It is approximately 10:09 am PST as I write this sentence. That makes me 9 minutes and 25 seconds behind schedule. Apologies to everyone.

So, it’s finally upon us. Apple’s latest creation will be unveiled today at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco. Follow the semi-live update of the event as I scurry between Twitter, Engadget, and TUAW to get the latest on what is happening in San Francisco.

9:55 am : Slowly booting up my awesome Gateway laptop. What? No one uses Gateway anymore?

10:12 am : History lesson in the beginning of the event. Steve Jobs is back! YES! Wait a minute. He came back 4 months ago. Back to the history lesson: Apple is largest mobile devices company in the world.

Let’s go back to 1991, when we first shipped our Powerbooks. The first with a TFT screen, the first with palm rests, and had an integrated pointing device. Just a few years ago in 2007 we reinvented the phone… and a few years later we got the iPhone 3GS.

                       
Steve Jobs

SO all of us use laptops and smartphones… the question has arisen; is there room for something in the middle. We’ve wondered for years as well — in order to create that category, they have to be far better at doing some key tasks… better than the laptop, better than the smartphone.

Steve Jobs
10:13 am : It’s called the iPad! Here are some pictures!

10:28 am : What the hell can this thing do? Here’s what I know so far:

1. The iPad does look like a large iPhone.
2. Very, very smooth scrolling, unlike the Nexus One. Even graphic intensive applications appear to work like a breeze.
3. Seriously, just take a look at these pictures. They look like the iPhone expanded into a larger screen.

10:30 am : New SDK released today specifically for the iPad only!

10:40 am : Just got the latest news on the specs courtesy of TUAW. Here they are:

• 9.7 inch IPS screen
• 1/2 inch thick
• 10 hours of battery life (<<- -NO WAY!)
• 16-64 Gigabytes of flash memory
• Screen resolution: 1024 X 768 (2 iPhones) Mighty gorgeous!
• Accelerometer and compass
• Speaker and mic
• Dock connector
• Runs iPhone OS 3.2
• No camera
• No multitasking (Jailbreak anybody?)

10:42 am : Statistics on the App Store: 18 months old. 140,000 apps. Oh, yeah. The iPad can run almost all of these apps out of the box. According the TUAW: “Pixel for pixel accuracy and also, automatically full screen via pixel doubling.” I can’t handle anymore of this news. Please. Stop it Apple.

10:45 am : Checking out Apple’s stock. They are down $3.24(-1.57%) Earlier at 9:00 am PST, it was down $2.74              (-1.33%). I guess people buy on anticipation and sell now after news of the iPad.

10:53 am : Who wants to bet that the Apple iPad site will crash today? (Update! : I lost my bet. Sigh)

10:57 am : Apple announces their new iBooks app for viewing eBooks on the iPad. What did I tell you? I told you not to buy that Kindle.

11:03 am : iBooks store is very similar to the iTunes Store. Books from the five largest publishers in the world (including Penguin, Macmillan, and Simon & Shuster) will have their books on the iBooks store. Page navigation is designed well to maximize the user experience; manual page scrolling or tap to flip page turning.In addition, iPhone and iPod Touch users can access the iBooks store as well, starting today.

“i was expecting more “eye-friendly” text, i.e. e-ink. i can’t picture myself staring at this screen reading a novel” — Sang

11:11 am : Revised version of iWorks and Keynote made just for the iPad. iWorks app will retail for $9.99 each.

11:17 am : Microsoft Excel on the iPad. I mean, working on spreadsheets and boring data entry and drafting reports on the iPad.

11:19 am : AT&T haters rejoice! The iPad will come unlocked meaning you can choose to use any service carrier you like(except Verizon) – via @sebastienpage

11:22 am : Finally! What we’ve all been waiting for! The pricing! Get your wallets and tissues out people before you read this:

• $499 for 16 GB ($629 with 3G)
• $599 for 32GB ) ($729 with 3G)
• $699 for 64BG ($829 with 3G)

The iPad will available worldwide in 60 days. 3G models in 90 days.

11:28 am : The iPad is the largest multitouch product ever built by Apple. Well, duh.

11:32 am : More pictures!

11:36 am : The event is finally over. Closing remarks:

“Go to the store. Get your hands on an iPad. Once you get your hands on an iPad you’ll never go back.”

11:38 am : Video of the iPad

11:49 am : “iTampon” is trending on Twitter because people women think that iPad sounds like some tampon.

11:42 am : Will it ever end? iPeriod is now trending as well. SMH.

11:58 am : Will I need to jailbreak the iPad? I’m just wondering.

12:00 pm: Visit the Apple’s iPad site now to learn more about the iPad!

12:10 pm : Apple stock is up $3.35 (+1.63%). People must be really happy.

12:40 pm : Holy fu!@#!@ I have to go to Physics class! FML

Image via Pidjin.net and Engadget

What an exhausting day. Did Apple meet your expectations today? To the ladies: Are you gonna shell out some Benjamins to buy an iTampon? Let me know in the comments section below!