Get your browsers ready kids, it's live-bloggin' time! Starting at 10am PST on Wednesday January 27, the Mac|Life staff will be bringing you up-to-the-minute information directly from the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater.

What will our favorite technology company release? The Tablet, iPhone OS 4.0, an Apple TV with DVR and an LOLcat feature? We'll find out on Wednesday.

If you can't make it to MacLife.com during your work day, you can follow our Twitter feed at Twitter.com/maclife or follow along on your iPhone with our magical Cover It Live module.

Hi everyone, We're killing Cover it Live it's not working. We're going old skool now! We're trying to get our pics up ASAP. The iPad seems to have broken the Internet.

11:35AM: And that's a wrap! Thanks for sticking with us through these technical difficulties.

We'll have video and pictures for you soon!

11:33AM: "The iPad is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price." They wanted us to write that down, it's on screen and everything.
Oh good, a hands-on area is next door. We'll be able to play with it, and will report back to you. 

11:32AM: Battery, chip, and software all by Apple. "We bring these things together in a way nobody else can do."
Ive: "In many ways, this defines our vision, our sense of what's next."
Video's over, Steve is back. "Do we have what it takes to establish a third category of products, between a laptop and smartphone?"
"We think we got the goods. We think we've done it. And we are so excited about this product."
Learning curve: Since they've shipped < 75 million iPhones/iPod touches, "over 75 million people know how to use the iPad." 

11:29AM: Screen has "well over a thousand sensors." Multitouch should work well. LED backlighting. IPS tech for wide angle viewing
Custom silicon chip called the A4 "built by our hardware team in concert with our software team" for performance and battery life. 

11:27AM: Only backup scheme mentioned is the USB sync with iTunes, which makes a backup like it does with an iPhone.
Full-color iBooks app does look a lot better than the Kindle, even without the electronic ink. But can you read comfortably all day on a backlit screen? 

11:25AM: What's missing? Expandable storage, USB port, and we didn't hear Bluetooth mentioned, or a speaker or microphone. No camera. [CORRECTION: It does have bluetooth, as well as a small speaker and microphone. No camera, though.]

No over-the-air MobileMe syncing mentioned, but it's a decent bet since the iPhone can do it. [Clarification: We asked Apple's reps about this, and were told the company had "Nothing to announce today."]

11:23AM: Also, a Kindle-ish case that can also work as a stand.
Video shown featuring Jonathan Ive calling the iPad "magical." 

11:21AM: Shipping worldwide in 60 days, for Wi-Fi models, 3G models coming ~30 days later.
Early accessories: Dock, with button for running photo slideshows while it charges.

Plus another dock with a full-size mechanical keyboard, also charges.

Keyboard FTW!!

11:20AM: 16GB = $499.  32GB = $599  64GB = $699. All with Wi-Fi built in

3G models add $130. 16GB is $629. 32GB is $729. 64GB is $829. 

11:19AM: Wrapping up the iPad presentation now. "An amazing product, tremendous breadth."
"If you listen to the pundits, we're going to price it under $1K, which is code for $999." Yeah, but YOU prolly leaked that!
"Just as we were able to meet or exceed our technical goals, we have met our cost goals." Starts at $499. 

11:18AM: "There's a very high likelihood they'll just work." (re:  GSM microsims frim international carriers.) Likely? Seems odd to say.

11:17AM: But no contract: Activate on iPad, cancel anytime. No contract, no contract, no contract.

WOOHOOO!!! 

That's U.S. "We hope to have international deals in place by a June or July timeframe." However, all models are UNLOCKED. GSM microsims.

11:16AM: Unlimited plan is $29.99. "These are real breakthrough prices." SERVICE FROM AT&T, WOOOO!
Plus free use of AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots. 

11:15AM: Wi-Fi in all iPads, Cellular 3G data built in as an option. Data, up to 250MB for $14.99. "Most people will get by on that."

11:13AM: Photos, music, movies, TV shows, contacts, calendars, bookmarks, apps all synced over USB. "We think this is a real benefit."

