Well, that was certainly an interesting day. Apple delivered everything we expected and a bit more.

Steve Jobs formally unveiled the new iPad, and while most of the specs were already known, there were some surprises and plenty of things worth discussing.

First off, the "iPad" name itself. Not to get too into titles, but in this case I think it merits a brief discussion. Apple is increasingly viewing its hardware as falling in two categories: "Mac" computer and "i" electronics. That Apple made this the iPad and not MacPad could really indicate that Apple is not seeing this as challenging computers, meaning it is and will be more of a tablet than a netbook. Those who were looking for any sort of serious photo/video editing or higher-end gaming features probably didn't want to hear that.

Big thumbs up to Apple for the development and inclusion at launch of the dock. As much as Jobs and others like to talk up the keyboard, it's pretty clear that a touchscreen keypad is simply not going to cut it for most any task beyond Tweeting. For students this is huge. The textbook store component of iBooks is a tough sell on its own, but when you have a word processor and keyboard/stand combination, you have something that could be a huge hit in campuses around the world.

One question, however, is how the iPad will connect to printers. The iPhoneOS was never designed with the need for printing. I'm sure Apple has already addressed this, but it will be interesting to see how it works.

The vast range of devices being offered was a change of pace for Apple, and could indicate just how much Apple wants the iPad to succeed. Even the Mac models come with three or four options with a fairly short range of prices between each. iPad ranges from $499 to $825 and ranges from a Wi-Fi-only 16GB device for students and home users to the 3G-equipped 64GB system for road warriors. Apple obviously wants the iPad line to succeed in a big way, and it looks like it has higher hopes for the iPad than the iPhone or iPod. A lofty goal indeed.

Finally there's the question of 3G. Currently in the states the iPhone is tied in with AT&T, and with today's announcement that partnership will continue, unless the rumours or new carriers floated earlier this week are not only true, but also applicable to iPad. Will the company also go for exclusive deals in Europe? And if so, will anti-trust authorities go after Apple for it?

Steve Jobs and his company answered a great number of questions today, but a great many remain in the 60-day run up to the iPad's release. Those hoping for an end to the years-long Apple tablet hype will have to suffer for at least another few months.

Amazon has to be more than a little worried by this. iPad makes the Kindle look completely antiquated. E-ink displays are said to cause less eye-strain than LCD screens, but that's not much of a selling point against the laundry list of advantages iPad has. If it's going to compete in this market, Amazon needs a massive overhaul and fast. Perhaps even the adoption of a new platform. Which leads us to our final point...

The wild-card in all of this: Android. At this year's CES there were several devices demonstrated, but only sparingly and as little more than prototypes. With this news, Google and its hardware partners are on the clock. If they can not only show but give release dates on rival devices to the iPad, the Android community can take some of the wind out of Apple's sales.

Out here in the States one of the biggest gripes about the iPhone has nothing to do with the phone itself, but rather with its exclusive carrier, AT&T. Complaints ranging from sluggish and spotty 3G speeds and dropped connections are common with any carrier, and in different parts of a state or even a city, reception can vary greatly from one network to another.

If a recent analyst report is anything to go on, however, we could see that issue resolved for a great many people. Apple's biggest and oldest carrier deal may be set to expire and the company could be preparing to expand to other networks.

Oppenheimer analyst Tim Horan recently suggested that the deal with AT&T will expire in May, and that Apple may spend the following months rolling out deals with T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint.

Should those carriers agree to Apple's current subsidisation rates, such a move could send iPhone sales and Apple's profits through the roof. That doesn't seem as likely with multiple deals, however, as the companies would not want to pay those sorts of costs without getting an exclusive contract.

Instead, if true, the news could mean that Apple is willing to take a cut in profit margins and make up for it by selling more iPhones. Given the popularity that the iPhone has had with even one carrier, that may not be such a far-fetched idea.

It might not be long before you fire up your iPhone's copy of Safari, tap the search window and run yourself a search on... Bing?

If a recent report from BusinessWeek is correct, Apple and Microsoft are in talks on a new partnership which would replace the iPhone's current Google search bar with a Bing search in Safari.

While it's possible that this is the result of Apple being impressed by Bing (and if such a deal goes down I'm sure that will be Apple's standard explanation) it's just as likely that Apple is in fact pretty miffed with Google. It's hard to imagine a company being disliked enough by Apple to make Microsoft a favorable alternative. Perhaps Steve Jobs was a lot more upset about Eric Schmidt and the rest of the company's actions with Android than we were led to believe.

On another note, if Apple does in fact turn its back on Google and go to Bing, will the faithful follow suit? For so many years Microsoft was seen as the enemy, and the upstart Google was viewed by Mac users as a close ally. How long would it take for longtime Mac users to come around to the company's new stance?

As the rumoured release date for the new mystery tablet creeps up, a pair of new rumours are adding some intrigue.

First off is a new report that the market for 10in touch screens has become increasingly tight in recent days. It seems someone has been buying up as many 10.1in units as they can get their hands on. The mystery buyer is said to be none other than Apple Inc.

In case you've recently been lobotomised and haven't quite been able to connect the dots, this would indicate that Apple is going into production mode for a 10in tablet, quite likely the one due for its unveiling in the next few weeks. Given Apple's prefered timetable for unveiling new products, taking pre-orders and shipping, this means that those analyst predictions of early March are looking more and more likely.

There have also been new reports on the nature of the device. A few blogs are reporting that the device will utilise the iPhone OS, and operating as what has been described as "an iPhone on steroids". If true, those reports would suggest that the device will function more like a conventional e-reader/tablet system rather than as a netbook/sub-notebook type of device.

For months, all we've had on the mysterious Apple tablet was speculation and predictions. Now, finally, we may just have a date to go with it.

Reports are beginning to surface that Apple is planning an event for 27 January for San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The downtown San Francisco location has been Apple's home away from home when it comes to product unveilings. If a new product isn't rolled out at company headquarters in Cupertino, it's going to be unveiled at Yerba Buena Center.

While Apple has backed away from the Macworld expo in the last year, January has remained a popular time for the company to roll out new products, and given the speculation that has been going on since last fall, this could be it. Apple analyst Gene Munster has gone so far as to predict a March release.

As an aside, how much of a slap in the face to Macworld would it be for Apple to walk away from the show, only to make its biggest announcement in years just days before the show? One has to wonder if there was more to the story than Apple simply wanting to go on its own time frame.