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Apple iPad

"We want to kick off 2010 by introducing a truly magical and evolutionary product today," said Chief Executive Steve Jobs at an event in San Francisco.

After months of speculation, Apple introduced the iPad, featuring a 9.7-inch touch screen display -- similar to the iPhone -- a 1GHz A4 chip, 16GB of memory, 32GB or 64GB of storage, 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, an accelerometer, compass, speaker and microphone and a battery life of 10 hours.

It also has a physical keyboard dock for typing, to charge the device, and even turn it into a picture frame or video viewer.

Apple said the first iPads will ship in 60 days, with 3G models taking another month. Prices range from $499 for the most basic model to $829 for 64GB of memory and 3G connectivity.

AT&T, Apple's long-time iPhone partner, is providing wireless service with two 3G plans for iPad owners -- up to 250MB of data for $15 a month, or $30 for unlimited data a month. AT&T said there will be no contract -- so buyers will be able to cancel the plan anytime. International wireless deals will be coming by June.

The iPad is connected to iTunes, allowing users to purchase songs and movies straight to the device and download apps, similar to the iPhone. Consumers with both products will be able to sync their apps across both devices.

"We think it's going to be a whole other gold rush for developers," said Scott Forstall, Apple's app division head.

But perhaps the most significant iPad application is its "iBooks" store, an electronic bookstore that will offer "enhanced" e-books with author interviews, videos and social-networking applications.

"We're going to open up the floodgates for the rest of the publishing world," said Jobs.

Apple said it would sell books in the open ePub format from five major publishers -- Hachette, Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Macmillan -- putting the device on a collision course with Amazon's Kindle e-reader.

Expectations for the iPad had been rising steadily since it became clear more than six months earlier that Apple was designing a new portable device. But the company actually started working on a tablet over a decade ago.

However, back then, executives couldn't figure out how consumers would use a device that lacked a traditional keyboard and mouse. And early designs, which used PC processors, drained the batteries far too quickly for practical use.

But leaps in technology have since made the tablet possible. In 2005, Apple bought Fingerworks, a company that develops computer interfaces based on gestures -- technology integrated into the iPhone and now, the iPad. And in 2008, Apple bought P.A. Semi, the semiconductor company behind the iPad's A4 processor.

In addition, the worldwide success of the iPhone paved the way for the iPad -- with buyers now more willing to pay to add third-party applications such as video games, music and e-book readers.