Apple has long been rumored to be working on a smaller iPad. A lot of tech bloggers have been eagerly awaiting any hint that it’s going to hit the market, and they’re not the only ones. Read more

It’s been just 17 months since the launch of the iPad, and today it set a new record. Over 100 thousand apps have been developed for the iPad.

When the iPad hits stores last April, Apple promised that it would support “almost all” of the 150,000 plus apps in iTunes. That wasn’t quite true, and for a while there hackers came up with tricks to get around the less compatible aspects. As you can see by today’s news, that’s no longer required.

The apps are coming faster, too. it was only late March that the iPad got its 75 thousandth app. This means that it took an average of 5 months for each of the first 25 thousand apps, and yet it’s only taken 3 months for that last 25 thousand.

Anyone care to bet on when we’ll hit 200,000? I’d put money on the end of the year (if not sooner).

via MacStories

image via Flickr

As we covered the liveblog and Twitter action in New York City, our special correspondent was hard at work inside the Apple iPad press conference in California. Here’s a dispatch from Wiley publicist and tireless literary reporter Cynthia Shannon.

Shannon described the event: “While we were waiting to go inside, it was clear that books were on nobody’s mind–I spoke with a few tech reporters and they didn’t seem to understand the impact that the iPad would have on the publishing industry … They were playing electric Bob Dylan music while the media was filing in. I didn’t realize it was a huge milestone in music until someone older than me explained it.”

She continued: “iBooks didn’t get as big of a gasp as the $499 price tag did, but of course, I could tell it would be that way. It basically looks like Classics on the iPhone, which I personally have always thought to be the best way to read and browse books. The books are displayed cover out, in full color, on a light brown ‘wood’ bookshelf. Tap on one, and it takes you to the chapter index. When you flip the iPad horizontally, you are looking at two pages of a book. Flipping pages is easy–no buttons to press, easy to flip around.”

She also observed: “In iBooks, you can change the font and size, but that’s pretty standard. You cannot highlight or make notes. You cannot insert a bookmark–when you leave the application, it will remember where you were when you return, but it didn’t work when I tried it! You can only read books that you purchase through iBooks, not through Amazon. So publishers will have to create a Kindle edition AS WELL AS an iPad edition.”

Shannon concluded: “The presentation of iBooks store was like iTunes for books: you can look at the reviews, you can read sample chapters, summary, etc. This is the new storefront that publishers will have to consider now. Placement in the iBooks store. What info you want to make available. Apple could not comment on whether self-publishers will be able to upload their books.”

You can follow Cynthia Shannon on Twitter.

2:20 The publishing world’s collective jaw dropped as Jobs put up the final price point for the basic iPad: $499. Gizmodo has the rest of the price range: “And the 3G models cost an extra $130, so $629, $729 and $829 for the 3G-capable models.”

2:00 Most importantly, Jobs unveiled iBooks, Apple’s tablet bookstore. There was a shot of books priced as low as $4.99–is that real? See above. A classy bookshelf display. And, thankfully, iBooks will use ePub, meaning it, unlike Kindle, is compatible with lots of books and publishers.

1:48: App developers are up. The New York Times app sure looks like it beats the hell out of the cruddy iPhone app.

1:38PM ET Apps: iPad will run all iPhone apps, whether or not developers modify them to fit the screen. iPhone owners can download all their already-bought apps onto the iPad. Engadget pointed out that Apple hasn’t yet said anything about multitasking. There will also be iPad apps.

1:28PM “Let’s go back to the hardware,” said Jobs .5 inches thin, 1.5 pounds — 9.7 inch IPS display. 16, 32, 64 GB storage. Powered by Apple’s own A4 chip. 10 hours battery life in use, up to a month on standby. WiFi, Bluetooth, Accelerometer, Compass, 32-pin connector.

1:18PM ET: Indeed it looks like a giant iPhone. Jobs is now showing various kinds of content, email client, other stuff on the tablet. He’s sitting in a chair, browsing the device, and everything he’s doing is projected on a big screen. All of these great photos are coming from Engadget, which is doing a much better job than the New York Times of keeping up with the event.

1:12PM ET: Jobs talked about how Netbooks are too slow, not good enough, and Apple’s got something better: “We call it the iPad.”

1:09PM ET: Jobs took the stage right on schedule and started the event by giving some updated stats on the App store and on other Apple products, then took the audience on a tour of Apples past, from its founding 34 years ago up through the iPhone…and leading to…

12:58 ET. Engadget snapped the above photo of the Yerba Buena center as folks were sitting down, noting the table and chair set on stage.

Bookmark this post for eBookNewser’s coverage of the Apple Tablet event, starting today at 10am PT, 1pm ET. Also, follow us @eBookNewser on Twitter. We’ll be following and interpreting the live blogs, and bringing all the world-altering news home to you.