Apple debuts highly awaited tablet: the iPad

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple CEO Steve Jobs has unveiled the iPad, a tablet-style computer that resembles the iPhone, but larger. "It's so much more intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smart phone," Jobs said Wednesday at the device's highly anticipated debut in San Francisco. 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 says the iPad will also be better for reading books, playing games and watching video than either a laptop or a smart phone. Jobs made the appearance Wednesday in his trademark jeans and black turtleneck and opened with a history and update on Apple mobile devices. No price or information on availability was immediately announced. Analysts say a tablet-style computer can help people watch videos, surf the Web, play games and read electronic books. Now Apple will have to convince consumers, many of whom already have Internet-connected phones, computers and TVs, that that's the case. Tablet computers have existed for a decade, with little success.—AP