-- prices start at $499, and go higher for more capability; that's much lower than anyone predicted. Two data plans available through AT&T, one as low as $30 per month
-- first models will be shipped in 60 days
-- bookstore called iBooks includes offerings from publishers including Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Hachette. Sample book was priced at $15, signaling the pricing revolution noted earlier on Read Street.
-- book reading experience looks very simple and clean -- I love the faux shelf; here's a video from Gizmodo. (ditto for newspapers and magazines)
-- slick design mimics the minimalist Apple design of the iPhone and iPod Touch.
-- can bring an "almost life-size" keyboard onto the screeen
-- can watch TV shows and movies
-- access to email, music, photos and mapping
-- works in portrait and landscape modes
-- 1.5 pounds in weight, half-inch thin
-- 9.7 inch display -- will run almost every iPhone app
-- wi-fi on all models, 3G for an extra charge
An Apple moment: showing off the iPad's mapping feature by locating sushi restaurants near the San Francisco arts center where the news conference was taking place. "Looks like a giant iPhone," one commenter said.