The Apple Event today has finally paid off! Steve Jobs has announced that their new gadget is the Apple iPad.

UPDATE: Hmmm, the event seems to be over (or at least moved on to hands-on demonstrations), but so far, no word on how it accepts calls.

UPDATE: And there it is folks. iPad’s will start off at $499 each in the United States.

UPDATE: Plans with AT&T can be activated right from the iPad itself. No binding contracts – all plans are prepaid. This means that any user can opt out of AT&T at any time.

UPDATE: All iPad models will have WiFi, and most probably 3G. Data plans for the iPad will cost $14.99 per month for 250 MB of data, and $29.99 for unlimited data goodness.

UPDATE: Apple is planning to chuck out the individual iWork applications for $9.99 each. We wonder how the public will react to that, but considering that iPad’s iWork does a great slew of tasks, it might actually be reasonable.

UPDATE: Whoa! it looks like the iPad will also include support for iWork, Apple’s very own proprietary business suite, much like Microsoft’s Office suite.

UPDATE: iBooks will also have it’s own store, much like Apple’s app store and iTunes Music store. The iBooks Store is going to be accessible from the iPad – where you can purchase and download eBooks right into your iPad.

UPDATE: It looks like the iPad has an eBook reader that would seem to rival the Amazon Kindle. It’s called ‘iBooks‘.

The event had been showcasing a lot of the Apple iPad’s new features, including a very handy-looking application called ‘Brushes’, a handy app for graphic manipulation and creation – something that will be welcome in a gadget with as much screen as the iPad.

It also seems as if Apple has put in effort to make sure that the Apple iPad is suitable for gaming. After all, tilt the iPad on its side and you’ve got a perfect viewport for gaming. True enough, gaming developers Electronics Arts came in for demo, and showcased some simple games over the iPad, including Need for Speed Shift and a baseball game, possibly developed in coordination with MLB.

Stay tuned for more updates.

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