Apple on Wednesday finally unveiled its tablet computer, called the iPad, in downtown San Francisco. The device, looks like a larger version of Apple’s iPod Touch. The iPad featuring Wi-Fi will be shipping in the next 60 days, and the one with 3G in the next 90 days, with the range starting at $499.

Apple has once again proved the rumors right and has built a product that looks good and feels great in the hand, and the familiar user interface, borrowed from the iPhone and iPod touch, is perfectly suited for the bigger screen. If at all there is a new category of devices between a Smartphone and a Laptop which could be better than either for certain tasks, then the iPad rightly fits into this ‘Third Category’ of devices. Web browsing, e-book reader, Video Player, Image Library, Music altogether clubbed into a single cool device which is easier to carry and use.

It sports a 9.7-inch LCD touch-screen display, which makes use of the same multitouch technology found on the iPhone, Apple’s Magic Mouse, notebook trackpads are seen as well. It also has the same in-plane switching display technology that made its debut in the latest crop of iMacs.

Like the iPhone and iPod, it sports a finger-friendly OS with an on-screen QWERTY keyboard, and an accelerometer that can detect whether the device is in portrait or landscape mode. It has a 30-pin dock connector, built-in Wi-Fi, and a home button that jumps users back to the main screen of the OS. It also has a volume rocker and a mute button just like the iPhone.

Along with a big screen, it sports a 1Ghz custom Apple chip. Apple says it can get 10 hours of video, which is about four more than the iPod Touch and the same as the latest generation iPhone and “a month” long standby time. The iPad will come in 16, 32, and 64GB capacities for $499, $599, and $699, respectively. That’s just the Wi-Fi version though. Apple will also be selling a version of the iPad that includes both Wi-Fi and a 3G wireless modem built in. iPad users who want to make use of the 3G service, which is being offered by AT&T (only in the U.S offcourse), can pick up one of two plans for that: $15 a month for 250MB of data, or unlimited for $29.99 a month. The 3G version of the iPad is priced at $629 (16GB), $729 (32GB), and $829 (64GB).

Other noteworthy specs:


• The Wi-Fi antenna supports 802.11 a/b/g/n

• The iPad weighs just 1.5 pounds i.e 0.7 kilos. The version with 3G is 0.1 pounds heavier.

• The screen resolution is 1024×768

• It can playback 720p HD video, though video output to external sources is limited to 480p. • It has the same oleophobic coating that made its debut on the iPhone 3GS.

So, if you are looking for something you can carry effortlessly for reading e-books, Music, Video, Image handling, then the iPad is definitely the Gadget you are looking for!