Steve Jobs is at it again. This time, he and his company, Apple Inc. have once again launched a new innovative product that is out of the box cutting-edge technology. While there have already been netbooks, smart phones and even digital book such as the Amazon Kindle, Steve and Apple have an even more brilliant idea. They combine all aspects of the already existing devices and pack them into one slim portable device which they call the iPad.

With an iPad, the user is not only capable of reading the e-books but also able to play sophisticated games such as Need For Speed Shift that is developed by the big name company, Electronic Arts, Inc. This is possible because the iPad has been equipped with a processor that seems to be more powerful than that equipped into a common netbook.

Long before, in the year 2001, Microsoft’s founder, Bill Gates, had already forecasted that such a tablet computer as iPad would become the trend in the world of consumer electronics in a period of 5 years. But unluckily for Microsoft and Gates, their project got stuck even though such big names as Compaq and Dell were behind the company to give it support.

However, it is a relief to the world that Steve Jobs stepped up to plate. With his artistic touch, he had actually obtained the rights to the technology in 2004. But the 5th September 2007 became the first time that he ever launched his first mini tablet computer, that is the iPod Touch. This is the real beginning of the iPad.

Steve mentioned that with the experience of Apple, Inc. of selling 75 million devices (iPhone and iPod Touch) they knew that people are indeed in need of the iPad. We could even see that Steve’s face was full of confidence and joy when he mentioned it at the launch of the iPad.

With a device that is sold with a price tag between $499 and $829, Steve Jobs, together with his beloved Apple, Inc. crew, has once again broken the rules and laid out the regulation that tends to limit people from being creative and innovative.

Going against the norm seems to be one of the things that Steve is really good at. Twenty five years ago, this was exactly what he did and he became the first person to revolutionize the computer. He became the person who came up with Silicon Valley right from his home. At the launch of iPod in 2001, he did sparked another revolution in the industry of music. While people are busy hijacking music in MP3 format, Steve was able to sell the MP3 music in mp4 format instead. Now, with his iPad, he seems to be challenging the Amazon Kindle.

However, it is up to the customers after all which one they will go for. It could be an iPad or it could be an iBust!

The long wait is finally over. After 8 years of rumors and speculations, Apple has finally opened the floodgates and announced the arrival of the Apple iPad.

Just how good is the Apple iPad, anyway?

Was the patient wait in vain, or are we being treated to yet another innovative product from the great Apple?

Most people would think that it’s a giant iPhone or iPod Touch, and they’re not wrong either. The design is almost identical except for the fact that it’s, well… BIGGER?

Other than the design, the look and feel of the operating system would be strangely familiar for iPhone and iPod owners. This is no surprise especially since the iPad is actually running on iPhone OS 3.2. Yup, that’s right. This doesn’t just look like a giant iPhone, it even runs on the same system!

That means anything you can run on your iPhone and iPod, you can run it here. Unfortunately, that also means no multitasking and no Flash capabilities. This is really a letdown, seeing it’s running on a 1GHz Apple A4 custom processor.

Everything runs incredibly fast due to the powerful yet underutilized processor on its gorgeous 1024 x 768 pixel resolution on a 9.7 inch screen. As expected of Apple, they made good use of their touch technology, although the virtual keyboard could have been made much more responsive.

The iPad will come in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB flash drives. It’s estimated to have a 10 hour battery life when used to surf the net, play music and watch videos. This is truly very impressive and perfect for those always on the go and do not have the luxury of having a place to plug in their charger wherever they go.

One very interesting implementation on the iPad is its ebook reader. This is possibly the closest thing you will get to reading a book without actually having the book in your hands. The combination of touch screen and page flipping animations makes reading an ebook on the iPad a unique experience not found elsewhere.

With the inclusion of the iBookstore, you will be sure to find plenty of ebooks to download and enjoy.

There has been an increase in the demand for portable ebook readers that allows you to carry it around and reading it like you would a normal book. Amazon had come up with their Kindle reader with moderate success. But Apple looks to dominate this market with their iPad and iBookstore. Unlike Amazon, Apple looks towards giving their users the experience – a common theme in all their products which have given them an extremely high level of success.

The iPad is set to be sold at $499-$699 and its 3G capable unit starting at $629-$829. The higher end 3G model is rather pricy, considering that a much more powerful Macbook costs $999. 

So the ultimate question comes down to this: is it worth getting an iPad?

It’s a rather tough question to answer, but if you’re always on the move and wish you had a bigger iPhone with you, then definitely get the iPad when it finally gets shipped to stores in March.