Apple announces the iPad, changes the course of history

If you were following this morning’s Apple announcement, it may have been quite overwhelming and your head could be spinning in confusion. We’re here to clear things up and give you additional details over what we posted this morning. What we know so far is that the device itself, in terms of hardware and software, doesn’t disappoint. Out of the box, it can support every single application available in the iTunes App Store right now. There is a new version of iWork available for the iPad — with each application going for $9.99 (which means $30 for the whole kaboodle). The Wi-Fi only version will be available in 60 days, and the 3G and Wi-Fi versions in 90 days.

Today at 10:00AM PST, hundreds of thousands of eyes were glued to computer screens as Steve Jobs made one of the most anticipated announcements in Apple history: the iPad. Some might giggle or scoff at the name, but that’s where the snark stops. The hardware and software had event attendees up on their feet applauding. Before we get into a deep run-down of the device, here are some specs you need to know right off the bat (we’ll continue updating these if there are move developments):
■0.5″ thick and 1.5lbs light
■9.7″ IPS display, capacitive multitouch touchscreen
■Built-in accelerometer, mic, 30-pin connector, 802.11n Wi-Fi, compass, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
■10 hours of battery life and one month standby time!
■1GHz Apple A4 processor
■16GB, 32GB and 64GB Flash storage
On top of all this, the iPad will run the applications you already have for the iPhone. It can appear on the screen one of two ways: pixel for pixel accuracy in a black box or pixel double it and run the application in full screen. Typing on the iPad was made to look like a breeze with a large software keyboard that pops up on the screen when typing is required. That ought to give you all a taste of things to come as the event is still very much in progress, so we’ll get back to you with more details very soon!

Pricing will start at $499 for the 16 gigabyte version, $599 for the 32gig version and $699 for the 64, jobs said.