Well, Apple has officially got into the tablet market with their new “iPad” just announced today. This “iPad” is one amazing piece of technology and very impressive to say the least. Apple announced this “iPad” earlier today at their “Our Newest Creation” event today.  Some rumors suggested that this tablet would be around $1000, while others suggested it would be less than $700. Well, Apple decided to release it at $499 for the 16GB model (with no 3G service). Here are the full prices of the iPad:

The specs of the iPad are as follows: 9.7″ IPS display, multitouch, 0.5″ thick, 1.5 pounds, 1GHz Apple A4 Processor, and 16GB-64GB Flash Storage. Now, the iPad comes with 3G service which is option, though. The nice thing about it is, that the 3G service has no contract and it is an option. The iPad with 3G service costs $15 for 256MB and $30 for Unlimited and is contract-free like I said earlier.

Now, the iPad can run all current iPhone and iPod Touch applications on the App Store, but with a twist. The current iPhone and iPod Touch screen size is (in pixels) 320 x 480. While the iPad’s screen size is much bigger than that, it can double (yes, double) the screen size (if not bigger) by simply tapping on the “2X” button to fit more of the screen. Some of you might think “Well, the graphics are going to be terrible at 2X the size” well, here’s proof that it won’t be terrible:

That is a picture of Gameloft’s NOVA available for the iPhone and iPod Touch right now running on the “2X” mode. Apple has also made a keyboard dock connector for the iPad just in case you get tired of using the touch screen to type.

Even though the iPad has not been released yet, there is an SDK for the iPad available right now to build applications for the iPad. After going through documents and messing around with the SDK, some interesting details have emerged that weren’t announced at the event. The details are as follows:

• External Display Support. iPad applications will be able to display content to an external display connected to the iPad via the dock connector. This has never been allowed with any iPhone SDK ever before.
• File Sharing. A shared file directory is provided to share files.
• No Multitasking. Only one application can run at a time.
• Universal Apps. There will be universal support for universal apps that support both iPhone (iPod Touch, too) and iPad.

Seen as how the iPad is focused more towards reading books, and newspapers, Apple has announced the iBookstore, which sells books, of course.

Now, earlier today, PocketFullOfApps posted its predictions on the rumored tablet. Lets see how many predictions that PocketFullOfApps got right (predictions in bold came out to be correct, answers are after the “-“):

• This device (iSlate/iPad/iTablet) will have a 10 inch OLED screen.
• Come in multiple prices. – Yes, see the pricing picture above.
• Will have a 3G service provider. – AT&T is the 3G service provider.
• The 3G service provider will be either AT&T or Verizon, or both.– AT&T is the 3G service provider.
• Will run an advance iPhone OS. – Has iWork Applications and has a background image.
• Will be focused as a book reader, newspaper reader, and magazine reader. – Apple has announced the iBookstore for books and has newspaper features.
• Will have advanced iPhone OS games and applications. – The iPad has iWork applications ported for it.
• Will be named either one of the following: iSlate, iPad, or iTablet. – The tablet was named iPad.
• Price range will be between $500-$1000, depending if you are having a 3G service provider or not. – See pricing picture above.
• Will be announced today, but will be released in March. – The version of iPad with no 3G service will be released in late March, the 3G + Wi-Fi version will arrive in April.

Here are the full specs of the iPad:

Height:

9.56 inches (242.8 mm)

Width:

7.47 inches (189.7 mm)

Depth:

0.5 inch (13.4 mm)

Weight:

1.5 pounds (.68 kg) Wi-Fi model;
1.6 pounds (.73 kg) Wi-Fi + 3G model

Display:

* 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
* 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
* Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
* Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Wireless and Cellular:

Wi-Fi model:

* Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n)
* Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology

Wi-Fi + 3G model:

* UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
* GSM/EDGE (850, 900,1800, 1900 MHz)
* Data only2
* Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n)
* Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology

Location:

* Wi-Fi
* Digital compass
* Assisted GPS (Wi-Fi + 3G model)
* Cellular (Wi-Fi + 3G model)

In the Box:

iPad
Dock connector to USB cable
10W Power Adapter
Documentation

Capacity:

16GB, 32GB, or 64GB flash drive

Processor:

1GHz Apple A4 Processor

Sensors:

Accelerometer
Ambient light sensor

Audio Playback:

Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
User-configurable maximum volume limit

TV and Video:

Support for 1024 x 768 with Dock Connector to VGA adapter; 576p and 480p with Apple Composite A/V Cable, 576i and 480i with Apple Composite A/V Cable
H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

Mail attachment support:

Viewable document types: .jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)

Languages:

Language support for English, French, German, Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Russian
Keyboard support for English (US) English (UK), French (France, Canada), German, Japanese (QWERTY), Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese (Handwriting and Pinyin), Russian
Dictionary support for English (US), English (UK), French, French (Canadian), French (Swiss), German, Japanese, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese (Handwriting, Pinyin), Russian

Accessibility:

Support for playback of closed-captioned content
VoiceOver screen reader
Full-screen zoom magnification
White on black
Mono audio

Battery and Power:

Built-in 25Whr rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system

Input and Output:

Dock connector
3.5-mm stereo headphone jack
Built-in speakers
Microphone

SIM card tray (Wi-Fi + 3G model only)

Mac system requirements:

Mac computer with USB 2.0 port
Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later
iTunes 9.0 or later (free download from www.itunes.com/download)
iTunes Store account
Internet access

Windows system requirements:

PC with USB 2.0 port
Windows 7, Windows Vista; Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later
iTunes 9.0 or later (free download from www.itunes.com/download)
iTunes Store account

Internet access

Environmental requirements:

Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C)
Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)

External buttons and controls:

On/Off, Sleep/wake
Mute
Volume up/down
Home

The iPad will be released in late March (the version with no 3G) and sometime in April (the version with 3G). PocketFullOfApps will let you know when they have started going on sale. Now, let the rumors begin for the September event when Apple announces the new iPhone and iPod Touch!

Thanks to gdgt.com and engadget.com for photos.