Apple announces the iPad, changes the course of history

Today at 10:00AM PST, hundreds of thousands of eyes were glued to computer screens as Steve Jobs made one of the most anticipated announcements in Apple history: the iPad. Some might giggle or scoff at the name, but that’s where the snark stops. The hardware and software had event attendees up on their feet applauding. Before we get into a deep run-down of the device, here are some specs you need to know right off the bat (we’ll continue updating these if there are move developments):

• 0.5″ thick and 1.5lbs light
• 9.7″ IPS display, capacitive multitouch touchscreen
• Built-in accelerometer, mic, 30-pin connector, 802.11n Wi-Fi, compass, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• 10 hours of battery life and one month standby time!
• 1GHz Apple A4 processor
• 16GB, 32GB and 64GB Flash storage

On top of all this, the iPad will run the applications you already have for the iPhone. It can appear on the screen one of two ways: pixel for pixel accuracy in a black box or pixel double it and run the application in full screen. Typing on the iPad was made to look like a breeze with a large software keyboard that pops up on the screen when typing is required. That ought to give you all a taste of things to come as the event is still very much in progress, so we’ll get back to you with more details very soon!