Even for an Apple device, the hype and speculation surrounding the secretive iPad has been intense: would it be a tablet computer? A glorified e-reader? A new way to play and interface with games? A big ol‘ iPhone? Regardless, for Apple devotees it was only slightly less exciting than the Second Coming.
Now that the thing has been officially announced, it turns out it‘s a bit of a mix of all of them. So let‘s take a look at just how useful (or otherwise) the iPad will be for a 3D artist. Firstly, it‘s not going to replace your laptop as a general purpose mobile workstation, and it‘s not supposed to. The chip almost certainly isn‘t powerful enough (it‘s a custom Apple A4 processor, clocked at 1GHz) and while the graphic capabilities look reasonable, it‘s geared more towards multimedia (there‘s no mouse support at all, although an optional keyboard add-on will be available). So what are the benefits?

Portable high res display
Regardless of the iPad‘s other applications, having a large, high-res display on hand at all times, and one which you can hold in your hands, could be invaluable for quickly working on a model or scene. Other tablet PCs can be used for this, of course, but it‘s the quality of the display that matters here, something that Apple always does well.

Compatibility with iPhone apps such as Brushes
Again, having a larger display with the same touchscreen capabilities as an iPhone should make for a perfect sketching and planning environment, much like a more sophisticated Cintiq. Third parties such as Adobe are almost certain to adapt their software or launch entirely new apps for the iPad, and while it‘s unlikely any full-fledged 3D design apps will appear for it, there may be scope for less conventional design programs, such as prototyping tools.

Game development potential
The iPhone is already a remarkably capable platform for mobile games; the iPad can take that a step further, especially in terms of design. A higher resolution to play with, plus enhanced graphic capabilities, could open up a whole new field for 3D artists – somewhere between mobile quality and console or PC quality. It seems likely that developing assets for both the iPad and iPhone simultaneously will become the norm, with the former being scaled down for the latter.

Storyboarding and other presentation-style needs
Having an interactive, fairly large screen with multitouch would make the iPad ideal for displaying, and if the right software was available, creating, storyboards or other pre-production material. Makes a change from PowerPoint, anyway…

And that, for the moment, is about all we can glean from the announcement. As more technical info emerges (such as what OS it runs and what its 3D capabilities are actually like), we‘ll bring you more in-depth analysis of Apple‘s latest.

Hands on: Apple iPad review at TechRadar.com