Apple didn't really sell this point, but it's the single biggest benefit of the iPad: speed. It feels at least a generation faster than the iPhone 3GS. Lags and waits are gone, and the OS and apps respond just as quickly as you'd hope. Rotating between portrait and landscape modes, especially, is where this new horsepower manifests in the OS.

Build
Imagine, if you will, a super light unibody MacBook Pro that's smaller, thinner and way, way, way lighter. Or, from a slightly different perspective, think about a bigger iPhone that's been built with unibody construction. The iPad really does feel like some amalgamation of these two product lines from Apple. And, in the hands, it feels great—not too heavy at all.

The screen looked nice, and it's able to display even small text crisply. Touch responds like a dream.

But one point of the build seems odd. It's the Home button. In portrait mode, hitting the Home button is far less natural than on an iPhone because your thumbs naturally rest in the middle of each side of the case (not the bottom). A Kindle-like side Home button may not have been a horrible idea, even if it broke up the stoic minimalism of the case a bit.

iBooks
It's an optical illusion, but just seeing the depth of pages makes the iBook app feel more like a book than a Kindle ever did for me. The text is sharp, and while the screen is bright, it doesn't seem to strains the eyes—but time will tell on that.

Keyboard
Typing in portrait is better than anticipated but still quite a stretch for our average-sized hands, which means that letters like F G and H will take a moderate conditioning for some. What about in landscape mode, sitting flat on the table? Well this is problematic too, as the iPad sort of wobbles. The back is not perfectly flat, meaning your typing surface is never perfectly flat, so the virtual keyboard becomes that much more difficult to use.

Pictures
Pinch, zoom, whatever—like we said, it's fast—the photo app is faster than iPhoto performs on an aging Core2Duo laptop.

Apps
Apps can play in their native resolution, or be 2x uprezzed for the screen. How does it look? An ATV game we tried actually looked pretty good—limited more by its base polygon count than the scaling process itself. Bottom line: it's about as elegant solution as Apple could have offered, even if that graphics won't be razor sharp.

Browsing
Over Wi-Fi, Gizmodo loaded quickly. The 9.7-inch screen is an excellent size for reading the site. You can pinch zoom, but you won't need to. Of course, on such a pretty web browsing experience, not having Flash makes the big, empty video boxes in the middle of a page is pretty disappointing. Put differently, the fatal flaw of Apple's mobile browser has never been more apparent.

It's almost impossible to overstate the buzz leading up to this device. Immediately after the death of the Newton, rumors began trickling out about a followup from Apple; in the last five years, speculation and scraps of evidence about an Apple tablet have been a fixture in the tech media; in the last year, the rumors were unavoidable. Today, Apple's tablet has finally arrived, and we've got the full rundown—from specs, features, content and price to what it's like to actually use one.

The Hardware

• Size and shape: The screen's aspect ratio makes it seem a bit squat, but this is intended to be a bi-directional tabl—err, Pad. The bezel is a little fat, but otherwise, this thing is basically a clean slab of pure display. It's just .5 inches thick, which is a hair thicker than the iPhone 3GS, and measures 9.56 x 7.47 inches. Final weigh-in is 1.5 pounds without 3G, and 1.6 with. Says Mark, who's actually held one:

Imagine, if you will, a super light unibody MacBook Pro that's smaller, thinner and way, way, way lighter. Or, from a slightly different perspective, think about a bigger iPhone that's been built with unibody construction.

• The screen: The tablet's multitouch screen measures in at 9.7 inches, meaning that it's got a significantly smaller footprint than the smallest MacBook, but a much larger screen than the iPhone. (That's 9.7 inches diagonal, from screen corner to screen corner.) The screen's resolution is a dense 1024 x 768.

Here's what it looks like in photos, and on video:

• The guts: It's a half-inch thick—just a hair thicker than the iPhone, for reference—and weighs 1.5 pounds. It's powered by a 1GHz Apple ARM A4 chip, and has 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of flash storage. From the looks of it, Apple finally got some use out of that PA Semi purchase, and built their own mobile processor, but that's no totally clear yet. It's also loaded with 802.11 n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, a 30-pin iPod connector, a speaker, a microphone, an accelerometer and a compass. Video output runs through and iPhone-type composite adapter at up to 576p and through a dock-to-VGA adapter at up to 1024 x 768. No HDMI, no DVI—not even a Mini DisplayPort.

3G is optional, and costs more, not less. Along with 3G, the upgraded models include A-GPS. (More on this below)

Oh, and there isn't a rear-facing camera, nor is there a front-facing camera. This tablet is totally camera-less, which seems a bit odd.

• The battery: Apple's making some bold claims about battery life: ten hours for constant use, with a one-month standby rating. Ten hours of constant use includes video viewing, so you could conceivable watch about six feature films before this thing dies.

• How you hold it: You can hold it two different ways, and the software will adapt to both. Portrait mode seems like the primay mode, a la the iPhone while landscape mode—better for movies and perhaps magazine content—is a secondary mode. The Apple decal is oriented for portrait mode, so basically, just get ready for a whole bunch of HEY IT'S A GIANT IPHONE!! jokes.

Connectivity

Some models have Wi-Fi exclusively, while some have 3G as well. It's with AT&T, and costs either $15 a month for 250MB of data, or $30 for unlimited data. With the plan, you get access to AT&T's Wi-Fi hotspots as well. Best of all, it's a prepaid service—no contract. You can activate it from the iPad any time, and cancel whenever you want. This sounds like a fantastic deal, until you consider how it's probably going to brutalize AT&T's already terrible 3G coverage.

