Apple today introduced the iPad. The 0.5′-thick tablet weighs 1.5 lbs. and touts a 9.6′ LCD (IPN) display. It features built-in Bluetooth and 802.11n connectivity, accelerometer, and compass and will be available in sizes from 16GB to 64GB. It uses a proprietary 1GHz Apple processor; the battery is purported to feature up to 10 hours of runtime (or at least a month of standby). Most existing apps in the Apple App Store are supported, although they’ll run either as a tiny box in the center of the screen or in a 2:1 pixel-doubled mode.

So we now know what PA Semi-conductor has been working on since Apple purchased them in April 2008. The 1Ghz A4 chip is the main processor of the new iPad, and from the Demonstration seems to be very efficient and powerful. Especially with the iPad having a 10 Hour active life, and a 30 day standby mode…

$499 for 16GB of iPad. That’s the base model. 32GB is $599, 64GB is $799. 3G models cost an extra $130. $629, 729, and 829 with 3G.

I am impressed… Will I run out and purchase it, not right now. But I suspect once there is a round of price drops, that I will be in the line to purchase it. I suspect without the 3G built-in, but that would certainly be a nice feature to have.

There are still plenty of questions to get the answers for. What ebook format does the iPad support (MDB, PDF, HTML, Mobi, PDB)? What DRM is on the eBooks? According to CNBC information, it appears that they are supporting the ePub ebook standard.

The size appears to be equivalent to a 8.5×11 sheet of paper (roughly)… And the weight seems to be dead-on (1.5 lbs).

But I believe this moves Apple solidly into the tablet market…

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