It will run the iPhone OS with a new UI. Included is a new e-book reading app called iBooks with a wireless online store. The company has partnered with Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, MacMillan and Hachett Book Group.

It will begin shipping in a couple of month’s time with prices starting at $499 and the 3G-equipped model costing an extra $150. The 16GB model will set you back for $499, you’ll need to add an extra $100 for the 32GB model and $200 for the 64GB version. Two data plans will be offered ($14.99 for 250MB or $29.99 for unlimited data) through AT&T. UK details haven’t been announced but expect details to be finalised by early summer.

Apple iPad Technical Specifications:

• Processor: 1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip
• Capacity: 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB flash drive
• Display: 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
  1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
• Battery and Power: Built-in 25Whr rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
  Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
  Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system
• Sensors: Accelerometer
  Ambient light sensor
• Input and Output: Dock connector
  3.5-mm stereo headphone jack
  Built-in speakers
  Microphone
  SIM card tray (Wi-Fi + 3G model only)
• Wi-Fi + 3G model:
  UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
  GSM/EDGE (850, 900,1800, 1900 MHz)
  Data only2
  Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n)
  Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology
• Dimensions: Height: 9.56 inches (242.8 mm)
  Width: 7.47 inches (189.7 mm)
  Depth: 0.5 inch (13.4 mm)
  Weight: 1.5 pounds (0.68 kg) Wi-Fi model;
  1.6 pounds (0.73 kg) Wi-Fi + 3G model

The OLED panel will be supplied by LG Display according to the report and will be 9.7-inches in size. The TFT LCD model will come with a 10.6-inch display and will be manufactured by Foxconn, Quanta and Pegatron Technology.

Looking at current OLED 9.7-inch display prices of $500, you can estimate that the tablet will have a total whopping cost of around $1,500 to $1,700 (panel costs typically account for around 30 percent of the device’s total cost). However, as prices are dropping all of the time, Apple is expected that the cost of the OLED model will be in the region of $1,200-1,500 by the time of release. This will lead to a retail price of around $2,000. The 10.6-inch TFT model is expected to be priced between $800 and $1000.

Personally, I’m surprised it has taken the company this long to take action, especially for a company that guards its IP so vociferously. There is a large number of users that use their beloved netbooks with Mac OS X as a genuine alternative to Windows & Linux distros.

The company has nothing to lose as it doesn’t manufacture any products using the Atom chip. If true, it would also highlight that the company has no such products on their roadmap. Does this mean the rumoured Apple tablet will not be powered by Intel’s low-power Atom line after all? It could mean that Apple will be designing its own ARM-based processor following the $278 million buyout of fabless chip designer P.A. Semi.

For those of you currently with Hackintosh netbooks, we’d suggest sticking with Mac OS X 10.6.1 until we have confirmation. The forthcoming Mac OS X 10.6.2 will update nearly 150 components of the operating system and address issues with the Dock, ColorSync, QuartzCore and graphic driver components.

Apple is apparently working with EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music and Universal Music Group on Cocktail in a move to revive interest in high-margin music albums, rather than single download tracks. The service will include bundling an interactive booklet (like you would find in traditional CD case) when purchasing a digital album. This would include sleeve notes and other interactive features. You would also be able to play songs directly from this booklet without going back to iTunes.

Little new news on the tablet was given. The report mentions a 10-inch touch-sensitive device, kind of like a larger iPod Touch. Previous rumours suggested a 2010 release for the device. There are now so many different stories on this it’s difficult to know how this device will shape up. The report says that it won’t be 3G enabled, yet will be great for watching movies. Others suggest it could be a competitor for the Kindle.

According to The Street, the Media Pad will basically be a 9 to 10-inch touchscreen device. It will be subsidised by Verizon and arrive in time for the holidays according to an unnamed source. The report suggests that a prototype has been ready for nearly a year now, whilst Apple has considered exactly what market it is targeting with this high cost device.

The Street suggests that with a Verizon subsidy, the cost of the Media Pad should be in line with $300 netbooks. This will come with a data-only contract.

So in essence what we are talking about here is an always-connected larger iPod type device. I’m still not sure how well this would sell, especially considering the fragility of a portable tablet device with 10-inch screen. However, I’m sure Apple’s burgeoning third party accessory market would have no problems finding a solution for that particular problem.