The iPad itself is unlocked, so you can conceivably use it with any Micro SIM card . But what the hell is a Micro SIM card? For one, it's not the same kind of SIM that's in your iPhone, so don't expect to just pop that in and surf for free. It's a totally different standard, and the iPad's the only device that uses it right now. Even if, say, T-Mobile released a Micro SIM card, the iPad can't connect to its 1700MHz 3G network.

The Software

• The OS: The operating system on the tablet is based on iPhone OS, which is in turn loosely based on OS X. In other words, it's got the same guts as the iPhone, as well as a somewhat similar interface. What this means in practical terms is that the UI is modal; you can only display one app at a time, and there aren't windows, per se. There's a new set of standard UI tools as well, including a pull-down menu, situated at the top left of most apps.

• The homescreen: It's like a mixture between the iPhone and OS X: it uses the iPhone launcher/apps metaphor, but has an OS X-style shiny dock. It feels very spread out compared to the iPhone's homescreen, though I suspect this is necessary to keep things from getting too overwhelming. For our full walkthrough of the new OS, check here.

• The keyboard: Input comes by way of an onscreen keyboard, almost exactly like the iPhone's. Typing on it is apparently a "dream," because it's "almost lifesize". Steve wasn't typing with his thumbs, but with his fingers, as if it were an actual laptop keyboard. Navigation throughout the rest of the OS is optimized for one hand, though.

• The browser: The browser is essential an upscaled version of Safari Mobile, with a familiar, finger-friendly title bar and not much else. It rotates by command of the accelerometer. From the looks of it, it doesn't have Flash support, but we'll have to confirm. UPDATE: Yup, none at all. You can get away with that kind of thing on the iPhone, sort of, but on a 10-inch tablet it's a glaring omission.

• Email: Mail again takes its visual cues from the iPhone, but with a lot more decoration: you can preview your mailbox from any message with a pull-down menu, and preview any message from within the mailbox, with a pop-up window.

• Music: The music player is even more hybridized, styled like a mix between the iPhone's iPod interface and full-fledged desktop iTunes. Interestingly, Cover Flow seems to have more or less died off.

• Maps: This one may be the most direct conversion from the iPhone, with a very similar interface through and through. It includes Street View, too.

• Photos: The photo library app looks a lot like iPhoto, only adapted for multitouch finger input.

• Video: YouTube is available by way of an app, iPhone-style, which can play videos in 720p HD. iTunes video content plays back in a dedicated app, just like on the iPhone, and can also play back in HD. Movie codec support is otherwise the same as the iPhone, which is to say pretty limited.

• Calendar and contacts: The calendar app is desktop-like, until you open contacts and calendars, which look a lot like actual contact books and organizers. They're beautiful, and dare I say a bit Courier-like.

Apps

• iPhone apps: This thing runs them! The iPad runs iPhone apps right out of the App Store, with no modification, but they're either relegated to the center of the screen or in "pixel double" mode, which just blows them up crudely. Any apps you've purchased for your iPhone can be synced, for free, to your iPad.

• New apps: The iPhone app SDK has already been expanded for tablet development, including a whole new set of UI elements and expanded resolution support. The raw iPhone app compatibility is just a temporary measure, it seems—any developer who wants their app to run on the tablet will develop for the tablet. Some of the early examples of adapted apps, like Brushes, are spectacular. More on the SDK here.
Apple's pushing gaming on this thing right out of the box, demoing everything from FPS N.O.V.A to Need for Speed. It's presumably running these games at HD, so the rendering power in this thing is no joke.

• Ebooks: Apple's also opened an ebook store to accompany the iPad, in the mold of iTunes. It's called iBooks.
It offers books in ePub format, and makes reading on a Kindle seem about as stodgy as, you know, paper. To be clear, though, this is just Apple's solution—unless they're explicitly banned from the iPad, you should be able to download your Kindle app as well.

This store doesn't sell magazines or newspapers, which'll be relegated to regular app status. At this point, whether or not the tablet helps them out is in their hands.

• iWork: Apple' also designed a whole new iWork suite just for the tablet, which implies that this thing is as much for media creation as it is for consumption. There's a new version of Keynote designed just for the iPad, as well as new version of Pages, (word processor), and Numbers, which is the spreadsheet app. Here's what Keynote looks like:
The interfaces are obviously designed strictly for touch input, but from the looks of it can handle every function that the old, mouse-centric version could, plus a few more. And man, they're so much prettier. Each app costs $10, and you can get them all for $30.

• File storage: Unlike the iPhone, the iPad does seem to have some shared storage aside from the photo roll. The newly released SDK reveals that when you connect an iPad to a PC or Mac, part of it—a partition, maybe?—mounts as a shared documents folder.

Accessories

Right away, Apple's offering three main official accessories: a book-style case, a regular dock and a keyboard dock. (Ha!)

The book cover doubles as a stand, so you can prop the iPad up in a few different ways. The keyboard dock hooks up with the iPad when it's in portrait mode, so you can type longer documents, charge, or both. The iPad will also support Apple's Bluetooth keyboards.

The iPad's only really got one accessory port, and it takes an iPod dock connector. Apple's solution for this? Adapters! So many adapters. There's a Dock Connector to VGA adapter, a USB camera adapter (which gives you one plain USB connection, though it apparently only works for importing photos), a USB to SD adapter, and an included USB power adapter, which lets you charge by AC or USB. It's essentially just an iPhone charger with a bigger brick.

UPDATE: We have prices:

the Keyboard dock costs $70, the case costs $40, the SD/USB connection kit costs $30 and the VGA display adapter costs $30 (1024x768 only)

What It's Like to Use

It's hefty. Substantial. Easy to grip. Fast. Beautiful. Rigid. Starkly designed. The glass is a little rubbery but it could be my sweaty hands. And it's fasssstttt.

Our detailed impressions in our hands on, right here.

