Steve Jobs is currently presenting the new iPad, which he says is not a netbook.  He says that the net books have “slow, low-quality displays and run PC software.  They’re not better than a laptop at anything, just cheaper.  We don’t think they’re the third device.”  In other words, the iPad is.  It is described as a much bigger iPhone with a keypad that appears much like it does on the iPhone, which Jobs demonstrates by typing on while it sits on his lap.  Jobs says that surfing the web on the iPad is the “best browsing experience you’ve ever had.”

What about the hardware, you ask?  “A half inch thin. Weighs just 1.5 pounds. Thinner and lighter than any netbook. 9.7 inch IPS display. Super high quality using IPS technology so you get great angle of view. Full capacitive multi-touch. 1GHz Apple A4 chip (Gruber laughs). Most advanced chip they’ve ever done; processor, graphics, I/O, and everything in one chip. 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of flash solid state storage.”

Things You’ll Love:

- 10 hours of battery life, one month on standby

- arsenic-free, PVC-free, mercury-free and highly recyclable

- you can run apps at iPhone size or tap them twice and they “blow up” to full screen

- grab metadata from your Mac or PC desktop

- websites like the NY Times can be manipulated by changing the number of columns, resizing text and watching embedded videos

- seamless transition for apps like MLB At Bat (below) – “like holding an HDTV inches from your face that’s fully touch enabled”

Favorite quote so far: “People don’t like the iPad name but I think the connotations you’re thinking of will drift away,” Jobs says, “iPod didn’t mean anything either, but here we are.”

Here’s my question: There is no doubt that this is an awesome product, but are you going to carry it around with your iPhone and MacBook?  In what circumstances do you need all three?

Source: Mac World live updates

Photo courtesy of Gizmodo

Apple announced today that it will be holding a press conference to introduce their newest “creation” on January 27th.  Could it be, the mythical Apple Tablet, is finally going to be seen by the public?  For more baseless assertions, you can check out the full Gizmodo article by Kat Hannaford and follow the event live on January 27th.