Apple on Wednesday finally unveiled its tablet computer, called the iPad, at an invite-only event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in downtown San Francisco. The device, which looks like a larger version of Apple's iPod Touch will be available in two to three months, and starts at $499.

Read on to get a quick overview of everything that was announced, and why it matters.

New hardware: The iPad

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Proving rumors right, Apple unveiled the iPad, a device that looks akin to a large iPhone or iPod Touch. It sports a 9.7-inch LCD touch-screen display, which makes use of the same multitouch technology found on the iPhone, Apple's Magic Mouse, and its notebook trackpads. It also has the same in-plane switching display technology that made its debut in the latest crop of iMacs.

Like the iPhone and iPod, it sports a finger-friendly OS with an on-screen QWERTY keyboard, and an accelerometer that can detect whether the device is in portrait or landscape mode. It has a 30-pin dock connector, built-in Wi-Fi, and a home button that jumps users back to the main screen of the OS. It also has a volume rocker and a mute button--just like the iPhone.

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More: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20000020-37.html