continuation from part 1
iPad hardware: Bluetooth networking
Outside of new keyboard support, there's not much else to say about Bluetooth features on the iPad. It supplies the same Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR specification as the iPhone; the upcoming version 3.0 of the standard is set to pair its networking stack with the radio technology of WiFi for faster speeds, but Apple makes little use of Bluetooth's potential features within the iPhone OS anyway, and would apparently have little reason to be at all interested in Bluetooth 3.0.
There's no support for other Bluetooth profiles that the iPhone doesn't already support (such as its A2DP stereo headphones and regular mono headsets), nor any obvious new features outside of those already introduced in iPhone 3.0 (such as the multiplayer gaming feature for discovering nearby players without needing to be on the same WiFi network).
There's no Bluetooth file sharing or printing on iPad, for example, although there's reason to believe that Apple may add support for printing in iPhone 4.0, given that its iWork support documents note that "printing directly from iPad is not currently available," rather than "iPad doesn't support printing."
iPad hardware: WiFi networking
iPad sports WiFi just like the iPhone, but iPad's WiFi supports fast 802.11 n networks, which are not just speedier but also deliver greater range and potentially less interference because they can be set up in the mostly virgin 5GHz band.
I had no problem connecting iPad to my "n-only," 5GHz Time Capsule WiFi network, although it only connected at 150 mbps signal rate (my MacBook and iMac will connect using both available bands to achieve a theoretical 300 mbps connection, as shown below). However, even at 150, the iPad is much faster than an iPhone connecting to the 802.11 a/b/g compatible network, which only achieves a theoretical maximum data rate of 54 mbps.
Future versions of the iPhone and iPod touch will likely also gain hardware support for for 802.11 n networks, but there's no way to add retroactive support in software.
Note that the WiFi iPad, like the iPod touch, does not have real GPS; it uses WiFi triangulation for Location Services, which is less accurate. The 3G version of the iPad will provide GPS just like the iPhone, because this feature is related to the mobile chipset (the 3G mobile network is used to assist the calculation of GPS information).
Some iPad users have reported weaker or spotty WiFi reception on their new device compared to their experience with other computers or mobile devices. In my testing, I didn't see any problems with WiFi reception.
However, a test of network throughput using the free Speedtest.net iPhone app showed that on the same 802.11 g network, my iPhone 3GS slightly outpaced the download (but not upload) performance of my iPad. Connecting to my faster 802.11n network resulted in a big boost for my iPad, but certainly not the 3 fold leap one might imagine possible when comparing the theoretical maximums of g (54 mbps) and n (150 mbps) networks.
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In actual network performance, such as sending emails or browsing maps or the web, iPad feels much faster than an iPhone, largely because of the snappier experience provided by its significantly faster processor and RAM architecture.
iPad hardware: video output
Like the existing iPhone and iPod touch, iPad can output video via the same Apple composite or component video cables to present standard definition, analog video with roughly 480 lines of resolution.
However, its new VGA-connector option (exclusive to iPad) delivers PC style video at the device's native 1024x768 resolution. Existing iPhone and iPod models won't work with the new VGA cable, as they aren't designed to support higher resolution outputs than they can display. The VGA feature only supports landscape output.
iPad gets the new VGA composite video output option primarily to support video projectors, which will allow business users to present Keynote presentations directly from the device. According to Apple's store blurb, it's also designed to allow users to watch movies and Photo slideshows on an external monitor or TV (supporting VGA input).
Apps must be designed specifically to take advantage of VGA output, and developers will choose whether to simply mirror the tablet's output on the external display or present something different, as Keynote does (it outputs the actual presentation while showing separate presenter's notes on the iPad screen).
The only bundled apps that support VGA output are Photos, Videos, and YouTube. Photos currently only shows slideshows, and if you swipe ahead on iPad while playing, the VGA output remains stuck on the previous photo. Videos and YouTube only show the actual video, not any interface controls. When you play YouTube videos out via VGA, playback on iPad stops.
This means that you can't put your browser or Maps up on a VGA projector, and games won't necessarily be playable on an external display unless the developer chooses to support that as an option.
However, it also opens the potential for very interesting multiplayer games that use one iPad to control a shared output screen while each of the players see a private view of the game on their iPad (such as their hand in a card game, or their letters in Scrabble, or their individual control pad in a team-based fantasy adventuring game).
The $29 VGA adapter is currently available for purchase; AppleInsider will review it in more detail separately.
iPad hardware: other accessories
Naked, iPad feels a bit conspicuous to carry around. The body doesn't seem to demand a cover out of fragility or potential for scratches, but it does feel comfortable inside Apple's $40 iPad Case, which looks like light duty armor in addition to serving as a way to convert the device into both a typing angle netbook replacement and an upright display. Folded close, the case looks like a thin sketchbook.
Positioned in its optional $30 dock, iPad, when paired with a Bluetooth keyboard, looks a little like a small iMac turned portrait. There's also a $70 Dock option that includes a physical keyboard, but it won't be available until the end of the month.
Apple is also offering a $30 Camera Connection Kit, which allows you to either connect your camera via its UBS cable, or to use its SD Cards with iPad directly. This package won't be available until the end of the month.
It reportedly works with "standard photo formats including JPEG and RAW," suggesting that photographers can upload their full resolution, uncompressed shots into the iPad's Photos for viewing (and editing in other apps). AppleInsider will review the kit when it becomes available.
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iPad hardware: other iPhone features
A variety of other iPad hardware features are identical to their iPhone 3GS and iPod touch counterparts, such as 3G and GPS: if you get the WiFi iPad, it works like an iPod touch, with WiFi-only triangulation for Location Services; if you wait and buy the 3G version, you get mobile assisted GPS with its much greater accuracy, just like iPhone.
The 7.2 Mbps 3G support on iPad is the same as that available on the iPhone 3GS, and about twice as fast as AT&T's mostly 3.6 Mbps 3G American network (which is still faster than Verizon's CDMA EV-DO 3G network, that tops out between 2.4 and 3.1 Mbps).
iPad 3G will be faster if you can use it overseas in places where more modern 3G networks are available, and AT&T will be slowly updating its 3G service over the next couple years so that iPhone 3GS and iPad users will be able to take advantage of their innate potential.
There's no way to add 3G support to the WiFi-only version of iPad (the only version currently available for sale), as it lacks the slot to accommodate the 3G mobile mini-SIM card, in addition to not having the mobile radio hardware and the plastic window for mobile radio signals.
Other iPhone 3GS hardware features, such its accelerometer and digital compass, are identical on iPad. It also uses the same basic processor design and the same amount of system RAM (256 MB), although Apple clocked the main chip faster and is apparently using a different, faster RAM architecture. Apple also appears to have incorporated some other optimizing enhancements to the iPad's A4 SoC.
The result is that iPad is quick and nimble. Just as the iPhone 3GS made previous iPhones seem a little sluggish, iPad raises the bar again. It's doing quite a bit more (pushing 5.12 times more pixels, and running more sophisticated apps), but feels quicker across the board.
source:appleinsider] continued