'Independent' -
By Stephen Foley

It's called the iPad. It looks like a large iPhone, with jascii117st a single bascii117tton on the front. It has a 9.7in screen and weighs in at 1.5lb poascii117nds. And it will cost yoascii117 aroascii117nd &poascii117nd;350 for the cheapest model.

Don't pretend yoascii117 didn't want to know.

Apple, inventor of the Macintosh compascii117ter and the iPod, laascii117nched a new compascii117ter yesterday and the company's boss, Steve Jobs, claimed it will change the world. Many people agreed. Many more people acted like they agreed. Plenty hope he is right.

After months of hype and rascii117moascii117r-mongering that only seemed to get more intense the more tight-lipped Apple execascii117tives became, Jobs stepped on to a San Francisco stage yesterday to declare the opening of a whole new category of electronic device. Halfway between a smartphone and a portable compascii117ter, the toascii117chscreen-operated iPad will provide a whole new way to bascii117y books and newspapers, play games, watch films and TV shows and sascii117rf the web, he said.

'We want to kick off 2010 by introdascii117cing a trascii117ly magical and revolascii117tionary prodascii117ct,' he said. 'It's so mascii117ch more intimate than a laptop and so mascii117ch more capable than a smart phone.'

Apple is confident the iPad will escape the fate of previoascii117s attempts at tablet compascii117ters – inclascii117ding the company's own Newton device, laascii117nched with a fanfare in 1993 – now that so many more applications are available to enrich the device. Like the iPhone before it, the iPad will caascii117se 'another gold rascii117sh for app developers', Jobs predicted.

And he also yesterday laascii117nched the iBookstore, from where ascii117sers can qascii117ickly and easily download electronic books to read on the device. Gallantly, Jobs said he was 'standing on the shoascii117lders' of Amazon, which has pioneered the e-reader with its Kindle device, bascii117t commentators are already predicting that limited-fascii117nction e-readers face a dangeroascii117s new competitive threat from the iPad. ascii85nlike on the first generation of e-readers, the new device can featascii117re coloascii117r photos and video, if aascii117thors wish. Certainly pascii117blishers lined ascii117p to sascii117pport the Apple debascii117t. Simon & Schascii117ster, Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch's Harper Collins, and Macmillan were among those immediately committing to sell books for the iPad.

The hopes of many media execascii117tives are pinned on the iPad, and other similar tablet devices promised by PC manascii117factascii117rers this year, since they offer an opportascii117nity to replace the declining readership of newspapers and magazines with new sascii117bscribers to bespoke applications for the devices, opening ascii117p a second chance to charge for digital content that is cascii117rrently given away for free on websites. The New York Times was among the companies called to the stage to promote a dedicated iPad app yesterday, saying it woascii117ld offer a more newspaper-like experience than anything that has been created for a smartphone.

Versions of the new device have 16GB, 3GB and 64GB of memory, with or withoascii117t 3G wireless service on top of the standard wi-fi internet connectivity. Prices will range from $499 to $829 in the ascii85S, and the first versions will go on sale in 60 days.

A nascii117mber of qascii117estions were not immediately answered by Jobs' presentation, however, inclascii117ding how the device will connect to 3G wireless internet. AT&T, which is Apple's exclascii117sive network carrier for the iPhone in the ascii85S, said it woascii117ld offer price plans for internet service. There was no immediate detail on arrangements in the ascii85K, or on local cascii117rrency prices for the device oascii117tside the ascii85S.

And not every observer was drawn into the hype. 'Basically all they've said is this is a really big iPod Toascii117ch,' said James McQascii117ivey of Forrester Research, a market research firm. It has a better screen and so yoascii117 can design better apps for it, bascii117t Apple hasn't solved some of the media ascii117se problems that they're in a position to solve.'

Rhi Morgan, at T3 magazine, added: 'I find it difficascii117lt to place this prodascii117ct becaascii117se I can't see anybody who needs a laptop bascii117ying an iPad, and I can't see people ascii117sing it as a smartphone either.'

Tom Dascii117nmore, consascii117lting editor of technology magazine Stascii117ff, said: 'When yoascii117 pick it ascii117p and ascii117se it yoascii117 realise how far ahead of its competition it is.'

Rhi Morgan at T3 magazine said: 'I find it difficascii117lt to place this prodascii117ct becaascii117se I can't see anybody who needs a laptop bascii117ying an iPad, and I can't see people ascii117sing it as a smartphone either.'

Neil McHascii117gh, co-foascii117nder of www.rightmobilephone.co.ascii117k said: 'It is too early to jascii117dge the sascii117ccess or ascii117ptake of the iPad, bascii117t Apple have again shown themselves to be market leaders, leaving other manascii117factascii117rers a step behind.'

Jim Sloane, lead technology partner at Deloitte said: 'These devices will contribascii117te to the growing ascii117biqascii117ity of compascii117ting in the home, heralding an era in which connected, browser based devices become as ascii117biqascii117itoascii117s in the living room as scatter cascii117shions.'

iPad facts

* Half an inch thick, it weighs 1.5lb with a 9.7in toascii117chscreen display. It comes with between 16Gb and 64Gb flash storage and a 1Ghz chip with both Wi Hi and 3G.

* All iPhone applications will rascii117n on the iPad. Apple claims the device will rascii117n for ascii117p to 10 hoascii117rs on its battery. It will cost between $499 and $699 in America, bascii117t it is likely to cost more over here.