The story comes from The China Times, where it reports that Apple is trying to launch the device in time for the Christmas shopping season. It also says that Wintek will be providing the touch panels, whilst Foxconn will be manufacturing the tablet. Both of these names have been mentioned before in these rumours, adding to the likelihood of their involvement.

Instead of following the “current market trend (by producing netbooks with screens about 10.2 or 10.1 inches in diagonal length)” the report instead suggests Apple “will produce screens with about 9.7 inches in diagonal length.

The report goes on to say that is targeting a different market to that of netbook leaders, Asustek and Acer, hence the price premium. “Because Apple will adopt touch screen technology on its netbooks, Apple will not target low-end consumers,” said the (translated) report. Any new device near the $800 price range would nonetheless be significant for Apple, which has never had a new, retail price computer below the $999 mark.

Via Macrumors [via Gizmodo].

There ‘s not much more to the report than that. The original story suggested that shipments of these touch panels were expected in Q3 2009. If this rumour is true, it would put paid to rumours that Apple was working on an OLED tablet with the screen supplied by LG. Although, according to analysts, the rumoured netbook, tablet or Media Pad will not arrive until the first half of 2010.

“We are anticipating a new category of Apple products, with an operating system more robust than the iPhone’s but optimized for multi-touch. We expect the end result to be launched later but with more dramatic differentiation than the Street is expecting,” Munster said.

He makes a good case on why it will be a touchscreen tablet. For one Apple has consistently said that refuses to launch a “cheap” portable netbook. The company has also gradually added multi-touch technology to all of its core products (iPhones, iPods and Macs). He expects that it will be driven by a proprietary microprocessor designed in-house by engineers Apple adopted in the acquisition of P.A. Semi and others it’s known to have hired in recent months.

The delay into 2010 is largely due to the operating system. “Its complexity, along with our conversations with a key company in the mobile space, leads us to believe [the new device] will not launch until calendar year 2010,” he said.

Munster’s contacts in the component supply chain have not seen a prototype of the device but say there are ongoing discussions between the company and its suppliers about the parts that will eventually be required to build the product. Now whether he has the inside track at Apple or is just speculating we don’t know. He doesn’t talk about whether it will come with a virtual or real keyboard.

“Another important possibility for the tablet that we expect Apple to launch in 2010 is that of wireless carrier subsidies.” Apple has become all too familiar and rather comfortable with subsidy pricing on its iPhone 3G, and Munster believes the company may take a similar approach to sales of the tablet.

Here’s a look at Munster’s argument as to why Apple won’t launch a netbook and why a tablet is the front-runner:

Apple’s COO Tim Cook recently described the netbook in its current form as “junky”, the same sources for the report maintain that Apple has no plans to cater for the netbook market as it exists today.

This would be seen as interim solution until Apple is ready to introduce its own take of what a netbook should be. This is a project that is taking longer to complete than anticipated says the report. So it looks like we may be waiting a bit longer for that rumoured 10-inch Apple tablet.

A report from BusinessWeek suggests that this Apple media pad will be used to listen to music, view photos and watch HD content. It could also be used to make phone calls over a wireless connection. It is unknown what type of form this media pad would take, but could this be the Apple tablet that has been rumoured for so long?

For those that have seen it, the media pad is meant to be smaller than Amazon’s kindle e-reader. The Kindle has dimensions of 7.5″ x 5.3″ x 0.7″ whilst it has a six-inch display. The media pad is believed to be smaller than the kindle, although the screen is bigger according to the same sources.

“The media pad category might go to Verizon,” said the person who has seen the device. “We are talking about a device where people will say, ‘Damn, why didn’t we do this?’ Apple is probably going to define the damn category.”

Apparently, this rumoured “media pad” along with an “iPhone Lite” is the result of a collaboration between Apple and Verizon Wireless. One of these devices could appear as early as this year according to the report, although it doesn’t suggest which this may be. Given that AT&T has exclusivity on the iPhone in the US, I find this news surprising.

Apple’s deal with AT&T may only involve the original and 3G iPhones, and not these new devices. Of course, launching different devices with different carriers would make the situation complex for customers. It may highlight a move by Apple to not rely on one sole provider to distribute its products.