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microphone?
A: Yes, located on the top of the iPad next to the headphone jack.

Q: Can you use the headphones with a microphone with the iPad?
A: Yes.

Q: Does the iPad include headphones in the box?
A: No.

Q: Does the iPad have internal speakers?
A: Yes; they are located at the bottom of the iPad next to the dock connector. There is a volume cradle located on the side of the iPad to adjust volume levels.

Q: Does the iPad have USB Ports?
A: No.

Q: Can I print from my iPad?
A: No. In order to print, you must either email the file to your Mac or PC or sync the iPad using iTunes and MobileMe.

Q: Is the iPad jailbroken?
A: Yes, the iPad has been jailbroken however it has yet to be released. See this thread for more details.

Q: Does the iPad support Flash?
A: No, however it does support the latest browser features such as HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript.

Q: Can you change the wallpaper on the iPad?
A: Yes.

Q: How long does the battery last on the iPad?
A: 10 hrs. average.

Q: How many applications can be placed on the dock?
A: 6.

Q: How many applications can be placed on each page?
A: 20.

Q: How many pages of applications can you have on the iPad Springboard?
A: 11.

Q: Can you flip the iPad into landscape mode?
A: Yes.

Q: Does the iPad have a camera?
A: No.

Q: Can you use a camera with the iPad?

Q: Does the iPad support multitasking?
A: Yes, however not until the release of Firmware 4.0 in Fall 2010.

Q: How do I type on the iPad?
Q: Do the function keys on the Apple Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard match up with those on the keyboard dock?
A:Yes, the brightness controls—F1 and F2—will control your iPad’s screen brightness.

Q: Does the on-screen keyboard still appear when you are using the keyboard dock accessory or a Bluetooth keyboard?
A: No, unless you push the “Eject” button.

Q: How do push notifications work on the iPad?
A: Identically to the iPhone/iPod touch.

Q: For the 3G model, who are the carriers for the iPad?
A: AT&T (US), Rogers (Canada), O2 (UK)

Q: Can the iPad run Mac OS X applications?
A: No, however certain developers have released similar applications for the iPad.

Q: Does the iPad have the “Spotlight” feature?
A: Yes.

Q: Can you search within Keynotes and Pages using Spotlight?
A: No.

Q: Can you view PDF Files on the iPad?
A: Yes.

Q: While reading a PDF document, can you add annotations and print out the document to a LAN printer?
A: No, although it may be possible through an App Store application at some point.

Q: Can you read eBooks on the iPad?
A: Yes, on the official Apple application called iBooks – which has a fantastic GUI.

Q: Can the iPad tether?
A: Not officially; it may be possible if an iPad jailbreak is achieved.

Q: Will there be a second generation iPad (2G)?
A: It is absolutely possible and probable. I would not expect an iPad 2G within 2010.

Q: Does the iPad have GPS?
A: Yes. However, the WiFi-only iPad has a Digital Compass for it’s Location Services.

Q: Does the iPad have Cover Flow (like the iPhone/iPod touch)?
A: No.

Q: Can the 10W Power Adapter included with the iPad be used to charge your iPhone/iPod touch?
A: Yes, according to the Apple documents included with the adapter.

Q: Does the iPad come with Apple Stickers in the box?
A: Yes.

Q: Does the iPad come with a microfiber cleaning cloth in the box?
A: No.

Q: Are eBooks readable (in iBook) direct sunlight?
A: Yes.

Q: Can iTunes LP or ‘Extra Content’ sync with the iPad?
A: At this point, no.

Q: Can you invert the colors on the iPad (for accessibility)?
A: Yes, via Settings.

Q: Can you convert PDF’s into a format readable by iBooks?
A: Yes,you need some software to help.

Over at TechRepublic’s 10 Things blog, Debra Littlejohn Shinder has posted an article called “10 reasons why I’ll be passing on the iPad.” Some of her reasoning is sound, but quite a few of her points are easy to refute. It’s worth looking at her post and the points it tries to make, because it’s indicative of a widespread misunderstanding of not only the iPad’s capabilities, but also its intended consumer base.

