Apple has posted video of Steve Jobs unveiling the iPad. It’s available in QuickTime and MPEG-4 formats — Low, Medium, or High.

The presentation is also available as a podcast through iTunes. Here’s the iTunes link.

The backlash against the iPad was inevitable and predictable. The lack of a hard keyboard was enough to send most geeks into a fit. But the backlash against the iPad is particularly vicious and visceral.

The word “iTampon” is the #2 worldwide trending topic on Twitter right now.

“This thing sucks. Anyone who buys it is a moron,” says one commenter at Engadget.

Some sites, particularly Gizmodo, are going the extra mile in iPad-bashing.

“My god, am I underwhelmed by the iPad,” says Gizmodo’s Adam Frucci. “This is as inessential a product as I’ve ever seen, but beyond that, it has some absolutely backbreaking failures that will make me judge anyone who buys one.”

But similar reactions greeted the iPhone, the iPod and the original iMac (no keypad, closed system, no floppy), and look what happened to them. They’re just the most popular smartphone, MP3 player and single model of a PC ever built.

Thing is, the last people to ask about the iPad are geeks. This isn’t a product built for them. They’re WAY too in the weeds. They can’t get over the lack of camera, multasking or Flash. But ask my wife about the iPad and Flash and she’ll look at you like you’re speaking in tongues.

As we predicted, the iPad is Steve Jobs’ “computer for the rest of us.” It’s a natural successor to the original Mac, which introduced the GUI to PCs – and was derided by geeks as a “toy.” But look around, the GUI kinda caught on.

The iPad is not for geeks. It’s for ordinary people who want a lightweight computer and are sick of computer headaches. This is a machine you’d buy for your grandmother and not have to worry about tech-support.

Yeah, you relinquish some control — which is something PC fans have always hated about Macs — but most ordinary people are grateful not to think about file systems, software installers and virus definitions.

The iPad is the first computer for people who are completely computer illiterate — and there’s millions of them.

Earlier on we gave you a post crammed full of iPad hardware pics. But now, some software:

See that iTunes UI? A little bit different. What’s that slider at the top left? Thicker, chunkier controls. I might write a whole post about that.

Here’s the App Store. Looks very familiar.

Someone at Apple really seems really thrilled with the whole modular-approach thing; just like they’ve done with iWork, Apple is selling the iPad in pieces. Take what you want, leave the rest.

The nifty keyboard dock above is a good example of this concept. Heavy typists — like us journos — can plop down the extra money, while the game-playing, movie-watching user can save a little dough. Of course, there’s no SD card slot, USB port or video-out either, all baubles Apple is happily hawking: the USB/SD adapters come together in what Apple is calling a “camera kit,” and a VGA-to-dock connector is required for video-out.

There’s also a really pretty, portfolio-looking iPad case that doubles as a stand. No word on pricing for any of these goodies yet.

Right now, only the people who were at the event have actually touched the iPad. So what are they saying about it?

Comedian and author Stephen Fry said on Twitter:

Ryan Block from GDGT told TWiT: “It’s heavy.” He picked it up and felt it was bulky in comparison to other tablet-like devices. He still liked it, though.

Elsewhere on TWiT, another contributor (sorry, I wasn’t fast enough to pick out who it was, it might have been Andy Ihnatko), said it was fast. It kept up with his finger movements without any fuss at all. The page-turning felt like actual page-turning. That’ll be the A4 chip doing its thing, then.

Seen any other comments by people who have Actually Touched the iPad? Shout in the comments.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGiUoXB6IV4&feature=player_embedded

Jonny Ive is on top form in this iPad introductory video from Apple.

“It’s true,” he starts the video by saying. “When something exceeds your ability to understand how it works, it sort of becomes magical. And that’s exactly what the iPad is.”

BTW: There’s a higher res version on Apple’s homepage, but it’s taking a while to load.

A lot of people following the Steve Jobs iPad keynote this morning weren’t convinced about the device until he mentioned the price: $499.

All of sudden, people wanted to buy three of them.

The price is the big news here. Everyone was expecting it to cost $700 to $1,000 — Apple makes pricey products, right?

But there’s no “Apple tax” on the iPad. This thing is priced to move, and they’re going to sell boatloads of them. And not just to Apple fans — the iPad will attract scores of Windows switchers.