Price and Release Date

Without 3G:

• $499: 16GB
• $599: 32GB
• $699: 64GB

With 3G:

• $629: 16GB
• $729: 32GB
• $829: 64GB

Apple will ship all the iPads in 60 days—the end of March—to America, and just the Wi-Fi models internationally. It'll be another 30 days beyond that for 3G models to be available outside our shores; Apple says they're still working on carrier deals.

3G comes by way of AT&T, who's offering the service without contract, for $15 a month (250MB of data) or $30 a month (unlimited). That's why, unlike the iPhone, the iPad is actually cheaper off-contract.

All the Rest

• The First Hands On

• The Media Strategy: Book, Magazines and Music

• Eight Things That Suck About the iPad (Already!)

• How the iPad Is a Ploy to Assassinate Laptops

• The First Round of iPad Apps, From NYT to N.O.V.A.

• iPad Accessories

• Apple's Official Specs Page

• What's actually new in the iPad's user interface

• Our liveblog, in case you want to pretend the keynote is happening RIGHT NOW.

&bull A theory! The iPad Is The Gadget We Never Knew We Needed

• Another theory! The iPad is for olds

• How the iPad Measures Up to the JooJoo, the HP Slate, Android Tablets and More

• Mo' Apps, Mo' Problems: How the iPad Will Change the Landscape of the App Store

• Adobe lashes out at Apple over the iPad's lack of Flash

• iPad Snivelers: Put Up Or Shut Up (But Mostly Shut Up)

• The #appleipad tag, which collects all of our coverage (oh, there's lots more) in one place.

And here's Apple's full press release:

Apple Launches iPad

A Magical & Revolutionary Device at an Unbelievable Price

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today introduced iPad, a revolutionary device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading e-books and much more. iPad's responsive high-resolution Multi-Touch™ display lets users physically interact with applications and content. iPad is just 0.5 inches thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds- thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook. iPad includes 12 new innovative apps designed especially for the iPad, and will run almost all of the over 140,000 apps in the App Store. iPad will be available in late March starting at the breakthrough price of just $499.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100127/SF44883)

"iPad is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before."

iPad features 12 next-generation Multi-Touch applications. Every app works in both portrait and landscape, automatically animating between views as the user rotates iPad in any direction. The precise Multi-Touch interface makes surfing the web on iPad an entirely new experience, dramatically more interactive and intimate than on a computer. Reading and sending email is fun and easy on iPad's large screen and almost full-size "soft" keyboard. Import photos from a Mac®, PC or digital camera, see them organized as albums, and enjoy and share them using iPad's elegant slideshows. Watch movies, TV shows and YouTube, all in HD or flip through pages of an e-book you downloaded from Apple's new iBookstore while listening to your music collection.

iPad runs almost all of the over 140,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for your iPhone® or iPod touch®. The iTunes® Store gives you access to the world's most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 11 million songs, over 50,000 TV episodes and over 8,000 films including over 2,000 in stunning high definition video. Apple also announced the new iBooks app for iPad, which includes Apple's new iBookstore, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile device. The iBookstore will feature books from major and independent publishers.

Apple also introduced a new version of iWork® for iPad, the first desktop-class productivity suite designed specifically for Multi-Touch. With Pages®, Keynote® and Numbers® you can create beautifully formatted documents, stunning presentations with animations and transitions, and spreadsheets with charts, functions and formulas. The three apps will be available separately through the App Store for $9.99 each.

iPad syncs with iTunes just like the iPhone and iPod touch, using the standard Apple 30-pin to USB cable, so you can sync all of your contacts, photos, music, movies, TV shows, applications and more from your Mac or PC. All the apps and content you download on iPad from the App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore will be automatically synced to your iTunes library the next time you connect with your computer.

iPad's brilliant 9.7-inch, LED-backlit display features IPS technology to deliver crisp, clear images and consistent color with an ultra-wide 178 degree viewing angle. The highly precise, capacitive Multi-Touch display is amazingly accurate and responsive whether scrolling web pages or playing games. The intelligent soft keyboard pioneered on iPhone takes advantage of iPad's larger display to offer an almost full-size soft keyboard. iPad also connects to the new iPad Keyboard Dock with a full-size traditional keyboard.

iPad is powered by A4, Apple's next-generation system-on-a-chip. Designed by Apple, the new A4 chip provides exceptional processor and graphics performance along with long battery life of up to 10 hours.* Apple's advanced chemistry and Adaptive Charging technology deliver up to 1,000 charge cycles without a significant decrease in battery capacity over a typical five year lifespan.**

iPad comes in two versions-one with Wi-Fi and the other with both Wi-Fi and 3G. iPad includes the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi, and the 3G versions support speeds up to 7.2 Mbps on HSDPA networks. Apple and AT&T announced breakthrough 3G pre-paid data plans for iPad with easy, on-device activation and management.

Continuing Apple's dedication to designing and creating environmentally responsible products, each iPad enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy-efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. iPad contains no brominated flame retardants and is completely PVC-free.

Apple today released a new Software Development Kit (SDK) for iPad, so developers can create amazing new applications designed to take advantage of iPad's capabilities. The SDK includes a simulator that lets developers test and debug their iPad apps on a Mac, and also lets developers create Universal Applications that run on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

Pricing & Availability

iPad will be available in late March worldwide for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model, $699 (US) for the 64GB model. The Wi-Fi + 3G models of iPad will be available in April in the US and selected countries for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model. iPad will be sold in the US through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. International pricing and worldwide availability will be announced at a later date. iBookstore will be available in the US at launch.

*Apple tested wireless battery life by browsing web pages and receiving email over an AirPort® network, never letting the system go to sleep during the test, and keeping the display at half brightness. This is a typical scenario of use on the go, resulting in a battery performance number that is very relevant to mobile users.

