The long awaited device will be available in multiple models, both with and without unlocked 3G hardware, and will be available in 60 days for the Wi-Fi models, 90 days for the 3G models. The shipping hardware closely resembles some of the prototypes we’ve seen in the past few months, and exactly matches some leaked photos that turned up just today at a message board on the Chinese site “Weiphone”.
iPad
The device itself is 9.56″ tall, 7.47″ wide, and 0.5″ at its thickest point. Weight is a super-light 1.5lbs for the Wi-Fi model and 1.6lbs for the 3G model.
The entire front face is optical quality, oleophobic glass, just like the iPhone, and features just one single home button on the bottom face, but does include both a volume rocker and a mute button on the side, and the classic power button on the top edge. Read more
Wild card in Apple’s iPad release dates is FCC approval
While the tech community has become quite familiar with products being unintentionally revealed through a leaked FCC document, Apple appears to have avoided that fate by carefully coordinating their product announcement with the FCC certification process.
In the screenshot below you can see that the bottom of the iPad technical specifications page includes a notice that the device “is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.”
iPad FCC Notice
FCC certification for a device can take as long as 8-12 weeks according to Agile test group, a company which provides testing services for new products requiring FCC approval.
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