Launch of the Apple iPadThe long-awaited launch of Apple's new product in the "i" range was launched yesterday in San Francisco and was met with mixed reaction from the technology community. The new touchscreen tablet device, known as the Apple iPad has been launched in the US and will cost you anything from $500 and beyond for the privilege! The device, which looks like a larger version of the iPod touch, will come with both WiFi and 3G wireless data. Users will be able to surf the Internet, check email and watch videos on the iPad, among other features. Dubbed as the device that could bridge the gap between laptops and smartphones, Steve Jobs said the iPad is "so much more intimate than a laptop, so much more capable than a smartphone.". But are our backpacks heavy enough with all our current gadgets and gizmos? The iPad has a 9.7-inch capacitive, fingerprint-resistant touchscreen display, is 0.5 inches thick, weighs 1.5 lbs. and sports a 1 GHz processor built by Apple. The device has built-in speakers and a microphone, but no camera, and can get up 10 hours of battery life when surfing the Web on WiFi. The iPad syncs to PCs and Macs like iPhones do, and users can upload photos, videos and contacts in much the same way as they do for the iPhone. But the question is, "Is there room for a third category of device in the middle, something that's between a laptop and smartphone," Jobs said. "Those devices are going to have to be far better at doing some key tasks. What kind of tasks? Well, things like browsing the web, doing e-mail, enjoying and sharing photographs, watching videos, playing games." Some analysts were skeptical of the market for such a device. "My question is how big of a market this is, and it's probably reasonably big," Michael Yoshikami, an analyst at YCMNet Advisors, told Bloomberg. "I'm still getting my hands around how many people are going to want something of this size." Steve Jobs of Apple was pleased to unveil their latest new product:
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