First Look At The Apple iPad

It's official -- the long-awaited tablet from Apple is an ultra-thin, "intimate" Web browsing device called the iPad. Apple CEO Steve Jobs lifted the curtain Wednesday in San Francisco on perhaps the most anticipated new product from the Cupertino, Calif.-based company since the iPhone. Like the iPhone, the new iPad features a full-capacitive, multi-touch screen that can be viewed either vertically or horizontally simply by turning it in your hands.

Steve Jobs, with water bottle, makes his way to the iPad demo venue, across the way from the Yerba Buena auditorium where the Apple CEO introduced the world to the iPad earlier Wednesday morning. Perhaps the biggest "wow factor" surrounding Apple's latest potential game-changer? Pricing which starts at a lower-than-expected $499 for the entry-level 16GB iPad.

Apple's iPad will run some 140,000 apps when the new device is made available in the coming few months. At Wednesday's event, Jobs demonstrated three iWork apps that Apple has built specifically for the iPad, and said Apple is now offering an SDK to developers to start working on their own iPad apps.

The iPad, which features a 9.7-inch screen, gets a very attractive 10 hours of battery life, about four hours more than is possible on most notebooks. That's courtesy of Apple's own in-house central processor (inset). The 1GHz A4 chip from Apple's P.A. Semi subsidiary powers a device that's just half an inch thin and 1.5 pounds.

Apple is making a big deal about the iPad's usefulness as a media and e-book reading device, propelled by a popular interface that features the same full-capacitive, multi-touch screen as the iPhone. Apple on Wednesday launched iBookstore, an online bookstore where iPad users can download content from a wide range of publishers -- a third content delivery mechanism that joins the company's wildly successful App Store and iTunes properties.

Apple iPad owners can turn their tablets into makeshift notebooks with a more traditional input interface by purchasing a docking station with full-sized keyboard. The device also has built-in Bluetooth 2.1, enabling the same setup with Apple's wireless keyboard and a standalone dock. Other accessories include a digital camera kit and the iPad Case.

Whether browsing the Web, sending e-mails, looking at photos or playing games, the iPad is "so much more intimate than a laptop," Jobs said. Apple is pitching the device as "sitting in the middle" between smart phones like the iPhone and notebook computers. And the Apple CEO scoffed at the notion that netbooks already fill that gap, saying dismissively on Wednesday: "Netbooks aren't better for anything."

So when will the iPad arrive at Apple Stores like the one on 5th Avenue in New York picture here? The first Wi-Fi-only iPads start shipping in 60 days, and models with additional 3G capability ship in 90 days, according to the company. Pricing starts at $499 for the 16GB iPad and moves up to $599 for a 32GB version and $699 for the top-of-the-line 64GB model. The iPad will launch with two data plans from AT&T: One with a data cap of 250MB-per-month for $14.99, the other with unlimited data for $29.99.

Attendees make their way out of the Yerba Buena auditorium following Apple's big event. Aside from the iPad unveiling and other product news, the presence of former Vice President Al Gore at the event was a hot topic of conversation. Not invited to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address scheduled for later on Wednesday, perhaps?

One way to momentarily steal the spotlight away from Apple on one of its most highly anticipated product unveilings in years? Be a nine-year-old break-dancing prodigy, like the little fella who entertained the crowd outside of the Yerba Buena center in San Francisco Wednesday.

Another way to get attention is to mistake an Apple event for an undercover sting video at the local ACORN offices, as this pair apparently did. Insert "Pimp My Pad" and "iCrib" jokes here.

Apple may not be the friendliest company to the press, but they never want for wall-to-wall media coverage of their product announcements. Here, reporters file furiously outside the Yerba Buena auditorium following Wednesday's big unveiling of the iPad.