Apple Unwraps 'Magical' iPad Tablet for $499

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -Steve Jobs described Apple's wildly anticipated tablet-style computer as "a truly magical and revolutionary product." when the company's CEO finally took the wraps off of the iPad in front of a packed house at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco Wednesday morning.

The glorious iPad was showcased with a 9.7-inch LED-backlit, IPS touch screen display, measuring a half-inch thick and weighing only 1.5 pounds with 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi). It's loaded with a 1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip. [iPad specs]

iPad will be delivered to Apple faithful in late March, featuring 16, 32 or 64 gigabytes of flash memory storage, along with with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity built in. The Wi-Fi only models are priced at $499, $599 and $699 respectively. The handy dock, camera connection adapters and iPad Case which doubles as a stand, will cost extra.

"What this device does is extraordinary," Jobs said. "It is the best browsing experience you've ever had. ... It's unbelievably great ... way better than a laptop. Way better than a smartphone."

For those seeking 3G connectivity, you can expect to pay $629, $729 and $829 for the iPad, which will be released around April according to Mr. Jobs. AT&T is offering two mobile plans without any contract attached, which comes as relief to many. iPadders can expect to pay $14.99 per month for 250 megabytes of data, or $29.99 for unlimited usage via AT&T.

While Jobs said the device has a battery will lasts 10 hours and can sit for a month on standby without needing a charge, the grandest iPad feature was its price, which was well below what some analysts anticipated. The buzz killer for me came when it was revealed that the device lacks a front-facing camera for iChat conferencing.

With the addition of Apple announcing a built-in iBookstore, that can be accessed through a new iPad app, it's certain that Amazon is eyeballing the iPad launch very closely. Amazon's colorless, one dimensional e-reader could be heading for extinction soon after Apple's latest marvel hits the streets with iBooks in tow.

Jonathan Ive, Apple's Senior Vice President of Industrial Design, opens the iPad demo video with a statement that sounds more like an introduction to disassembling an alien spacecraft than it does a newfangled computer resembling a giant iPod touch.

"When something exceeds your ability to understand how it works, it sort of becomes magical and that's exactly what the iPad is." Jon Ive said.

That's exactly what Apple does best, creating that feeling of child like wonder with each new product launch. Convincing its throngs of followers that the iPad is needed, almost required in order to exist on planet earth from today forward. If you're cool that is.

If the iPad can do for iBooks and mobile media, what the iPhone has down for app developers, then we're in for another very long, orgasmic roller coaster ride with no clear end in sight.

"We think it's going to be a whole 'nother gold rush for developers as they build applications for the iPad," said Scott Forstall, the Senior vice president, iPhone software at Apple.

Will iPad change the way we do the things we do every single day? I believe Apple is counting on it. (demo video after break)