Apple chief executive Steve Jobs revealed the company's eagerly awaited tablet computer today, promising that the iPad would give users "the best web experience you've ever had.", according to dpa. Saying that there was room for a third device between a laptop and a smartphone, Jobs demonstrated the new device at a launch event in San Francisco. Comparing the iPad to a larger version of the company's genre- defining iPhone, Jobs said the device would feature a 9.7-inch (24.6- cm) multi-touch screen and specialize in common tasks like browsing the web, email, video, music and picture tasks, as well as playing games and reading ebooks. "If there's going to be a third category, it has to be better at these tasks - otherwise it has no reason for being," he said. Jobs said the device was just 1 cm thin, weighed 680 grams, had battery life of 10 hours in use and over one month on standby and would come with a 16 GB flash hard drive. Able to connect to the thousands of applications already available for the iPhone, the iPad also functions as a game playing device through the use of its built-in accelerometer. The device's use as a newspaper reader was demonstrated by New York Times digital chief Martin Nisenholtz. He said that the application developed in three weeks, "captured the essence of reading a newspaper" while also offering features like instant video clips.
