creation' event by Joshua Topolsky, Engadget (2010-01-27)