The Apple iPad is an Innovation to be Seen and Had

Steve Jobs did not disappoint with today’s unveiling of the latest Apple product – the iPad.

The specs:

• Models: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB (flash storage)
• Price: $499, $599 and $699, respectively (add-on another $130 if you want both Wi-Fi and 3G)
• 1GHz Apple A4 chip
• Wireless: 802.11n, WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1
• 10 hours of battery life
• 1.5 pounds
• .5 inches thick
• 9.7 inch IPS display
• Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
• You can get full specs here

Unfortunately, for us the iPad will not be available for 60 or 90 days. Your wait is dependent on what model you wish to purchase. From today’s announcement, it seems that the 3G iPad’s will be shipping in April and the WiFi models will be shipping in late March. The good news is that a data plan is available for the 3G iPad’s – for 250MB per month the cost will be $14.99 a month. If you are a data hog, you can go for the unlimited plan that will run you $29.99 a month. The bad news is that AT&T will be servicing the data plan. The silver lining is that there will be no contract.

The iPad is service and feature rich we will be looking at an iBook Store, Maps, iPod, Notes, Contacts, Calendar, Spotlight Search, Safari, Mail, iWork, SDK for developers, YouTube (HD), Photos, iTunes and access to over 140, 000 apps from the App Store. As far as an input device – you can either use your index finger or the big beautiful on-screen keyboard.  In Apple fashion they already have the official iPad site up and running.

Below is the eight-minute video with Apple’s design and development team.