Go to any Apple store and you’ll see heaving throngs of shoppers checking out Apple’s goods. A lot of them are Windows users shopping for a new home machine to replace an aging Windows box. They’re sick of the headaches and want an alternative.

The iPad is that alternative. It’s not an extra gadget, a luxury for someone who already has an iPhone and a laptop. It’s a replacement for that laptop — a true alternative.

And at $499, it’s also an alternative to the Kindle, cheapo netbooks and even Apple’s own MacBooks.

The iPad+ keyboard dock = cheap MacBook. It’s half the price of Apple’s cheapest MacBook, and a third of the MacBook Air.

Steve Jobs is a ballsy guy. He’s probably the ballsiest CEO in the U.S. right now. Who else would undercut their own laptop line — which are Apple’s most popular and most profitable computers — with a brand new device that costs half the price?

But this is how Jobs rolls. He killed the popular iPod Mini and replaced it with the iPod Nano. He’s undercutting the entire iPod line with the iPod Touch. He’s a forward-looking guy, and the iPad is a forward-looking computer.

OK folks, now for some picture pornography. This post is hardware; later on, we’ll do a gallery of software-related stuff. Keep the comments coming. Don’t be shy now: will you buy? Will you buy two? Does this compete with netbooks?

Although John Gruber over at Daring Fireball predicted it a couple weeks ago, I think most of us were shocked when it turned out that Apple’s newly announced iPad tablet didn’t have a forward mounted camera.

After all, why not? With an entry-level price and a $29.95 unlimited 3G coverage plan, the iPad seems like it would afford a perfect solution for mobile video calling. Hell, even if it didn’t have those things, surely it would be just as good as, say, a MacBook in letting people play around in Photo Booth. Right?

No. I think Apple knew what they were doing here. Unless it’s mounted in the iPad keyboard dock accessory, the iPad is going to be predominantly used in a below eye-level position. What that means is that a forward fronted web cam would need to point upwards at a slant to capture a human face.

So what, our lithe and muscular long-necked readers ask? Two words: double chin. Or three words, if you prefer: double triple chins.

One of the most crucial announcements of today’s iPad introduction was the launch of iBooks, Apple’s e-reading application, which has a bundled iBookstore that allows users to purchase e-books on the go. By all accounts, the experience is compelling and fun.

But there’s a big question here around content access. Though Steve Jobs listed off about 8 book publishing partners for the platform, he didn’t mention access to a specific book store partner like Borders, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble. And that’s pretty troubling. Even though Apple’s going with the open-source ePub format, which means books from Barnes & Noble should work, there’s no direct mechanism yet for connecting the two, and the import experience remains to be seen.

And I’m not confident in Apple’s ability to populate an amazing bookstore on their own. The movie selection of iTunes leaves a lot to be desired, and I fear the same for books without a partner on-board who really knows the field. Janky as the Amazon Kindle is, its library selection is unmatched.

iBookstore: Slamdunk or Slamflop? You decide!

Always fun to see long-term Apple design language tics show up in brand new products. The wedge shape of the iPad in its case set up for horizontal typing is making me remember the Apple IIc. Pretty rad.

Image via Recycled Goods

When I was a kid, there were lots of gaming platforms, but several failed due to existing IP. A prime example is the Commodore 128. Commodore touted the computer’s C64 compatibility as a major plus, but it meant no-one created C128 games, because loads of C64 ones already existed. The same, to some extent, went for the Amstrad CPC, which got loads of duff ports from the ZX Spectrum, due to some shared architecture. I wonder how iPad will fare. Apple’s device not only resembles a giant iPod touch—it also runs almost all existing App Store content. You get apps sitting centrally in the screen or ‘pixel doubled’.

With nearly 30 million iPhones and millions of iPod touches in the wild, and many thousands of games available, I wonder how many devs will target iPad, and how many will just continue developing for Apple’s already popular handhelds. If the former happens—and developers take a punt, hoping Apple’s new device will become as successful as iPhone and iPod touch—you end up with another top-quality gaming platform from out of nowhere. If not—which could so easily be the case—iPad will be a pretty device playing games that look OK, but were ultimately designed for another system. Here’s hoping the former’s the case.