11:10AM: Lots of contextual menus -- fine control with an uncluttered screen
iWork on the iPad: $9.99 for each application.

11:08AM: Numbers: Same document library and template chooser. Link charts and tables to data, multipage spreadsheets, etc.
Taps columns and drags them to new places in the table. Chart updates automatically as he does it.
special data-entry keyboard when you double-tap an empty cell in a table. you can switch keyboards (data entry, text, formulas, date/time) on the fly

11:07AM: Now he'll show us Pages. Document library, templates, touch controls, smooth scrolling. Tap to bring up keyboard and ruler. "It's the most beautiful ruler you've ever seen in an application!" Calm down, Phil
Auto-wrap text around your images, even as you drag images around.
Change layout, page order, etc all with touch controls. Looks nice

11:05AM: Keynote animations (build in, transitions, etc) all there too. Advance slides by tapping or swiping.

11:03AM: Starts a new Keynote presentation. All templates are there. Touch controls.
Tap and hold a slide to move it somewhere else in the slide navigator. Even move several at once. 

Media navigator lets you insert photos, etc. Move and resize with your fingers. Match sizes by selecting one photo and tapping another.

11:01AM: "I get to sit in the chair!" Yes, Phil, yes you do.

11:00AM: The iWork team has been working on this for a year. Completely new versions of all the apps.

10:59AM: "Now something very exciting: iWork." iPad-optimized version of iWork -- all of it, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. Entirely new UI.

Phil Schiller, Senior VP of Product Marketing will demo it for us.

10:58AM: Change font, font size. "Whatever you want."

Hard to see prices from back here, but it looks like the books on his store page were $7.99.

"Now something very exciting: iWork."

10:57AM: Sitting cross-legged this time, holding the iPad with mostly his left hand, looks like he's driving with his thumbs.
iBook Store has detail and reviews looking exactly like the iTunes Store. Downloads straight to bookshelf.
Hide or show control. Tap right to flip a page, left to go back. Drag for a page-turning animation.
Tappable table of contents. Books can have color or b&w photos, and even videos. 

10:54AM: MLB.tv in the app lets you watch live with home or away announcers. Looks terrific, just like TV
Once again, all existing iPhone apps will run on the iPad unmodified.
"We've seen some really great apps, let me show you one of ours that we're really excited about. An ebook app."

Shows iPad app iBooks. Has a bookshelf to display book covers. Portrait or landscape, one or two-page view.
iBook Store is fully integrated, "to discover and puchase and download ebooks right on your iPad." -Steve Jobs
Penguin, Simon/Schuster, Hachette, Macmillan, HarperCollins all providing books, more to come
iBooks demo begins. He's got 16 books on his shelf already.

10:51AM: Brushes will be available "at product launch." Still hasn't mentioned when iPad will be for sale.
Next up: Electronic Arts. Over 40 titles in the App Store already.
Shows off Need for Speed shift. 3D, gorgeous reflections, real sense of speed. Looks pretty sick.
"It's a little like holding a high-definition television screen a few inches from your face."
To go to in-car view, just tap on car. Change gears by sliding the shifter. Look behind by tapping mirror.
"For us, performance is really importnt. We want to show you how fast this device can really go." Um, fast.
Last up: MLB.com
"We needed to create a whole new experience to take advantage of the big touchscreen display."
Tap on a pitch to get details. Tap a player to see his baseball card. Video highlights on the Gameday screen. Controls on the bottom. 

10:45AM:  Next: Brushes, a painting app popular on the iPhone already.
App demos are being done from a podium. Don't sit in Steve's chair, developers!
Brushes on the iPad looks great, even includes a gallery view. It has layers, redesigned color swatch storage panel, easily adjusted brushes
Eyedropper tool for selecting colors. Multiple levels of Undo. In-app playback of paintings, neat! Like animation almost.

10:43AM: Tap to change number of columns, watch video right in the articles. Ad-free, looks like a real newspaper

10:42AM: Next up: The New York Times, the paper of record.

