At 9.7-inch, 680g and 0.5-inch thin, the Apple iPad costs between US$499 to S$829 for a 16, 32, 64GB Wi-Fi (w/wo 3G) model.

SHOWCASE: Apple has unveiled what CEO Steve Jobs calls “our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price” at the Yerba Buena Convention Centre in San Francisco.

Officially announced at 2am our time, with details released online, the Apple iPad uses an LED-backlit IPS technology-based screen, has a 9.7-inch XGA (1024 x 768) oleophobic coated multi-touch display, is 0.5-inch thin on the side and weighs 1.5 pounds (680 grams).

It has 16, 32 or 64GB of flash storage, utilizes a 1GHz processor within a chip known as the Apple A4 chip. It also boasts 10 hours of battery life. It has 802.11n Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth 2.1, optional 3G cellular connectivity and more in terms of specs.

Apple iPad operates like an iPhone with a big screen, supporting ebook reader iBooks and the iWork productivity suite.

The iPad is slated to be ready for US customers via AT&T in 60 days (Wi-Fi only model) and 90 days (3G/Wi-Fi model).

The iPad will have new built-in apps such as Brushes, which allows artists to digitally paint on the iPad, and accessibility (including the same SDK support developers get for the iPhone) to third-party apps from the App Store. At the live event, partners like The New York Times, Electronic Arts (demoing Need for Speed Shift) and Major League Baseball went on stage to present content accessible on the iPad.

When it came to ebooks, the iPad has a built-in app called iBooks. The app itself will have an iBooks store for iPad users to browse and buy books and publishing materials from major publishers.

Another app introduced on the iPad is iWork mobile productivity suite, which consists of Pages (word processing), Numbers (spreadsheet) and Keynote (presentations). Each of the app (eg. Keynote, Pages, Numbers, etc.) will cost US$9.99.

(additional summary and photo gallery after the break)

HWM Indonesia

HWM Indonesia: A giant iPod Touch? Yes, but will my internet connection suffice for the required bandwidth?

Would my Wi-Fi connection be available everywhere?

How much would my data charges be if I go through GPRS or 3G connections? A good product supported with good value data connection from the operators will make it fly, but until the back-end infrastructure is more established, it won’t take off in the region. (more…)

The Google Voice app was rejected by Apple for its App Store but the service stubbornly returns as a Web app for both iPhone and Palm WebOS device users.

T&A: On September 2009, we posted news that Google Voice was rejected by Apple for its App Store service because it conflicts with Apple’s core telephony services on the iPhone. Well the app is back, this time in the form of a HTML5-based Web application accessible at m.google.com/voice via the Web browser on your mobile device.

According to Google’s blog, the Google Voice web app will be accessible for iPhone (version 3.0 or higher) and Palm WebOS device users. Functions within the app like AppCache, lets you interact with web apps without a network connection while local databases allow you to store data locally on the device, so even if you close the browser, you lose no data.

Google Voice basically does what a standard telephony service does, be it making phone calls, listen to voicemail, read voicemail transcripts, send/receive text messages as well as make international voice calls based on Google Voice’s international IDD rates.

Meanwhile, here’s a video demonstrating what Google Voice does:

This rendition of the Apple Tablet, by Flickr user Fotoboer.nl and picked up by many media sites, has been said by trusted sources to closely resemble the real Tablet, minus a few missing iPhone elements.

T&A: Fast Company.com has an opinion piece on what the rumored Apple Tablet may bring to the landscape. While many of us assume it would pose a challenge in the e-book reader marketplace, especially with speculation that the company may be in talks with books, newspapers and magazine publishers, the blog piece does postulate a pretty convincing case.

Even app developers feel the same way, based on this feature from The New York Times.

As smartphones become more interactive and intuitive, the portable games market may see itself being transformed from a Bluetooth-based or pass-on-to-the-next-player social gaming environments to tablet-top like digital board-game situations. It’s a compelling social element that would draw many of the iPhone game developers towards.

And knowing the marketplace, and where the app revenue pie really lies, it’s little wonder then that the Tablet could very well be competing not just with the Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble nook and so on, but also with the game-related systems in your living room and beyond.

UPDATE 27/01/2010: Looks like the cat’s out of the bag? Mr. Terry McGraw, CEO of McGraw-Hill might have confirmed on air that Apple’s really releasing a tablet tomorrow. In a CNBC corporate earnings interview, at approximately the 2:50th-minute mark, he mentions that McGraw-Hill has been working with Apple for some time, that the device will sport the iPhone OS and will support transferability.

This could possibly mean two things: first, Apple will also be releasing an e-book reader for the iPhone and iPod Touch for cross-ebook transfers, and second, the Tablet may be aimed at the higher education market.

Here’s the CNBC video interview:

Mr. Teo Chee Hean (3rd from left), President of Singapore National Olympic Council, Deputy PM & Minister for Defence of Singapore, gamely poses with the Samsung Omnia Lite with Mr. Gregory Lee (fourth from left), President and CEO of Samsung Asia & senior executives from the Singapore Youth Olympic Council and Samsung South-east Asia.

CORP TALK: The world’s first Youth Olympic Games will be held in Singapore from 14-26 August 2010. Over 5,000 athletes, aged between 14-18 years old, and officials from 205 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) will be competing in 26 sports and take part in a Culture and Education Program (CEP).

As part of its commitment as the Worldwide Partner for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, Samsung Electronics will provide over 5,000 sets of Samsung Omnia Lite (B7300) mobile phones to athletes and key team officials.

These smart phones come preloaded with the “Digital Concierge for Singapore 2010″ app that will allow users to access Singapore 2010-related content and services anytime, anywhere.

The app lets them obtain personalized schedules on competition events and map content. They can also find out the latest sport results and get updates on the CEP activities. It’ll also come with fun, interactive mobile services for one-stop mobile social networking functionality.

The Motorola Zhishang XT800 is an Android-based smartphone that allows Chinese users to access SHOP4APPS.

CORP TALK: Motorola unveiled SHOP4APPS (or Zhi-Jian-Yuan in Mandarin, which means “Place for Apps Wisdom”), a store for Android applications in China.

The online store is designed to host apps customized for Android-based Motorola phones in China.

Motorola has also announced a new feature on their Android handsets enabling users to customize their Android devices by selecting their own search provider.

Users will be able to select their search experience from a number of providers including Baidu, with whom Motorola has signed strategic agreements.

SHOP4APPS will also give developers a platform to promote their apps through MOTODEV, Motorola’s global developer program, and via other Android development ecosystems.

To begin submitting their Android apps immediately for hosting on the SHOP4APPS store in China, developers need to only look here.