Apple unveils iPad tablet

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad, a tablet-style computer that resembles the iPhone, but is larger.

“It’s so much more intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smart phone,” Mr. Jobs said on Wednesday at the device’s highly anticipated debut in San Francisco.

Mr. Jobs demonstrated how the iPad is used for surfing the Web with Apple’s Safari browser. He typed an e-mail using an on-screen keyboard and flipped through photo albums by flicking his finger across the screen.

The CEO said the iPad will also be better for reading books, playing games and watching videos than either a laptop or a smart phone. Now Apple will have to convince consumers, many of whom already have Internet-connected phones, computers and TVs, that this is the case.

No price or information on availability was immediately announced.

Tablet computers have existed for a decade, but haven’t been commercially successful . — AP