**A properly maintained iPad battery is designed to retain 80 percent or more of its original capacity during a lifespan of up to 1,000 recharge cycles. Battery life and charge cycles vary by use and settings.

"We have decided to release the Motion Controller in fall 2010 when we will be able to offer an exciting and varied line-up of software titles that will deliver the new entertainment experience to PS3 users," says Kaz Hirai, boss of Sony Computer Entertainment.

"We will continue to work to have a comprehensive portfolio of attractive and innovative games for the Motion Controller, not only from SCE Worldwide Studios but also from the third party developers and publishers, whom we have been working closely with. We look forward to soon unveiling the exciting software line-up that further expand and define the PS3 platform as the ultimate entertainment system for the home".

Not the world's biggest shock, since Spring is right around the corner (and we'd still seen/heard so little of the device), but if the delay means more/better games for it in the Fall, then all the better.

Let's take a closer look at the invite, which is, again, to "come see our latest creation." Using the word "creation" is telling in both its vagueness and its specificity: It says it's something new. Apple likes playing with words, too—remember the "something's in the air" tagline for the event they introduced the MacBook Air, their latest truly new product?

At the same time, it's interestingly far less weighty than the tagline for the Macworld where Apple introduced the iPhone, which indicated that it would be the beginning of something huge: "The first 30 years were just the beginning." It's a light and fluffy blurb, not the one you might expect for something that some people think could be the beginning of a brand new kind kind of personal computing, previously only depicted in movies.

It's also splattered with paint. Maybe they're being playful. Maybe there's a (finger)painting application. Maybe we're reading too much into a jpeg. Either way, we'll be there, live.

The game, which hits in Japan on Dec. 17, will include a new battle system, a "dramatic story" focused on the emotions of the character and will feature a Leona Lewis single as the game's opening theme.

Also, holy crap, are you looking at this video? Because it's spectacular. The video also gives us a better look at the game's Paradigm system.

You may want to watch this video full-screen, just click on that button in the bottom right corner.

This story's still developing, but if our sources are correct, it would blow the Toyota Prius out of the water. Heck, it'd blow every other vehicle currently on the market out of the water with the exception of the Tesla roadster — and that's no four-door mid-size sedan. So for GM this represents a huge marketing coup — the ability to claim the most fuel efficient vehicle in the world and a big blow to detractors who claim the big, sweaty 'merican manufacturer can't build quality products.

We'll have more out of GM's Warren Technical Center as the General holds their big product showcase event throughout the day.

• 9.7-inch E-Ink screen (1200 x 824 with 16 shades of grey)
• 1/3 of an inch thick (10.4" x 7.2" x 0.38")
• 4GB Storage for 3,500 books (a bump from 1,500)
• Unspecified but "long" battery life
• Native PDF support through built-in reader
• Automatic landscape/portrait text rotation
• Line length adjustments (determine the width of text on the screen)
• Navigation buttons moved to right side of screen only
• EVDO (of course) for 60-second book transfers

Available this summer, there's no denying it—the Kindle DX looks fantastic, especially with that surprise landscape/portrait rotational sensitivity we find useful in so many smartphones. But $500? Really? [Amazon]

Introducing Kindle DX-Amazon's Large Screen Addition to the Kindle Family of Wireless Reading Devices

Large Kindle DX Display and New Features Provide Enhanced Experience for Reading a Wide Range of Professional and Personal Documents

The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post to Launch Trials Offering Kindle DX to Subscribers Who Live in Areas Where Home Delivery is Not Available

Leading Textbook Publishers to Offer Textbooks in Kindle Store

Five Universities to Launch Trials with Students Using Kindle DX in Fall 2009

SEATTLE—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today introduced Amazon Kindle DX, the new purpose-built reading device that offers Kindle's revolutionary wireless delivery and massive selection of content with a large 9.7-inch electronic paper display, built-in PDF reader, auto-rotate capability, and storage for up to 3,500 books. More than 275,000 books are now available in the Kindle Store, including 107 of 112 current New York Times Best Sellers. New York Times Bestsellers and New Releases are $9.99 unless marked otherwise. Top U.S. and international magazines and newspapers plus more than 1,500 blogs are also available. Kindle DX is available for pre-order starting today for $489 at http://amazon.com/kindleDX and will ship this summer.

"Personal and professional documents look so good on the big Kindle DX display that you'll find yourself changing ink-toner cartridges less often," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. "Cookbooks, computer books, and textbooks – anything highly formatted – also shine on the Kindle DX. Carry all your documents and your whole library in one slender package."

New Large Display

Kindle DX's display has 2.5 times the surface area of Kindle's 6-inch display. The larger electronic paper display with 16 shades of gray has more area for graphic-rich content such as professional and personal documents, newspapers and magazines, and textbooks. Kindle reads like printed words on paper because the screen works using real ink and doesn't use a backlight, eliminating the eyestrain and glare associated with other electronic displays.

The New York Times Company and Washington Post Company are launching pilots with Kindle DX this summer. The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post will offer the Kindle DX at a reduced price to readers who live in areas where home-delivery is not available and who sign up for a long-term subscription to the Kindle edition of the newspapers.

"At The New York Times Company we are always seeking new ways for our millions of readers to have full and continuing access to our high-quality news and information," said Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., chairman, The New York Times Company and publisher, The New York Times. "The wireless delivery and new value-added features of the Kindle DX will provide our large, loyal audience, no matter where they live, with an exciting new way to interact with The New York Times and The Boston Globe. Additionally, by offering a subscription through the Kindle DX to readers who live outside of our delivery areas, we will extend our reach to our loyal readers who will be able to more readily enjoy their favorite newspapers. Meanwhile, we are continuing to work with Amazon to make The New York Times and The Boston Globe experiences on Kindle better than ever."

