And the iPad it is...

Finally, after all the non-stop rumors and speculations heating up as early as mid-2009 (actually nearly a decade now), at their "see our latest creation" event in San Francisco yesterday, Apple officially announced the much-talked-about tablet computer, which they named, awkwardly as it sounds, iPad.

Watch the Keynote here

While the iPad is showcased as Apple's "most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price" it's simply a blown-up iPod touch and offers nothing unexpected. But Apple is indeed right in calling it a beautiful device.


Here are the specs:

• 9.7" LED-backlit Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
• 1/2" thick (or thin)
• 10 hours of battery life and is said to still have a charge when not in use for a month
• 16-64 Gigabytes of flash storage
• Accelerometer and compass
• Speaker, mic, dock connector
• Can run all iPhone apps, unmodified, and out of the box
• Available in Wi-Fi (grab one in 60 days) and Wi-Fi+3G models (ready in 90 days)
• Starts at US$499 (international pricing to be announced at a later date)
  

Actually, I've been saving up for Amazon's Kindle (which is officially available in the Philippines) but this made me reconsider. Imagine I can still use the many iPhone apps I have and read ebooks (iBooks looks promising) and listen to music...oh well.