While reaction is mixed about the iPad - mainly on why do we actually need it and the name of the product - t has a lot of features. However, one of them is not Flash - and that has made Adobe a bit pissed off since they continuously advocating for Flash on iPhone, and it looks like it would be the same for the iPad. The lack of Adobe Flash would not allow users to access sites like Hulu or the BBC iPlayer as they depend on Flash as their video player and not QuickTime.

"Without Flash support, iPad users will not be able to access the full range of web content, including over 70% of games and 75% of video on the web," the Flash Platform Team wrote in a blog post.

The team, however, has praised that they are going to be using PDF and ePub formats for its iBooks feature, but criticised them for adding their own DRM on the ePub file format, making any other devices outside of the Apple Ecosystem unable to open the book.

Adobe has been one of the most vocal companies that have criticising Apple's closed app ecosystem where everything is tightly controlled by the Cupertino-based company as all applications must be approved by them before being sold on their App Store.

BREAKING STORY: Apple has announced the iPad, its much-rumoured Apple tablet device. It will feature a 1GHz processor dubbed the "A4", and it is an in-house processor. The screen is not a 10-inch, but it is close to it - a LED-backlit 9.7-inch IPS display; and is only 0.5-inch in thickness and weighs only 1.5 pounds.

The device will also feature Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 and an accelerometer so you can turn it around in landscape mode like on the iPhone. Apple claims that it has a battery life of 10 hours.

Like predicted, it will use the iPhone OS; but it will have some modifications, including the dock being similar to Snow Leopard and a background image. Applications can use the big screen as the iPad SDK has been released alongside the iPhone SDK, and iPhone apps can be used on the iPad, either in full screen or in the same screen size as the iPhone, but you would see black borders around it.

The iPad has come out with redesigned applications as well because of the big screen, with the iTunes stores and music app looking like their desktop counterpart. Photos will include Faces and Events that is on iPhoto, while YouTube HD will now be added on their dedicated application.

Also announced was that the iPad would become an eBook reader, rivalling the Amazon Kindle. Called "iBooks", the bookstore will feature five partners at launch - including Penguin and HarperCollins. Apple has also made iPad versions of their iWorks suite, with full document creation and editing tools. They will cost $9.99 for each part of the iWork suite - meaning that you would have to pay about $20 for both Keynote and Numbers.

The iPad will include 3G, after Apple came to a new deal with AT&T. Models with 3G will have a higher pricing, plus will have to pay either $14.99 for 250MB and $29.99 for an unlimited plan. All are unlocked. International 3G plans will be announced shortly in June/July.

The new device will cost $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB and $699 for the 64GB. The 3G models will start at $629 for 16GB, while 32GB will be priced at $729 and 64GB to be priced at $829. The device will come out in 60 days - or two months approx - for the non-3G iPads, while the 3G models will ship out in 90 days.

Turns out, when you're going to keep a product a secret, its best not to let your partner's executives or CEOs ruin the surprise. In an interview with CNBC, the CEO of publishing company McGraw-Hill admitted that the company has made books that would be heading for the Apple tablet; while also revealing that it will have the iPhone OS - so now you can play Tap Tap Revolution on a 10-inch screen (that's going to be one big orb that you have to press).

McGraw: Yeah, Very exciting. Yes, they'll make their announcement tomorrow on this one. We have worked with Apple for quite a while. And the Tablet is going to be based on the iPhone operating system and so it will be transferable. So what you are going to be able to do now -- we have a consortium of e-books. And we have 95% of all our materials that are in e-book format on that one. So now with the tablet you're going to open up the higher education market, the professional market. The tablet is going to be just really terrific.

You can watch the video below, and its somewhere around the 2 minute and 50 second mark.

Source: MacRumors

RUMOUR MILL: iPhone users in America might not need to subscribe to the AT&T network as Apple is planning to release the iPhone to all US mobile carriers within the next 18 months ahead of its announcement where the much-rumoured Apple Tablet is expected to be revealed. This would end the exclusive deal with AT&T and could double or triple the number of devices sold, according to an analyst at firm Oppenheimer & Co talking to Bloomberg.

The analyst has also noted that this would put pressure on mobile carriers profit margins as the subsidy costs are higher, and increase the spending on their networks - as much as US$3 billion - to support the increase data usage through their networks.

A proposed timeline could see T-Mobile, owned by Germany-based Deutsche Telekom, having the phone first by the summer; while Verizon and Sprint Nextel could get it in the fall. Clearwire could get the phone in 2011.

EXCLUSIVE/RUMOUR MILL: According to a Telecom NZ sales representative, the iPhone is coming to Telecom. It is unclear if it is the 3G iPhone or a next-generation iPhone. While the XT Network has been out since the launch of the 3GS, it is unclear why it has taken almost a year to come.

However it may have something to do with Telecom NZ offering a "iPhone Plan" consisting of a $600 account credit while not being an offical carrier. The source was not willing to say anything else other than the iPhone is coming to Telecom NZ.

The Vatican has made some attempts in making a presence online - including having their own YouTube channel - but the Pope has issued a new message ahead of World Communications Day that tells priests that they should embrace social media and start blogging - yes, you heard that right.

"God’s loving care for all people in Christ must be expressed in the digital world not simply as an artifact from the past, or a learned theory, but as something concrete, present and engaging," Pope Benedict XVI wrote. "Our pastoral presence in that world must thus serve to show our contemporaries."

His new message could see priests uploading images and videos on services like Flickr and YouTube, while writing blog posts and having podcasts or vodcasts. Some American ministries that focus on youth have already embraced social media.

The trend has already been embraced by Father Bob McGuire, who has a blog and two podcasts - one from the Podcast Network and another from Triple J. He also has a MySpace and Facebook profile and a Twitter account, where over 3,000 follow his tweets.

However, just don't expect your priest to write messages that may or may not contain their deepest darkest secrets, or posting drunk pictures of themselves on Facebook - which they do not do, hopefully - or playing Farmville. The decree by Pope Benedict XVI has warned that priests should be used be spread the Gospel in their parishes and/or diocese.

"Priests present in the world of digital communications should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart, their closeness to Christ," Pope Benedict XVI said on the matter.

Will it be Verizon or will it be AT&T? Both companies compete in the mobile sector in the United States and are fiercely competitive - with AT&T having the iPhone and Verizon having the Droid. As both look to compete in securing the rights to sell the Apple Tablet on their networks, who would be the victor?

Turns out, it would be both - according to Fox News - as Apple is rumoured to make two versions of the tablet: one for the Verizon's CDMA network and another for AT&T's GSM network.

While AT&T looks like a sure bet, especially when they do have a relationship with Apple in terms with the iPhone (and has a contract with them); Verizon has been the long rumoured potential second carrier to have the rights to sell the iPhone in the US.

Either way, we're looking at the January 27/28 (Australia) event that is rumoured to announce the device.

So, since we are heading towards a long weekend, why not post some gadget-craving blog posts, since we've been a bit slow on the gadgets news since CES (and trying to get back into the habit of blogging). We turn our attention to this All Spark from Transformers  - wait, what? Isn't that supposed to be fictional? Turns out, it's real but not what you expect it to be.

A gamer known as GivinTats has decided to make his own All Spark from the movie Transformers as a case mod for his Xbox 360. Plus, its fully functional. Granted, these are from 2007 - when the first movie came out - so don't hold your breath if he still has this with him. Still, its a wickedly cool mod. More images below.

Source: Hawtymcbloggy