This time, there’s good reason for the hype: a little device called the iPhone. Smartphones existed for years before the iPhone in the same way MP3 players existed for years before the iPod. A large part of the success of both was the iTunes marketplace for songs, apps and more. With a larger screen device now entering the arena, Apple adding ebooks and games to the mix could give it a consumer appeal previous tablets were missing. Also, don’t forget that iTunes already stocks TV shows and some movies, which would be well suited to a larger screen.

At last! The greatest technological device ever invented (until the next product release) has arrived. We’ll round up the competition, who’d like to put up competition, but won’t, and who’s likely to be a casualty to “the most important thing” Steve Jobs has ever done in another post.

But for now, here are the details:

What You Really Want to Know

• Pricing starts at $499 for the 16GB version with wi-fi only, goes up to 64GB for the 64GB version with wi-fi + 3G, with devices shipping in 60 days (mark your calendars)
• 3G adds $130 to the price of all models, and those devices will ship in 90 days
• “Breakthrough” pricing with AT&T on data plans range from $14.99 per month for up to 250MB (as CrunchGear’s John Biggs notes, that’s a whopping 4 podcasts or so) and $29.99 for unlimited data (which will probably be limited under “fair use” but it’s a more reasonable deal)
• With a plan, there’s also free use of AT&T hotspots, and no contracts. This is obviously US-only, but international deals will come around June.
• The iPad 3G models will ship unlocked (w00t!) and run on GSM micro SIMs, so if your carrier offers them you should be good to go
• Weight and measurements: 0.5″ thin,1.5 lbs
• Display: is a 9.7inch IPS
• Power: 1GHz Apple A4 chip
• Memory: ranges from 16GB to 64GB of flash storage.
• Connectivity: Wifi 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. 30-pin connector, speaker, microphone, accelerometer and compass (goodbye GPS).
• Battery: 10 hours, 1 month of standby time (seriously?! that is pretty great)
• Environmental specs: Arsenic, BFR, Mercury and PVC free, touted as recyclable, but we can’t see one of these ending up in a local recycling bin anytime soon
• There will be apps: the iPad can run almost any iPhone app unmodified, though the resolution will still be formatted for an iPhone (especially for games, this will surely change)
• Buuuuut: the SDK that is the backbone of iPhone apps gets a new release today to support development for the iPad
• However: the iPad, like the iPhone, doesn’t support Flash (which might not be a bad thing, but more on that later) or multi-tasking
• There’s going to be an iBooks app (uh oh, Amazon v. Apple? Let’s wait for the price to see if this is a Kindle killer)
• iWork will be available on the iPad with a completely new interface (will Microsoft release Office apps?)

The miscellanea

• You can change the background of the device (yay! wallpaper!)
• Like the iPhone, you can turn the device and pages will automatically be reoriented
• The keyboard is “almost lifesize” and similar to the iPhone in that it’s part of the screen (no real keyboards to mess up the design), a keyboard dock is available as an accessory
• The music player is a hybrid between iTunes and the iPhone music player
• You can watch YouTube and videos in hi-def, though apparently not in widescreen
• Like an iPhone, you tap and swipe to navigate

Read more {Gizmodo Live}

Read more {CrunchGear}

This Bruce Lee would have had a better plan

During the live blog coverage of the announcement of the device, Rathakrishnan explained that the name was from an “African term for magical.” We’ll ignore the fact that Africa is a continent – not a country – and one with many different languages at that, to get back to what matters. If the device succeeds at this point, it will certainly be some kind of magic.

Today, Michael Arrington announced the TechCrunch lawsuit over the device. Fusion Garage, the company now producing the tablet allegedly got greedy and tried to eliminate TechCrunch’s interests in the device days before launch. Internal emails attribute the company’s shift in attitude to shareholder decision, the main one identified today as chiropractor Bruce Lee. On Fusion Garage’s side, Rathakrishnan counters that Arrington (and we’re guessing, by extension TechCrunch) didn’t provide any code to the project, failed to deliver on promised funding and connections and thus has no intellectual property rights. Arrington’s response? It was always clear that funding and connections were contingent on the launch of the device, and TechCrunch funded the hire of several hardware and software engineers to get the project to its current state, as well as assisting in immigration and travel arrangements for the Fusion Garage team to work alongside them in California.

By all accounts, the hardware and software of the JooJoo deliver on Arrington’s original idea for a tablet that ditches all other programs, to leave the web as OS and websites as applications.

JooJoo packaging, photo: Gizmodo

The real challenge to Fusion Garage, beyond appearing in an unsavory light while trying to convince early adopters to let them hold $500 for 8-10 weeks while the device is being built for mass consumption, will be succeeding where many, more formidable opponents have failed before. The Guardian’s Jack Schofield reminds us of the history of touch screen consumer flops from the likes of AMD, Microsoft (via the Tablet PC edition of Windows XP) and even Apple – rumored to be trying its luck with the tablet format device again.

For the JooJoo/CrunchPad to win where the Goliaths have lost (and are readying for a rematch) would require being embraced among early adopters and a significant pricing advantage for anyone else to swallow the tablet. At $500, from a company with questionable finances for production, a scorched bridge with one of the most popular blogs for early adopters and a general cloud looming over the reality of the device actually seeing the light of day, magic will likely not be enough. Arrington claims that his negotiated agreements with investors and retail distributors would have put the device in the $300 sweet spot that would make the device a more palatable impulse buy. In what looks to be a bit of a slap in the face, the JooJoo boxes even take on the black and green color scheme familiar to anyone who visits TechCrunch.
But the real loss comes from not getting to witness what’s possible from blogpreneurism. In fashion, the Sartorialist has his successful book, and is shooting campaigns for major labels like Burberry. Jane Aldridge, from Sea of Shoes, had her capsule collection with Urban Outfitters. While we have yet to see anyone make the leap from blogger to successful designer the signs are there.

While they’ve had success organizing a large scale tech event for 3 years, the CrunchPad would have set a new blogpreneur standard. It’s one thing to write about the topics you love, it’s another entirely to see that enthusiasm through to production of anything. Microsoft didn’t hesitate to invest in the content that appeared in their software (MSN, anyone?), the success of the iPod and iPhone stem in no small part from Apple’s decision to supply the music and entertainment for its various devices. And TechCrunch, which already has a millions strong content network, could have successfully reversed the model by supplying the devices on which they’re read. As newspapers and magazines debate blocking Google and questioning what type of paywalls can be erected to counter revenue losses, this was a full on, outside the box counter to the notion that new media businesses had to be built on variations of what we already know.  Would it have worked? For the moment, it looks like we may never know.