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Johannesburg - Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled has his company's latest creation on Wednesday. The iPad is a tablet computer that resembles a large iPhone.
Jobs introduced the iPad to an audience gathered in San Francisco for the event as a device positioned in-between the iPhone and Macbook laptops.
The iPad has a 9.7-inch (24.6cm) touch screen, is a half-inch (1.25cm) thick, weighs 680g and comes with 16, 32 or 64 gigabytes of flash memory storage.
The iPad features an operating system similar to the iPhone and is compatible with most of the applications available in Apple's app store already.
Apple also introduced the iBooks store that can be used to download and read e-books thanks to agreements struck with several major publishing houses. The New York Times also displayed an application for reading an enhanced, electronic version of the paper.
Jobs announced a partnership with American cellular company AT&T that will allow iPad owners to make free use of AT&T WiFi hotspots throughout the USA or purchase 3G data at $14.99 (R114) for 250MB or unlimited data for $29.99 per month. Jobs added that international carriers would introduce similar packages within months.
Pricing on the iPad starts at $499 (R3 800) - far below the $1 000 that some analysts were expecting - for the entry level model with WiFi and 16GB of internal memory and ranges up to $829 for a 64GB version with WiFi and 3G. Initial accessories include a clip-on keyboard and desk stand.
According to Jobs the iPad would be available internationally within 60 days for the WiFi models and 90 days for those with 3G.
Apple's share price rose 0.94 percent to close at $207.88.
- Fin24.com
