It'll have a 9.7-inch IPS display, 1 GHz Apple A4 processor, come in flavors from 16 to 64 GB storage-wise, feature wireless N and Bluetooth 2.1 and 3G, and it'll be 0.5-inches thick and weigh 1.5 pounds. It'll also get 10 hours of battery life on a good day, apparently. Also, with a keyboard attachment, it stands up like a vertical laptop.

"But what about apps," you ask? Oh, it'll have apps. Apps you run that are designed for the iPhone will appear iPhone-sized on the display, though you can blow them up to two times their size. There will also be iPad support added to Apple's app development kit, which is happening today.

Apple has been showing off a few specific apps, such as games by Gameloft — a company that develops games ranging from movie ports to original properties — and from other outfits, including a score tracker for the MLB and a virtual version of the New York Times, which takes advantage of the iPad's roomy screen to preserve the layout. Something for magazine publishers to get excited about? Apple will also be offering iBooks (because everything looks better with an "i" in front of it) using the opensource epub format on its iBook Store.

Finally, what we've been waiting for — pricing! You can get your very own iPad starting at $499, with no contract. Good stuff. You'll still have to pay for data, though: "Unlimited data $29.99. 250MB for $14.99. Free use of AT&T WiFi. Activate on iPad. No contract. Cancel anytime."

The Wi-Fi iPad will ship worldwide in 60 days, with the 3G iPad launching in 90 days. What seems like a fully-loaded iPad — a 3G model with 64 GB of storage — will cost $829. Check out a full pricing breakdown via our Twitpic.

That's it for now, folks. Apple's got some iPads in the building for us to play with, though, so stay tuned for a hands-on.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has revealed details of the new iPad.

The tablet computer, which was unveiled at a press conference at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco today (January 27), will be able to run iPhone applications, play HD video, download music via iTunes and allow users to browse the internet.

"[It's] the best browsing experience you've ever had," Jobs said, adding that the device can also be used to read ebooks, newspapers and magazines using the new iBooks application.

Set to occupy a "third category" between smartphones and laptops, the product boasts a 9.7 inch screen and 10-hour battery life, and will utilise the new iTunes LP artwork, which is set to bring more of a graphical element back to downloaded music.

Available in late March, the price of the iPad will start at $499 (£310).

As previously reported, Terry McGraw, head of publishing company McGraw-Hill, revealed that the iPad was going to be based on the operating system of the iPhone.

"The tablet is going to be based on the iPhone operating system, and so it will be transferable," McGraw told CNBC. "We have a consortium of ebooks – we have 95 per cent of all our materials that are in ebook format on that one – so with the tabloid you're going to open up the higher education market, the professional market. The tabloid, the tablet is going to be just really terrific."

Calling its prediction a "no-brainer," market research firm IDC is claiming that Apple will introduce its long-awaited tablet device by the end of next year. In the just-released "Top 10 Predictions" report for 2010, IDC chief analyst Frank Gens writes that the endless rumors are indeed true: Apple's "iPad"--or whatever you want to call it--will debut within a year:

"The 'iPad' will finally arrive. Last year, we predicted that we would not see the then-rumored Apple tablet in 2009. This year, however, we predict that Apple will finally introduce this new device family, which is more of an oversized (8-inch, 10-inch iPod Touch than a downsized Mac — and if you look at the developer energy around the iPhone/Touch platform, this should be no surprise at all. This prediction is a no-brainer: there's enormous appeal in sizing up the iPhone/Touch for a variety of applications and activities that people already use those devices for but would jump at the chance to have a larger screen — watching videos/movies, reading books/magazines/newspapers (it would take a big bite from the Kindle), surfing the Web, videophone, and online gaming. Look for Apple's "iPad" by year-end 2010. Oh, and don't be surprised to see Microsoft also announce its own device in this space."

The IDC report (pdf) doesn't suggest an iPad's retail price, which is rumored to be anywhere from a netbook-like $500 to an outrageously steep (and suicidal) $2000. It does, however, abide by the popular wisdom that the tablet will be more iPod touch than MacBook, a hybrid entertainment device that addresses a bold new consumer market.

But it remains to be seen whether consumers want a large-screen (and probably pricey) media player/Web browser/e-reader when a 13-inch laptop would suffice, sans the coolness. The answer, I suppose, depends on just how cool--and useful--the Apple tablet turns out to be.

The iPad prediction is just one of many in the 19-page IDC report, which focuses mostly on IT issues. Here are a few interesting calls on consumer tech:

· By the end of 2010, more than 1 billion mobile devices will be accessing the Internet, boosted by the growing popularity of smartphones and the Apple tablet.

· The mobile software market will explode: We'll see a tripling of iPhone apps to 300,000; Android apps will quintuple.

· The strain on public data networks will worsen. Blame the expansion of cloud computing, the boom in mobile devices and apps, and the growing popularity of online video.

· Netbooks aren't going away. In fact, they'll grow ever more popular. Shipments will rise to 40 million in 2010, up from 30 million this year.