As had been expected for months now, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has announced the iPad at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco.
The iPad will be able to browse the Web, read email, read books and play games as well as work with Apple's iTunes store. Users can download apps like they can on the iPhone and people with both an iPhone and iPad will be able to synchronise apps between the two.
It’s said to be half-an-inch thick, weighs 1.5 pounds and features a 9.7 inch IPS display. Jobs described the device as "super high quality” and it will be available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models.
Jobs told the gathered audience of journalists and analysts that the iPad will let users hold the whole web in their hands. “What this device does is extraordinary. It is the best browsing experience you have ever had," he said.
It also allows users to download apps, in a similar way to the iPhone. People with both can synchronise their apps between the two devices.
You can see a gallery of pictures from the Yerba Buena Center at Gizmodo.
Prices for the iPad will start at $499 and Wi-Fi models will ship in March followed by 3G models in April.