Kindle DX's large display offers an enhanced reading experience with another category of graphic-rich content-textbooks. With complex images, tables, charts, graphs, and equations, textbooks look best on a large display. Leading textbook publishers Cengage Learning, Pearson, and Wiley, together representing more than 60 percent of the U.S. higher education textbook market, will begin offering textbooks through the Kindle Store beginning this summer. Textbooks under the following brands will be available: Addison-Wesley, Allyn & Bacon, Benjamin Cummings, Longman & Prentice Hall (Pearson); Wadsworth, Brooks/Cole, Course Technology, Delmar, Heinle, Schirmer, South-Western (Cengage); and Wiley Higher Education.

Arizona State University, Case Western Reserve University, Princeton University, Reed College, and Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia will launch trial programs to make Kindle DX devices available to students this fall. The schools will distribute hundreds of Kindle DX devices to students spread across a broad range of academic disciplines. In addition to reading on a considerably larger screen, students will be able to take advantage of popular Kindle features such as the ability to take notes and highlight, search across their library, look up words in a built-in dictionary, and carry all of their books in a lightweight device.

"The Kindle DX holds enormous potential to influence the way students learn," said Barbara R. Snyder, president of Case Western Reserve University. "We look forward to seeing how the device affects the participation of both students and faculty in the educational experience."

New Built-In PDF Reader

Kindle DX features a built-in PDF reader using Adobe Reader Mobile technology for reading professional and personal documents. Like other types of documents on Kindle, customers simply email their PDF format documents to their Kindle email address or move them over using a USB connection. With a larger display and built-in PDF reader, Kindle DX customers can read professional and personal documents with more complex layouts without scrolling, panning, or zooming, and without re-flowing, which destroys the original structure of the document. Everything from annual reports with graphs to flight manuals with maps to musical scores can be viewed on a single, crisp screen with Kindle DX.

New Auto-Rotation

Kindle DX's display content auto-rotates so users can read in portrait or landscape mode, or flip the device to read with either hand. Simply turn Kindle DX and immediately see full-width landscape views of maps, graphs, tables, images, and Web pages.

New 3.3 GB Memory Holds Up To 3,500 Books

With 3.3 GB of available memory, Kindle DX can hold up to 3,500 books, compared with 1,500 with Kindle. And because Amazon automatically backs up a copy of every Kindle book purchased, customers can wirelessly re-download titles from their library at any time.

Incredibly Thin

Kindle DX is just over a third of an inch thin, which is thinner than most magazines.

3G Wireless, No PC, No Hunting for Wi-Fi Hot Spots

Just like Kindle, Kindle DX customers automatically take advantage of Amazon Whispernet to wirelessly shop the Kindle Store, download or receive new content in less than 60 seconds, and read from their library-all without a PC, Wi-Fi hot spot, or syncing. Amazon still pays for the wireless connectivity on Kindle DX so books can be downloaded in less than 60 seconds-with no monthly fees, data plans, or service contracts.

Syncs With Kindle for iPhone and other Kindle Compatible Devices

Just like Kindle, Kindle DX uses Amazon Whispersync technology to automatically sync content across Kindle, Kindle DX, Kindle for iPhone, and other devices in the future. With Whispersync, customers can easily move from device to device and never lose their place in their reading.

Massive Selection of Books-Plus Newspapers, Magazines, and Blogs

The Kindle Store currently offers more than 275,000 books, including popular books like New York Times Bestsellers, New Releases, and fiction and nonfiction released in the past several years. Dozens of newspapers and magazines are also available for subscription or single-edition purchase. BusinessWeek and The New England Journal of Medicine are available in the Kindle Store starting today, and The Economist will be available soon. Subscriptions are auto-delivered wirelessly to Kindle overnight so that the latest edition is waiting for customers when they wake up. Over 1,500 blogs are available on Kindle and updated and downloaded wirelessly throughout the day.

Kindle DX includes all the other features Kindle customers enjoy every day, including:

Wirelessly send, receive, and read personal documents in a variety of formats such as Microsoft Word and PDF
Look up words instantly using the built-in 250,000 word New Oxford American Dictionary
Choose from six text sizes
Add bookmarks, notes, and highlights
Text-to-speech technology that converts words on a page to spoken word
Search Web, Wikipedia.org, Kindle Store, and your library of purchased content
No setup required-Kindle comes ready to use-no software to load or set up

Amazon Kindle is sold through Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

New Functions
• "Whispersync" to sync Kindle, Kindle 2 and other devices wirelessly
• Text to speech (yes, it will read to you)

Price
• $359 on February 24

Form
• 8" x 5.3" x 0.36".
• "25 percent thinner than the iPhone"
• 10.2 ounces
• New 5-way controller
• 3.5mm audio jack
• USB 2.0

Display
• 6" diagonal E-Ink®
• 600 x 800 pixel resolution at 167 ppi
• New E-Ink features 16 shades of grey

Battery Life
• Battery life has been increased by 25 percent
• Read for 4 days straight with EVDO on, 2 weeks EVDO off

Storage
• 2GB, or 7 times more storage than the first Kindle, or 1,500 books

Performance
• 20 percent faster page turning

Formats supported
• Kindle (AZW), TXT, Audible (formats 4, Audible Enhanced (AAX)), MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively
• PDF, HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion

And you can pre-order it from Amazon now.

Dear Apple Community,

For the first time in a decade, I'm getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.

Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.

I've decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.

As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.

Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause — a hormone imbalance that has been "robbing" me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.

The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I've already begun treatment. But, just like I didn't lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple's CEO during my recovery.

I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple's CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.

So now I've said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.

