Apple iPad pictures

As reported yesterday (Apple Tablet to Be Released Tomorrow), Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, announced today that their newest product would be the iPad.

Many photos and pictures of the device have now become available from Apple themselves, and they show a tablet device which looks remarkably like a very large iPhone.

Apple iPad pictures

This machine is neither a laptop nor a mobile phone – but Apple hopes it will become the device of the future, bridging the gap between computers and mobiles.

Industry analysts have been a little skeptical so far, wondering whether people really need something between the devices that they already own.

Apple ipad pictures

Ipad pictures

The Apple iPad is going to be priced around $500 at its entry point, with higher end models more than $800. This represents a real challenge to Apple, as consumers will have to pay a premium to use the device and may wonder what added value, if any, they are getting from it.

Of course, loyal supporters of Apple and their products are calling this a redefinition of the entire tech world, but there are many more variables at work here. Apple has signed deals with major book companies – like Penguin – to allow readers to download eBooks from their new iBook store onto their machines.

This puts them in direct competition, however, with companies like Amazon, who manufacture the Kindle eBook reader. Are Apple setting themselves up for wars on a number of different fronts?