Media passes to the mega-hyped Apple iPad launch may have been the hottest ticket in the biz Wednesday. But I and hundreds of thousands of tech enthusiasts and Apple fan boys and fan girls were hungrily plugged in online, sharing instant analysis as each feature was announced.
Social networks -- namely the micro-blogging site Twitter -- allowed for the news to spread, be digested and pontificated upon instantly as Apple CEO Steve Jobs rolled through the tablet computer's list of features. While Apple doesn't provide live video for their media events, the tech community plugged into the event by tuning into the Twitter feeds of journalists in the audience.
This steady stream of information gave me a front-row seat for the long-awaited event, which I was able to share in real time with the readers of freep.com. As Jobs took the stage at 1 p.m., tech personality Leo LaPorte streamed live video using a webcam-enabled laptop from his seat in the crowd at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
At the peak of Jobs' event, more than 110,000 users were glued to LaPorte's choppy signal and grainy video.
One of the most popular live Web chat tools -- CoverItLive -- buckled Wednesday under the crush of updates, sending me and other Web editors searching for another platform to update online readers.
Tech blogs Engadget.com and Gizmodo.com provided live blogs that auto-refreshed as new pictures and news rolled in.
Within an hour of Jobs' presentation, Engadget posted a 7-minute hands-on video of the device, offering Web viewers an up-close look at the innovative interface. Earlier, the hype maxed out in the final hours before Jobs uttered the word "iPad" for the first time in public. All the top tech blogs were updated with freshly leaked pictures of a tablet computer bolted to a table.
After months of endless speculation and supposed iPad mock-ups, these grainy, dim images were the first accurate look at the device.
Something the months of speculation got dead wrong, though, was the iPad's price, which drew virtual oohs and aahs after the announcement.
The $499 price for the low-end model amassed the most positive Web buzz. Most of the speculation and rumors had pegged the device in the $800-$1,000 range.
"Everyone's going nuts about the iPad, and it sure looks great. Price is very good too," said Twitter user @MarcJX8P.
"iPad: The most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price," raved @quotedmind.
The what?
If anything landed with a soft thud online, it was the iPad's name.
Parody videos popped up almost immediately on YouTube, comparing the tablet to a feminine hygiene product.
"The new iPad comes in 3 varieties ... heavy, regular, and light," said Twitter user @Kruse.
"The iPad is a bad name choice. How are people in Boston supposed to differentiate between it and the iPod?" quipped @robertcaplin.
Still, nearly half of freep.com readers picked the name iPad as their favorite of the contenders in our online poll that concluded before the announcement.
The verdict
As members of the assembled media retreated to their laptops to pound out the first reviews, scores of headlines filled my Twitter stream.
Tech blog CrunchGear offered one of the most succinct early takes.
"All the naysayers can feel free to eat their hats," said writer Devin Coldewey. "Today Apple finally revealed the device we've all been whispering about for a good year or more. The Sasquatch of gadgets is real."