After weeks and even months of speculations, Apple has finally released their first ever tablet computer yesterday at San Francisco. And yes, it's not called the iSlate or iTablet, believe it or not, the new tablet is called the Apple iPad !! How interesting !

This very anticipated iPad weighs only 680g with only 0.5inch thick for a large form factor tablet. Imagine it as a bigger brother to your iPhone or iPod Touch and yes they worked almost the same way albeit the size differences.

What are the specs for this Apple iPad ? It runs on a custom 1GHz Apple A4 processor chip that handles both processing and graphics performance. It is also fully network capable with 802.11n WiFi and 3G connectivity.

It will ship with 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of Flash memory. Apple claims the device has up to 10 hours of battery life and that it can sit for a month on standby without needing a charge.

A big 9.7in LED backlit display (1,024 x 768-pixels) with multitouch capabilities and has a built-in accelerometer.

Interestingly the iPad syncs with a Mac or PC over the same 30-pin sync cable that the iPhone uses, so it can sync all your photos, music, videos and applications in the same manner.

Giving the Amazon Kindle a run for its money, the iPad also functions as an e-book reader, courtesy of Apple’s new iBooks application. The iPad will use Apple’s new iBookstore that will feature books from major and independent publishers.

The iPad comes in two versions — one with WiFi and the other with both WiFi and 3G.

It will go on sale in late March, with prices starting at US$499 (RM1,697) for WiFi-only models and up to US$829 (RM2,818) for the WiFi- and 3G-enabled 64GB model.

My verdict ?
PROS - With its larger size, the iPad's virtual keyboard comes a step closer than the iPhone's to replicating a real keyboard, with "keys" people can touch with two hands and all of their fingers.

CONS - The iPad is designed to run just one application on the screen at time and doesn't allow multitasking. It also lacks a built-in camera to take photos and video and the ability to play Flash-based content on web sites.