Unlike the iPhone , which Apple kept under such tight guard at its introduction that only a few special types got to touch it for a few minutes, there were iPads aplenty available immediately following the product's press launch.

It was impossible for Apple to have created the magical device people were conjuring up in rumors. (No, despite the copious use of the word ‘magical' in Apple's marketing campaign for the device, it's not magical.) Perhaps the iteration they launched here was a bit of a conservative effort.

You can import photos from a Mac, PC or digital camera, see them organised as albums, and enjoy and share them using iPad's elegant slideshows. Watch movies, TV shows and YouTube or flip through pages of an e-book you downloaded from Apple's new iBookstore while listening to your music collection.

Tune in Partners The iPad, which has been the subject of intense interest and speculation over the past year, was launched today by Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs at a special event in San Francisco.