This article originally appeared on Revert to Saved.

We’ve told you everything we know about the iPad so far. But when will you be able to buy it?

Well, the official page is here, and according to Apple, here are the release dates:

The WiFi version will be shipping in late March.

The 3G version will be shipping domestically in April.

International carriers will unveil contract plans in June.

You can sign up to be notified when one is on order here.

Phew. It’s all over. And a new era has begun.

Ladies and gentlemen: Say hello to iPad. It will cost you $499. Even the most expensive model is $829. The WiFi version ships in late March, the 3G in April

Here’s an overview of everything we know so far.

With most pay apps in the App Store running at $0.99 could most apps for the iPad be $9.99?

iWork for iPad will be $9.99 per app. That means you can have at Pages, Keynote, and Numbers for under $35.

With developers delivering quality content at such a low price point, can we see the same low prices if this low priced iPad becomes widely adopted?

I say it’s $10 for an app and $30 for a Grand Theft Auto Irish Mafia.

One little details Apple just mentioned at the iPad Media Event is the technology they are using in the display.

Viewing angle on a lap based media device like this is an issue, obviously… for example, if you have a loved one watching a movie next to you on your iPad when on the couch.

Apple just announced that while their display is LED (and not OLED, which makes sense — for $499, that price is just a pipe dream, given the price of OLED panels right now) they use IPS technology to maximize viewing angle.

That stands for in-plane switching. Here’s the Wikipedia article about how it all works. But it’s a good thing.

Although the iPad is clearly aimed at taking down netbooks and e-readers, make no mistake: it’s also taking a secondary aim at your television.

Now let’s just see an iTunes movie store revamp to capitalize on the off-angle viewing excellence of the LED + IPS display.

[image via Gizmodo]

Typing on a capacitive touchscreen like the iPad when it’s completely flush with the table isn’t the most ergonomic of solutions, and the screen is certainly not in a position we’re used to looking at while typing, so Steve Jobs has just announced the iPad Dock.

“When you really need to do a lot of typing, this is the way to go. If you’ve got to write War and Peace, just plug your iPad in,” said Jobs.

He hasn’t announced a price, but providing this is cheap enough, this could do wonders to replace my netbook as my road writing warrior machine.

The question is: will the iPad support a mouse as well?

[image via GDGT]

[polldaddy poll=”2603845″]

Prices for the new device: 32GB for $599 and 64GB for $699 (Wi-Fi only version),
Shell out an extra $130 for 3G-capable models — so $629, $729 and $829.

Is the price right? Is the iPad a must-have or wait-and-see device?

Despite the rumblings that both Apple and AT&T were ready to see the end of each other’s exclusivity deal, Jobs just announced that the iPad will be an AT&T exclusive.

Two great plans: for up to 250MB transfer every month, it’s only $14.99 a month.

Wasnt unlimited? AT&T will cover you for $29.99.

The big news! No frickin’ contract. Cancel anytime. Does this mean no subsidies?

Also, you get free use of AT&T WiFi hotspots, like the iPhone.

The network card uses new GSM micro sims, according to Jobs.

International contracts will be available in June. Sorry, rest of the world! The USA gets it first.

[image via GDGT]

iWork for iPad will be attractive to corporate users – another sly way for apple to get into the corpspace.

Oh, suck it, Amazon.

In demonstrating the iPad’s new slick iBooks e-book reading application, it was explicitly stated that the iPad uses the free, open e-book standard, ePub format.

This is a surprisingly rare but welcome move for Apple in embracing a non-proprietary media format.

ePub doesn’t mean no DRM, but it does mean you’ll be able, if only through third party Apps, to transfer your own books from other devices.

Jeff Bezos has got to be nursing a migraine right now.

[image via Gizmodo]

After showing all of the cool new App demos, Jobs took the stage and quipped:

“Isn’t it awesome? And these guys only had two, two and a half weeks to work on this thing. Imagine what they’re going to do in the next few months.”

This may be reading into things, but that may well mean the iPad won’t be out for a few months… i.e. not the March 1st release being rumored right now.

[image via Gizmodo]

The arrival of the iPad and the subsequent cheeping, chittering, cooing, peeping, chirupping and tweeting has blown a fuse on microblogging service Twitter.