1. There’s no physical keyboard

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Debra’s correct that the iPad has no physical keyboard. But what she fails to account for is that not only will Apple sell a keyboard dock for the iPad, the device can also be paired with any existing Bluetooth keyboard. Apple’s reasoning for not including a physical keyboard on the iPad is even more compelling than for the iPhone, because unlike the iPhone, you at least have the option of pairing the iPad with a physical keyboard. In order to put a physical keyboard on the device itself, there’d be two options: keep the iPad the same size and sacrifice a third of the screen’s real estate, or increase the iPad’s size beyond what some (including Debra) already consider unwieldy in order to include a keyboard.

In landscape orientation, the iPad’s virtual keyboard is nearly the size of a conventional keyboard, too, so while touch typing is going to be a challenge, it’s a fair bet that typing on the iPad will be much faster and easier than the high end of 30 – 35 WPM thumb typing many people (myself included) achieve on the iPhone’s far smaller keyboard. The lack of a physical keyboard on the iPhone hasn’t measurably affected its sales; the iPad isn’t likely to suffer many lost sales from this, either.

(Note: a few people have asked for a source on the Bluetooth keyboard issue, particularly my assertion that you can use any BT keyboard and not just Apple’s wireless models. During her hands-on with the iPad following the device’s announcement, Jacqui Cheng at Ars Technica verified that “You can use any bluetooth keyboard you want, instead of Apple’s keyboard dock. You could use the case/stand with your existing bluetooth keyboard. You cannot use a bluetooth mouse, however.”)

Check out the other nine points by clicking the Read More link below.

2. One size doesn’t fit all

Debra claims that if the iPad is supposed to be a niche device positioned between a phone and a netbook, it should have a screen size midway between the two — in other words, smaller than a 9.7″ screen. However, that’s not how Steve Jobs positioned the iPad at all during the keynote; Jobs’s Keynote slide clearly showed the iPad filling a gap between the iPhone/iPod touch and a 13″ MacBook. It’s puzzling that in one sentence Debra complains about the iPad being too large to fit in your pocket, while in the next sentence she extols the virtues of Sony’s VAIO X netbooks, which are almost exactly the same size – in terms of weight and thickness anyway. The VAIO X has an 11.1″ 16:9 display, which actually makes it quite a bit larger than the iPad. One other thing about the VAIO X is quite a bit larger than the iPad: the price, which starts at $1299 — far more expensive than even the priciest iPad.

While it’s true the iPad won’t fit in your pocket, it’s still far more portable than even a MacBook Air. Stephen Colbert even managed to pull one out of his jacket at the Grammys, so while the iPad is larger than an iPhone, it’s far from the unwieldy monster many people are trying to claim it is.

3. It runs a phone OS

One thing many pundits fail to account for is that the iPhone OS is actually a version of OS X adapted for a touchscreen device. No, there’s no Finder, Dock, or menu bar. No, there’s no Exposé, Spaces, or Time Machine. But the underpinnings of the iPhone OS are exactly the same as those of the Mac version of OS X. So when people complain the iPad doesn’t run OS X, they’re really pining for OS X features like the ones I already mentioned — the Finder, Dock, menu bar, etc. However, none of those OS X features are particularly suited to a touchscreen device, especially one with a 9.7″ screen. Tablet PCs running the full version of Windows have already demonstrated the pitfalls of running an OS meant for a larger device with a traditional point-and-click interface, and as a result, almost all of those devices have failed to gain traction in the market.

Debra and others also cite the iPad’s lack of multitasking as a strike against it. On this point, at least, I agree with them. While iPhone OS already allows for limited multitasking among Apple’s own apps — Phone, Messages, Mail, Safari, and iPod can all run simultaneously in the background — third-party apps are still restricted to workarounds like push notifications. While restricting multitasking makes a kind of sense on devices like the iPhone 3G, with limited processing power and RAM available, on the iPad those technological limitations don’t fly as an excuse. You can argue that not having multitasking on the iPad makes