Steve

Without the pretty prose, this is what Jobs' letter in chronological order:

1. His weight and health was declining through 2008.
2. He recently decided to exclusively focus on discovering the reason of his declining health instead of his company.
3. The doctors think now that they have discovered the reason.
4. He has already begun a treatment to fix his illness.
5. Doctors expect him to be fully cured in spring.

What does this mean? First and foremost, that his health is not declining rapidly now, as our source affirmed. Thank god for that. Like I said in the original article, I hoped our source was wrong about this point, and it was.

The source's information was probably from earlier in the year. While Steve Jobs weight and health was declining during 2008, the doctors "think" they have now found the cause of his declining health. He has "already begun" a "relatively simple and straightforward" treatment. He also says he is recovering.

That's excellent news.

Our source was right that a big part of the reason why Steve Jobs is not doing the Macworld 2009 keynote is his health. The letter above states that he's putting priority #1, his health, ahead of doing the last Macworld Keynote. The truth, as written by Steve Jobs himself, is that he has to recover from a medical condition. He didn't want to put himself through the ordeal of preparing the keynote—the hardest part—and delivering it for two hours. That's why he decided to take time off with his family and keep recovering.

While there are plenty of other reasons why it makes sense to put other executives on stage — to let the public know that there are other capable people leading apple, for one, or because the products this year are not worthy of Steve's presentation — none of them make as much sense as this personal decision. Apple PR muscle tried to mislead the public again saying that the entire reason was the irrelevance of Macworld. They said they didn't want to give importance to a show that Apple was pulling away from.

Other media, actually only CNBC's Jim Goldman and some followers, railed against Gizmodo saying that Steve's health had nothing to do with him not showing up for the Macworld keynote:

I spoke to Apple after these headlines crossed and the company, which officially doesn't comment on rumors, reiterated the reasons it offered two weeks ago: Apple was pulling out of Macworld because the company didn't see the need to continue its investment in the expo, which included Steve Jobs' keynote.

While I can understand Apple not telling the truth, perhaps a brilliant journalist and blogging aficionado like Goldman should have known better than trusting Apple's VP of Worldwide Corporate Communications Katie Cotton, specially when she lied before. On the other side, coming from a guy who writes things like this:

AppleTV, take two, has a real shot. The power of technology. The power of Apple and Steve Jobs.

Well, I'm not surprised.

Anyway, who cares. I'm happy to know Steve is recovering and happy to know that he's doing fine despite his weight loss and health problems. I'm happy to know that his doctors have discovered the cause now, and he has already begun treatment. I—and everyone at Gizmodo—wish his recovery process goes perfectly well and that this spring he's again in top form.

Update: Apparently Jim Goldman is kind of correcting his previous story on CNBC now. He said that if they he didn't have information that contradicts what Apple is saying, he had to take the company at its word. He's also saying that Steve can be sick but still be able to function as CEO and talking about people who can "easily step in" as CEO: "There are people who can take over, when...if...he decides to leave."

[2:30 PST, 1/6/09: A quick note from me, Brian, about this post, which I've been thinking about a bit more in between the busy days this week planning for CES and Macworld.

A day later, I have a bit more hindsight on how we could have edited this to be a bit more clearly presented. While the letter above does not factually and outright state that Jobs choose to work on his health instead of Macworld, we find it reasonable to conclude that this is the case, however unpleasant it is to think about.

Allow me to explain the thought process behind this line of reasoning then to people from fellow publications and readers wondering how we came to this conclusion when there is no explicit sentence, just implicit messages, stating such a thing. A proper challenge deserves a response, and I'd like to thank everyone who wrote or discussed the piece's finer points with us.

Ever since we heard that Steve Jobs would not be presenting at Macworld, we were dumbfounded. Sure, Apple was pulling away from the show, and next year, they aren't doing a keynote at all. But this year, the Keynote did go on, and the tradition for over 10 years, was for Steve to present, no matter what. Even when all he had to show was software, even when it was around the time he had cancer, he presented. Nothing could stop the man. Based on the text in this letter, which goes just short of contradicting the reasons outright that Apple stated before, and talks entirely about his health in the context of rumors and Macworld, we believe the only thing that could possible stop Jobs from presenting Macworld a company he has his all to for "the past 11 years now", would be a new "number one" priority, his health. (The previous number one thing being Apple, the company he's given everything to.) Although there are tons of pieces of speculation regarding the other reasons for him not to present at Macworld — distribution of responsibility to execs to reduce the appearance of dependence on jobs, Jobs refusing to present without better products, an Apple/IDG disagreement over the keynote — none of them seem powerful enough to break 11 years of tradition, especially in the tradition's twilight year.

We consider our source half right because he did make the call that Steve is sick again, and that was a reason for him not presenting at the keynote. We consider that he got it — and we got it — half wrong because his information said that he was "declining rapidly", which isn't true any longer since he found a fix for his weight loss. But it was all done to the best of our ability with a source who has checked out multiple times, and hedged because it would be disingenuous to actually say we knew the truth here. No one does but Steve and his doctor and close friends. And the fact that he was sick at all is a revelation brought about by these series of posts. Even if improving, his health is not great. That is news.

Remember: Apple's line of reasoning here was that Macworld was not cool enough to attend any more. They didn't need Macworld. That may be true, but its crazy to think that this or any of the weaker reasons above are the primary causes here for him to not present. We believe only health, his number one priority, could stop such a grand tradition, in its twilight year. And this letter Steve wrote, a huge letter outlining his current state of health, backs that up and lends massive credibility to the theory above all others.

