Click Here to watch the event

Not a Netbook and not a Tablet, Apple has made their own new device. I would agree with those that liken it to an iPhone/iPod Touch on steroids. I’ve seen many complaints about this already in that it isn’t a full fledged computer, but this device isn’t meant to be. However, I can see many scenarios where the device can be handy. I personally use my current laptop most of the time for basic surfing on the internet, email, facebook, remote login of computers, etc. I can still do all of those with the iPad as I have apps on my iPhone that cover all of those areas. This would also be great to throw into your suitcase on a vacation to do some browsing on the hotel wireless without having to lug around a laptop.

It has some pretty cool specs in a small casing. All of which can be read here. The most notable is the fact that it is now using an Apple A4 1GHZ processor. This is the first processor that Apple has come out with since buying out a processor manufacturing company. It is supposedly low powered enough to get 30 days of standby time and 10 hours of video playback. That is pretty impressive. It makes me wonder if the next iPhone will have a simular chip. I do not expect an iPhone to get that much power as the iPad because of a smaller battery, but it would be nice to get at least 2-3 days on standby and more talk time.

One limitation that people are complaining about already, is the ability to run multiple applications at the same time. I personally think that this could change by the time the iPad starts shipping in 60 days. I think this event was to show off the hardware and give an idea of what it can do. I think within that 60 day time frame we’ll see another announcement like this that will focus on iPhone OS 4.0. At that announcement multitasking could be announced as a new feature for the iPad and even the iPhone. It is right now a limitation of the OS and not the hardware. This is just my speculation.

Another speculation I have from this about iPhone OS 4.0, is that the iPad allows you to choose your own wallpaper for the home screen. I could see this also coming for the iPhone as I know it is a requested feature that jailbreakers always like to show off.

The pricing is also much better than I thought it would be. I had heard rumors of $600 and I thought they might start there, but other rumors even said $1000. The wifi models are available for $499, $599, and $699. For people who also want the ability to use a 3G network connection they can pay $30 more on those prices and get a version that allows you to pop in a sim card and get a data plan from a GSM carrier. (AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S.)

The video of the event will be posted on Apple’s website later today, and I’ll post a link here.

All the text and some photos of the event can be viewed here at the link I posted earlier

I think it looks like a great product that will probably do well for Apple. I don’t think I need one as of now, but that might change when I finally get one in my hands.

Here is Apple’s Product Page for the iPad

The event starts in roughly 30 minutes. If anyone would like to follow along, engadget will have live text coverage.

The actual video fo the event will be online later this evening.

This has been rumored for the last couple of weeks, but now it is official. Apple has sent out an invite to an event on the 27th with the tagline “Come See Our Latest Creation” It shows paint splatters in different colors with the Apple logo in the middle. There have been 4 main rumors as to what will be announced at this event.

The big one of course has been a new Apple tablet computer. This tablet has been a rumor for a few years now, so it will be interesting to see if Apple finally comes out with one. It is rumored to be running a modified version of the iphone OS and will tie into the app store.

Another rumor is that iLife ‘10 will be announced and will include a photoshop type application. That could go with the paint splatters in the invite. New versions of iLife have been typically announced at this time of year, so it is very possible. I’m also looking forward to seeing what updates they make with iPhoto, iMovie, and Garageband.

The last two rumors are iPhone related. This seems a little too early right now for iPhone news, but it is possible. The first is that iPhone OS 4.0 will get announced and demoed. It is possible that it will have some very radical changes, so this would get developers ready to have their apps updated by the typical June/July launch time for the OS. Not much is out there as far as what will be new with the OS, but I know many want a new notification system that matches close to the Palm Web OS and Google’s Android. Also, the ability to run more than one application at the same time besides Apple’s.

Finally, is the new iPhone model. This would be a very early time to announce the next iPhone as that usually happens in June, a few weeks before the actual launch date. However, it has been rumored that the next iPhone could be released as early as April/May this year. The speculation there is a dual core processor, hybrid gsm/cdma chip (so it possibly could work on all U.S. cell phone carriers), and the always front facing camera rumors. I also think we will see a 32GB and 64GB models which is an upgrade I can use right now as my 16GB is pretty much full. The front facing camera has been a rumor for the last two years. I think it is a great idea, but I’m not sure if cell phone carriers would want that as it would eat up a lot of bandwidth on their networks.

One of the reasons I read on the May launch, which could make sense, is that the AT&T exclusivity contract is rumored to expire this year. They could come out with the new iPhone in May on AT&T to get people to renew their contracts for two more years and stay with AT&T. Then in June/July they will launch the iPhone on another U.S. carrier. Most likely T-Mobile, as the current iPhone is not compatible with Sprint/Verzion, unless it gets that hybrid chip previously mentioned.

Here is a mockup that someone made of what they think the new iPhone could look like.

Here’s for hoping that Unreal Tournament gets a proper port soon.

Anandtech spent some time with Epic Games’ Mark Rein last week and was shown a demo of the Unreal Engine 3 running on a 3rd Generation iPod Touch. The demo included a flythrough as well as a playable level from Unreal Tournament.
It’s using a modified Unreal Tournament level previously shown off at GDC. A virtual thumbstick on the left side of the screen controls your movement, while tracking your thumb in the lower right corner of the screen controls the camera. Just tap the screen to shoot. Mark said this is a tech test bed and they’re experimenting with several different control schemes including ones with tilt.

The Unreal Engine 3 is a modern 3D gaming engine which powers games such as Bioshock, Gears of War and Unreal Tournament 3.