Steve Jobs has just introduced the world to the Apple iPad.

The half-inch-thick, 1.5-pound tablet is designed to excel at casual day-to-day tasks like web browsing, with Jobs promising the iPad and its touch input will get the job done better and more elegantly than even a laptop. Prices for the tablet start at $500.

The system runs an Apple-designed 1GHz processor, and ships with anywhere from 16 to 64GB of internal flash storage. Apple claims you should see up to 10 hours of use per battery cycle.

The iPad borrows a lot of iPhone design - the desktop features iPhone-like icons, along with a MacOS-like toolbar. Accelerometers adjust the screen's orientation as you manipulate it, and an on-screen keyboard (one that Jobs claims is nearly full-size) handles your text input. The iPad's music management is supposed to be a hybrid of the iPhone's interface and the full-featured computer version of iTunes.

The iPad's larger 9.7-inch LCD screen gives it an edge over the iPhone at displaying movies and photos, with full-screen slideshows a breeze; it's not surprising, considering how much of its design the tablet borrows from a digital picture frame. Videos can be pulled from YouTube, and the iPad should handle high-def content with ease; the one caveat there is that unlike most laptops, the iPad's screen is closer to a SD 4:3 ratio, leaving you with a letterboxed image when watching widescreen footage.

Of course there's WiFi for getting online, and iPads have the option of using 3G connectivity along with one of two data plans: either a 250MB monthly cap for $15, or unlimited data for $30. AT&T will provide the network, and you'll be able to cancel anytime - no contracts needed. If you aren't into AT&T or are going abroad, the iPad's cellular modem is unlocked, so you can just pop in another SIM chip to access other networks.

The 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB iPads will sell for $500, $600, and $700, respectively.  If you want 3G installed, the option will set you back an additional $130.  The first units will ship within two months.

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