Perhaps the majority of the word count is about his health because he's only focusing on this in response to the rumors, and dismissing the other minor factors in the decision. But that doesn't change the fact that the letter above so strongly alludes, more than any other interpretation you can dream up, that health was his primary personal factor. People who disagree might wonder why he didn't outright say he was not doing Macworld because of his health. But these people should stop to think that he couldn't say this was the main reason, because it would contradict previous statements by Apple. He spared them the actual position of having lied, but I think if you read between the lines, and even read the lines, you can see that this letter is about macworld and his health and the interchange in priorities the man has regarding the two. They've swapped.

But these reasons above are why I back up Jesús Diaz's analysis, reading between the lines and following our source, just as we did last week when we published the fully disclosed, single source rumor about his health being a reason for him not attending macworld in the first place. Even if I would have written it a bit more softly in the first place, I did not edit it to such a state when I got the story in my hands. That's my fault.

As a personal note, I fucking hate this story. I despise writing about the man's health, and that's perhaps a conflict in professional and personal sentiment and responsibility I will never rectify.

I wish we'd never gotten that tip, personally, although I very much appreciate the tipster. Happy new year, and wishes for good health to Steve and everyone reading this post.]

[Macworld 2009 coverage]

Steves health is rapidly declining. Apple is choosing to remove the hype factor strategically vs letting the hype destroy apple when the inevitable news comes later this spring.

This strategic loss will be less of a bang with investors. This is why Macworld is a no-go anymore. No more Steve means no more hype. Saying they are no longer needing [Macworld] is the cover designed by the worldwide "loyalty" department.

This source has repeatedly been 100% correct before. Those times, however, were always related to news and images of unreleased Apple products. I can only hope that, in this more personal matter, it is absolutely wrong. And that if he is not, that sentence just means that Steve Jobs is retiring according to his plan.

While Steve Jobs' health is nobody's business—not the press, not investors, not the public—we believe that there's a line between saying "no-comment" and plainly misleading—once again—the public.

Steve Jobs have been giving Macworld Expo keynotes since he came back as interim CEO of the company in 1997. Since then he has never failed once, always introducing notable products both at Macworld San Francisco and Macworld New York. During his latest Macworld keynote, in 2008, he introduced the MacBook Air. Later this year, he used his WWDC presentation to announce the new iPhone 3G. In his last two show-n-tells, for the new iPods and the new MacBooks, he used less time on stage, giving more limelight to key members of Apple's executive team.

According to our Deep Throat's report, the fact seems to be that whether or not Apple had other reasons to pull out of Macworld, they weren't the only ones, and they certainly weren't the same ones used for not putting Steve Jobs through the ordeal of a two-hour presentation.

Apple did not comment on this story after being contacted.

Instead of Jobs, delivering this year's supposedly final Macworld keynote is Phil Schiller, Apple's senior VP of worldwide product marketing.

While we have confirmed this information with Apple, what this means for WWDC or town halls is unknown. We had predicted that Steve Jobs was preparing his farewell following his highly de-centered introduction of the new MacBooks. At the very, very best, this is another step in that direction, preparing the world for an Apple without Steve. We don't really want to think about the worst.

But we have to. This sudden, dramatic announcement says to some, loudly and unfortunately clearly, that Jobs' health has taken a significant dive since his appearance introducing the new MacBooks. One theory might be that Jobs had to step down one day, and while we noticed a transition towards other execs at Apple events, starting this fall, a true control freak would want to step down on his own terms before something like health required them to do it without any say in the matter. That's one theory. But there are far better ways to do this. The best way being Jobs finishing his long career of on stage presentations by giving the last and final Macworld Keynote presentation in person. There's not really any reason why they wouldn't have planned it this way. At least a brief, headlining appearance Jobs, followed by a team effort announcing new products—if for no other reason than to dispel the alarm that's already shaking the internet, but also to make the transition even smoother.

What's Wrong With Macworld?
There are other possibilities besides illness, we suppose. Is it a decline in the confidence and importance of Macworld? Also possible, but let's remember this is where Apple launched the iPhone, its most important product since the iPod, and this past year, the MacBook Air, which set the tone for its notebooks for the rest of the year. True, this year's rumored products—an updated Mac mini (plausible), iPhone nano (stupid) and tablet/netbook (dream on) aren't mind-blowing, but still. What we have seen happen in the last few years is Apple use the internet and their marketing dollars to reach the mainstream without the mainstream press. They probably don't need Macworld or that major expense, even if Apple can afford it. Apple's launched plenty of product at Cupertino HQ recently and they've all done well, and on Apple's own timetable. (Macworld is in January, at the slump of the retail world's cycle.)

Money, Money, Money
So why not announce a full retirement, if he is too ill to continue—a possibility if he's too ill to show up on stage? This opaque announcement is more mysterious, and uncertainties tend to be more troubling than truths, even hard ones. Apple stock hasn't quite felt the impact, only down 5 points in after hours trading, but if Steve really is worth $20 billion to Apple's market cap, once the news spreads, expect it to plummet further, faster. An iPhone delay rumor might knock off a few billion, but the suddenly realer than ever possibility Apple's wizard-in-chief really is about to fade into the night—something that spooked traders even when Jobs actually did make an appearance—is an even more drastic event. In the long run, Jobs handing over the reigns is a GOOD thing to start doing now, to reduce dependence of the stock price on one man alone. If Steve leaves the day to day entirely, the only way any one is going to have confidence in the company is if they see and feel other executives have been in place for awhile. Like Ballmer taking over for Gates, a transition that took years upon years, Apple would be dumb to start this process late. And incredibly dumb to do so on the leader's deathbed, as the world is now speculating.