"Steve showed you the Times website and it's just incredibly beautiful." So why an iPad app? Well, the iPhone optimized app has been downloaded over 3 million times.

10:41AM: "We think it's going to be another gold rush for developers."
iPad-specific features will be highlighted "front and center" in the App Store.
Demos: Developers got two weeks with the iPad, here's what they created. First up, Gameloft.
Gameloft FPS Nova. Huge display "makes the game immensely fun to play." You can reposition the D-pad, other controls. Neat!
You can reposition the minimap too. Slide two fingers to throw a grenade. Very cool.
MTA: Multiple Target Acquisition. Drag a target box around multiple enemies and blow them all away at once.
iPad Nova ships later this year.

10:36AM: Scott showing off full-screen iPhone apps, all unmodified from the App Store
Scales applications to full screen mode by doubling pixel size.
Scott's sitting more casually, legs crossed, holding iPad in two hands playing it with his thumbs only.
Takes snowmoile racing game full screen. "You get tremendous frames. Games are smooth and incredibly fun."
"All the iPhone apps you know and love will already run on you iPad."
Devs can modify their apps to take advantage of the full-size display, as Apple did with first-party apps.
Apple has enhanced iPhone SDK (released today) for iPad apps as well.
New SDK even has iPad simulator for Macs. 

10:31AM: Same environmental specs as recent MacBooks
Scott Forstall, Senior VP of iPhone software, takes the stage 

10:30AM: Google Street View looks amazing
Full capacitive and multi-touch display. Powered by a custom 1GHz Apple A4 chip
Apple claims 10 hours of battery life! "I can take a flight from San Francisco to Tokyo and watch video the whole way on one charge."
30 days of standby time 

10:20AM: Google Street View looks amazing
Full capacitive and multi-touch display. Powered by a custom 1GHz Apple A4 chip 

10:26AM: Looks at Google Maps, dragging and pinching around Paris. Snaps to current location and searches for sushi nearby

10:25AM: iPod app: Scrolls through album covers grid, tap to play song. Looks like a cross between iTunes album view and iPhone's iPod app
Shows the iTunes Store, built in. "I can sample music, discover songs, buy them."
Shows the calendar. Looks like iCal but with lots of pretty views for day, week, list. 

10:22AM: Builds a slideshow with music right from the Photos app.
iPod app: Scrolls through album covers grid, tap to play song. Looks like a cross between iTunes album view and iPhone's iPod app 

10:21AM: Grabs albums, faces, places, events from Mac, or any PC metadata.

10:20AM: Opens the Mail app. Two pane interface, but you can make the message pane full screen as well.
Mail displays attached PDFs, images, etc. Replying launches software keyboard.
He's got it balanced on both knees on his lap. Legs uncrossed, running shoes flat on the floor.
Photo app: Swipe to scroll through, portrait or landscape. Zoom. 

10:19:Software keyboard. "It's a dream to type on."
Shows the front page of NYT, scrolling around. He's sitting in a leather chair, not standing at his usual demo podium
Surfs over to Fandango. "The whole website is in the palm of your hands." 

10:15AM: "We call it the iPad."
Yes, the iPad
Pulls one out. Thin, one home button, app icons over a home screen like an iPhone
"It's the best browsing experience you've ever had. It's unbelievably great."
Landscape or portrait orientation
"To see the whole webpage is phenomenal"
Software keyboard. "It's a dream to type on."
Photo map, Google Maps app, iTunes and iTunes Store
YouTube, which has high-def now too. Movies and shows of course
And now we see a demo! 

10:09AM: "All of us use laptops and smartphones now. Everybody uses a laptop and/or a smartphone."

A third device will have to be better than a smartphone and better than a laptop at certain things: Browsing, email, photos, videos, music, games, ebooks

Some people have thought that's a netbook. "The problem is, netbooks aren't better at ANYTHING."

10:06AM: Apple's mobile sevices business is bigger than Nokia's, Samsung's, Sony's. Biggest mobile devices compay in the world.

Shows a WSJ quote: "Last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had commandments written on it."Back to 1991,

first PowerBooks are the first modern computers.