Apple has officially introduced the iPad tablet computer. The iPad is designed to be a revolutionary device for browsing the web, reading and sending e-mail, viewing photos, watching movies, listening to music and reading e-books. The $500 base iPad includes a high-resolution Multi-Touch display and is just .5” thick and will be available in late March. The iPad is powered by a custom 1GHz Apple “A4” chip and includes built-in WiFi and optional 3G wireless. The 1.5-pound device boasts a 9.7” screen (1024 x 768) and a battery life of 10 hours. The iPad is managed by iTunes and just like an iPhone, it can run all of the various applications found at Apple’s App Store too.
iPad runs almost all of the over 140,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for your iPhone® or iPod touch®. The iTunes® Store gives you access to the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 11 million songs, over 50,000 TV episodes and over 8,000 films including over 2,000 in stunning high definition video. Apple also announced the new iBooks app for iPad, which includes Apple’s new iBookstore, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile device. The iBookstore will feature books from major and independent publishers.