A lot was announced today, and a lot of the announcements included the words “available today”.

So far the apple.com sites have gone live for both the new, third-generation iPad (Resolutionary!) and the refreshed Apple TV. At the iPad site, you can see links to the iPad video and commercial played during the keynote, as well as the keynote itself. The US store.apple.com is currently showing the infamous “We’ll be back shortly” posty, so we expect to see these devices available for pre-sale soon.

Also, the briefly mentioned iOS 5.1 is available for over-the-air updates on devices running iOS 5. Go to Settings.app > General > Software update for the goods. In association with the iOS 5.1 release, iTunes 10.6 is also available for the Mac via Software Update.

We’re still waiting for iWork, iMovie, and Garageband updates as well as the new iPhoto for iPad. We’ll update as this develops.

The new 3rd-generation iPad from Apple weighs in a little beefier than the iPad 2 — 1.4lbs inside that 9.4 mm thick design. Since the iPad is still nailing that 10-hour life — even 9 hours on 4G — one might presume that the extra weight is some more battery crammed into what little nooks and crannies there may be around that new A5X processor.

Pricing won’t be different than what we’re used to. Wi-Fi only models are available in the same sizes and prices as the iPad 2: 16GB for $499, 32GB for $599, and 64GB for $699. The 4G LTE models will be available at the same prices we saw doe the previous 3G models: $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB, $829 for 64GB.

The new iPad will be available March 16. Pre-order today.

Want more coverage from the iPad 3 announcement today? Check out our iPad 3 Event page.

Photo Credit: Macworld

Alongside the iPad refresh today, Apple released new versions of some of its popular apps. The iWork suite for iOS received a boost to make it look pretty on the new Retina display. iWork also sports some new features such as 3D charts, animations, and new builds and transitions. All three have been updated, available today as free updates or $9.99 each for new customers.

iLife on iOS

So far the real ooohs and ahhhs from Apple apps have come from the iLife updates for iOS.

Garageband now adds Smart Strings to its other “smart” instruments — Smart Guitars, Smart Keyboards, and Smart Drums. New iCloud capabilities allow sharing projects among your devices. The popular music-creation app now includes Jam Session — the ability to connect four devices wirelessly for a single recording session. The new Garageband is available today as a free update for current users, $4.99 for the newbies.

iMovie brings some new features from its desktop counterpart in the form of Trailers. And of course, iMovie makes powerful use of that 1080p camera featured in the new iPad. The free update is available today, $4.99 to get the goodies for the first time.

iPhoto for iPad

While Garageband and iMovie received some welcome “update love”, one of the highlights of today’s keynote was Randy Ubillos’s demonstration of the new iPhoto for iPad.

I’ve written before about Randy Ubillos’s penchant for redesigning the Apple apps from the ground up, built for portability and touch. iPhoto for iPad is no different. It is a complete rethinking of iPhoto designed specifically for iOS and the iPad.

Its features go way beyond the simple editing capabilities found within Photos.app on your iOS device. With access to your photo library, you can take any image (up to 19 megapixels!!) and treat it to some professional-quality effects. The iPad’s multitouch capabilities empowers navigation, the use of brushes for photo retouching, cropping, comparison, and more. iPhoto for iPad has a myriad of user-definable UI elements, all of which make use of that gorgeous new multitouch Retina display.

New features introduced with iPhoto for iPad include Photo Beaming and Photo Journals — new ways to organize, curate, sort, and share your vast library of photos. Photo Journals collects images into a new, cool way to share a collection of photos from an event or project. Think of it like a photo storybook, telling the tale of your vacation/adventure. A calendar element displays photos taken on a given date, and the map feature from the desktop app is rendered here, appropriate for the multitouch iPad. Publish to iCloud and share with anyone on any browser.

Double-tapping thumbnails has iPhoto searching for similar images, pointing to lots of new image analyzation tools under the hood. These new tools can be seen in the powerful exposure, white balance, and color correction tools. And amazingly, all edits are non-destructive, leaving your original image safe.

iPhoto for iPad includes many built-in effects, accessible via a swatch book of previews. Effects are presets, but many also have controls to fine tune the look. Effects include black & white, vignetting, tilt-shift, watercolor, and more.

iPhoto for iPad is available today for $4.99.

Want more coverage from the iPad 3 announcement today? Check out our iPad 3 Event page.

Photo Credit: The Verge

The new iPad now features 4G LTE in select models, replacing the 3G models seen in previous iPads.

The iPad 2 had great connectivity with EV-DO at 3.1 Mbps and HSPA at 7.2 Mbps. The new LTE capabilities rocket the iPad into true broadband-class speeds with HSPA+ (21 Mbps), dual carrier HSDPA (42 Mbps), and LTE (topping out at a whopping 73 Mbps down).

The 4G iPads will be available on Verizon, AT&T, Rogers, Bell, and Telus. No mention of Sprint, presumably due to their different 4G strategy. Because of differing standards within LTE, each carrier will have its own model of 4G iPad; however, each device will be world-ready with regard to 3G.

Want more coverage from the iPad 3 announcement today? Check out our iPad 3 Event page.

Photo Credit: Macworld

At today’s keynote, Phil Schiller demonstrated the iPad’s new iSight camera. With it’s much improved specs, millions of nerds can videotape their favorite events to the chagrin of those sitting behind them.

The new iPad sports 5-megapixel backside illuminated sensor on the back, 5-element lens, IR filter, and ISP built into the A5X chip. This seems to be roughly the same camera as in the iPhone 4. The new camera is capable of 1080p video recording and features auto-exposure, auto-focus, and built-in stabilization.

The FaceTime camera is still on the front of the device for video conferencing, and we expect there is little change there, since none was mentioned.

Apple today announced a new iteration of their popular “hobby”, the Apple TV. Big features are full HD 1080p video streaming, a more iPad-like app-based interface, and cloud access to previously purchased movies.

The external design of the device is still the same. Look for it to go on sale March 16th for around $99, or order one today.

Update: The new Apple TV is up on the Apple website.

Photo Credit: The Verge

Here’s a running list of the various statistics, sales data, and percentages flying around during today’s keynote. Keep checking back for the most updated list.

• 172 million post-PC devices
• Post-PC devices make up 76 percent of Apple’s revenue
• 362 retail stores around the world, 110 in the last quarter alone
• 315 million iOS devices sold in the last year, 62 in Q4 2011
• 25 billionth app recently downloaded in China
• 585,000 apps in App Store; over 200,000 just for iPad
• 15.4 million iPads sold in last quarter (more than any competitor’s sales of their entire PC line)

Want more coverage from the iPad 3 announcement today? Check out our iPad 3 Event page.

It seems that in 1985, a young Bill Gates encouraged then-CEO of Apple John Sculley and Jean Louis Gassée of the Macintosh team to open up the Mac OS as a standard. Microsoft was on the verge of releasing Windows 1.0 as a software bundle, and Gates felt his expertise of having worked closely with computer hardware manufacturers would be wisdom for Apple.

In the memo, archived by Letters of Note, Gates outlines his suggestions.

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