Who's Next?
And why Phil Schiller? Why not the man most likely to wear the crown, Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook, who resembles Jobs more than anyone else at Apple? If Steve Jobs was retiring, why wouldn't he announce his retirement himself? Or have his immediate successor do it? All questions we'll have to wait until Macworld to get answers to, unless Apple's iron secrecy dissolves in this apparent crisis moment. Another one: If a transition isn't what's happening here, but Steve is too ill to appear in public, how is he possibly well enough run Apple from behind the scenes? Why wouldn't he make the transition more smooth if at all possible, gradually transferring power to his chosen successor. An opaque announcement—that Apple had to have known would spark this speculative frenzy is NOT the optimal way to do this.

Timing
The timing of this whole thing is really off, too, in more ways than one. News that you want buried, you drop on Friday, not Tuesday, which is actually the optimal day for the MOST coverage. Also, if Steve Jobs is in fact retiring, the best, most controlling way to do announce this would be at Macworld, Apple's final Macworld, without this back-handed press release sending the press (us) into a frenzy before the fact. This seems like the worst way, but there are other paths that even crappier, which is likely why they're doing it this way: him appearing seriously ill on stage, or worst of worsts, dying before Macworld. Which if the latter were the tragic case, it's unlikely, given how (very rightly) guarded he is about his health, that Steve would announce its imminence. Maybe burying news would have seemed weak, and so Apple launched this on Tuesday in an unflinching message of bravado. Crazy, but this is a cult we're talking about.

The Next iThingies?
Even supposing the worst of all possible scenarios, we don't think this will change Apple's roadmap, at least not for the immediate future—products have to be designed and engineered way in advance, so 2009's slate is likely already completely mapped out, so even if Jobs does leave Apple soon, his direct hand will be felt in Apple products for at least the next year, if not longer. (That's even assuming too much; just because he's not presenting doesn't mean he's actually stepping down day to day.) And undoubtedly, his impact and legacy will endure far beyond that. Lack of product is a possible but unlikely thing to happen in the near future, specifically Macworld. Maybe the fact they have an uberproduct in the wings is a good counterbalance to losing Steve's presentation skills? But then again, one way to look at it is that the Macworld cycle is, again, broken, and Apple has nothing to present this year and Jobs won't get on stage for that. So, just as likely, if not more so than health issues, is that Apple simply has no amazing product to present at Macworld, so they're sending the B-team to present it, conveniently broadcasting the irrelevance of Macworld at the same time. The possibilities are endless.

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling reiterates the irrelevance of Macworld as the rationale for their pullout, saying that ""It doesn't make sense for us to make a major investment in a trade show we will no longer be attending." But it still doesn't address why Steve won't speak at the final big show.

The End of an Era
So maybe this is the real announcement at this year's Macworld, the one everyone knew would come one day, though it doesn't make any less shocking.

More on this very topic:

• Steve Jobs Skipping Final Macworld Apple Keynote
• How the News of a Job-less Keynote Was Forced Out
• Valleywag: Control freak Steve Jobs's chaotic Macworld no-show news
• Will Trade Shows Survive?
• On Steve Jobs-less Keynote: Sometimes I Hate It When I'm Right
• Do You Think Steve Jobs Is Retiring Very Soon?
• Is Steve Jobs Preparing His Farewell?
• The Quiet Man Who May Become Apple King

Apple Announces Its Last Year at Macworld

CUPERTINO, Calif., Dec. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today announced that this year is the last year the company will exhibit at Macworld Expo. Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will deliver the opening keynote for this year's Macworld Conference & Expo, and it will be Apple's last keynote at the show. The keynote address will be held at Moscone West on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Macworld will be held at San Francisco's Moscone Center January 5-9, 2009.
Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers. The increasing popularity of Apple's Retail Stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week, and the Apple.com website enable Apple to directly reach more than a hundred million customers around the world in innovative new ways.
Apple has been steadily scaling back on trade shows in recent years, including NAB, Macworld New York, Macworld Tokyo and Apple Expo in Paris.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its
award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

(C) 2008 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Google.com - Fastest Rising Globally

1. sarah palin
2. beijing 2008
3. facebook login
4. tuenti
5. heath ledger
6. obama
7. nasza klasa
8. wer kennt wen
9. euro 2008
10. jonas brothers

Now she'll have to fight Yahoo-winner Britney Spears for the unified world title. Here's the rest of Google's Zeitgeist results.

Google.com - Fastest Rising (U.S.)

1. obama
2. facebook
3. att
4. iphone
5. youtube
6. fox news
7. palin
8. beijing 2008
9. david cook
10. surf the channel

Google News - Fastest Rising (U.S.)

1. sarah palin
2. american idol
3. mccain
4. olympics
5. ike (hurricane)

Google Image Search - Fastest Rising (U.S.)

1. sarah palin (any neeked picts yet?)
2. obama
3. twilight
4. miley cyrus
5. joker

Google Book Search - Fastest Rising (U.S.)

1. breaking dawn
2. twilight
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4. vampire kisses
5. new moon

Google Translate - Fastest Rising (U.S.)

1. you
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These organic Ink sensors can be utilized in the thousands on a sheet layered between a room's carpet and carpet pad. Currently, the researchers are working on a system that would feed the data collected by the sensors to a computer for display and electronic analysis. Caregivers could then use this information to determine whether or not the elderly individual was in danger. If all goes well, the device could be used in real world testing scenarios inside two years. All-in-all, a device like this would have a significant advantage over other warning systems given the fact that the individual in question would not actually have to be conscious to summon help. [University of Missouri]

If your child does get abducted by some unscrupulous person—we're looking in your direction, Ransom Joe—then it's definitely good to be prepared with such a device. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Amber Alert via PopGadget]

As of the time of this post, the US is still allowing these items onto flights. But check both the news and Gizmodo frequently if you've got a flight coming up. We'll post updates if the situation regarding gadgets changes. – Jason Chen

'Mass murder terror plot' uncovered [Guardian]
Local Travelers React To Terrorist Plot [WKTR]