It's only half an inch thick, and weighs just 680g (about half a smallish laptop).

It contains a 1GHz Apple A4 chip, which is both processor and graphics and will come with 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of flash solid state storage.

Connectivity is handled by 802.11n Wi-Fi internet, and Bluetooth 2.1. It has an accelerometer and compass, speaker, microphone and 30-pin connector.

The iPad will run all Apple iPhone apps straight out of the box - either at their native size or stretched to fit the screen. Users will be able to move apps from their iPhones to the iPad.

To complement the Apple iPad, Apple is launching the iBookstore online store, a kind of iTunes or App Store for e-books.