You know you can’t obtain an iPad for least three months, but you may not know the reason you can’t even buy one in advance: Apple has not yet obtained the necessary Federal Communications Commission approval to unleash it on the nation’s airwaves.

The specs on the iPad page mention the lack of FCC approval in tiny print that is easy to miss. And nobody seriously expects the iPad won’t be approved — Apple’s been through this before, with the launch of the first iPhone announced six months before it was available. And the “why?” is almost certainly to have kept as few people in the loop, and only those you could in some way control.

But in an e-mail sent to customers, Apple made the situation a bit more clear. “Some features and applications are not available in all areas,” reads the note. “Application availability and pricing are subject to change. This device has not yet been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.”

Apple has good reason to keep a government agency out of the advance loop, since somehow anything juicy is likely to see the light of day. Still, the FCC likes Apple right now, recently commending the company for reversing its policy against VOIP calling over AT&T’s 3G network, which allows the iPhone and iPad to be used as web phones.

However, the new reference in Apple’s e-mail about certain features and applications not being available or being priced differently depending on a customer’s location raises unanswered questions. It could refer to content-oriented applications (movies, books, magazines, etc.), which in their physical forms, vary in price based on location — we already know that this is true of books. But all we really know about that at this point is that the iPads sold in one area will differ in features and app prices from iPads sold in another area.

The FCC’s approval process is standard for electronic devices. The agency ensures that they don’t interfere with other wireless equipment, operate in an area of the spectrum that’s allocated for something else, or emit too much radiation into the people using them.

The agency approved the iPhone about a month after Apple announced it. Unless there’s an unexpected hiccup, it will most likely do the same for the iPad. A conspiracy theorist might say that Apple secretly hopes the FCC will step in and “force” it to sell the iPad to all of its potential customers, regardless of which wireless carrier or plan they want to use, but that seems like wishful thinking.

Close scrutiny of the iPad which Steve Jobs presented at Apple’s special event last week shows what may be webcam, tucked away in the black screen bezel just like it is on the MacBook Pro.

A screen-grab from the official video of the event shows nothing but a small dot above the screen, opposite the home button. Taken alone, this isn’t much, but compare this with the picture of the iPad leaked just hours before the event (below). If you remember, these showed an iPad locked down in a security frame, and you could clearly see the camera in the bezel. I even pointed out the cutout in the frame that let us see the webcam.

Still not convinced? What about this screenshot from the iPad emulator in the new SDK (software development kit)?

That sure looks like the iPad thinks it has a camera. Up until now, this is what any good TV lawyer would call circumstantial evidence. The last, and oddest, piece of the puzzle comes from Mac and iPod repair company Mission Repair. The company has, somewhat strangely, already received replacement parts for fixing iPads. On the company’s blog, employee Ryan Arter has posted pictures which show a spot for a camera in the main iPad frame:

This is accompanied by a shot of the frame alongside the camera from a MacBook. It’s a perfect fit. The only thing that seems weird on this last point is that Apple is already sending out parts. Why so soon?

So why didn’t Steve Jobs announce the camera already? Perhaps the hardware is there, but asI previously wrote, Apple is leaving it out to meet the rather severe price restrictions it has set for the product line. Jobs was most likely using a prototype on stage, just like he did when the iPhone was first revealed. A prototype would be likely to have the camera intact.

Even if these clues all add up, we’d guess that the first-generation iPad will still ship without a camera. After all, did all the reporters who got hands-on time with the iPad after the launch really all miss an iSight camera? We doubt it. And remember the third-gen iPod Touch, which was expected to have a camera and then shipped without it, but with a camera-shaped hole inside.

Perhaps Apple will pull a “one more thing” closer to the launch date, or perhaps not. One thing we do know for sure, though — camera or not, there is one thing that Apple will certainly not be adding to the iPad: Flash.

Did Steve Jobs’ iPad Have An iSight Camera? [Cult of Mac]

Top photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

iPad Camera rumor becoming a reality? We think so [Mission Repair]

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/02/apple-ipad-may-ship-with-webcam/

Apple intends to stay “nimble” on pricing of the iPad, possibly lowering prices if the newly unveiled tablet device fails to gain traction among consumers.

That was just one of the items in a note out Sunday night from Credit Suisse recounting meetings with Apple executives. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Apple officials who met with CS analyst Bill Shope seemed to downplay the potential for some cannibalization of other Apple lines, which analysts have noted.

Apple wants the iPad to be the best device for a few key use cases. For instance, the company believes it could eventually be seen as superior to both handheld and notebook devices for browsing the Internet, using the App Store, and consuming mobile media (video, photos, and e-books). Nevertheless, in other areas, notebooks, the iPhone, or an iPod may be more appropriate. This clear segmentation of capabilities suggests that cannibalization may be less of a concern than most currently believe.

Shope also wrote that despite the seemingly aggressive pricing of the iPad — the lower-than-expected price points range from $499 to $829 — Apple seemed to indicate it would respond with price cuts if demand for the device wasn’t revving up the way it liked. “While it remains to be seen how much traction the iPad gets initially, management noted that it will remain nimble (pricing could change if the company is not attracting as many customers as anticipated),” Shope wrote.

Apple shares are up about 0.5%. On the year, they’re down a bit less than 7%. And since the iPad was introduced on Jan. 27, shares are down about 5.5%.

Today, Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs took to the stage to introduce a new device named the Apple iPad.

Jobs began by revealing that Apple has reached 250 million iPod sales to date. He then revealed that “Apple is the largest mobile devices business in the world today.” Moving on throughout Jobs speech he questioned whether there is room for a third category device in-between a laptop or a smart-phone. Jobs then mocked competitors for investing in netbooks and immediately revealed the iPad.

Jobs went on to demonstrate several features including browsing, Photos and built-in slideshows. The iTunes store is also built in and the usual suspects of a mail, contacts and calendar applications are available. Jobs also demonstrated the maps application and its location features.

YouTube HD support is also included and Jobs demonstrated various videos during his keynote. After the video demonstrations Jobs moved onto the specifications:

• 0.5″ thin
• Weighs 1.5 pounds
• 9.7″ IPS display
• 1GHz Apple A4 processor
• 16, 32, or 64GB of flash storage
• 802.11n, WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1
• 10 hours battery life

Various applications were demonstrated on the new iPad, some run at full resolution with slight pixelation whilst others run at their native resolution which seems far from ideal. A New York Times application was also demonstrated briefly that syncs between the iPhone app and includes in-line video clips.

Later in his speech Jobs priced up data plans for the iPad over 3G, AT&T will be offering the following:

• 250MB monthly data limit for $14.99 – No contract
• Unlimited data for $29.99 – No contract

International data plans will be revealed in June.

The iPad will be available in two months time for the WiFi only version and three months time for the WiFi and 3G version. Pricing of the devices will be:

• 16GB WiFi only $499, WiFi + 3G $629
• 32GB WiFi only $599, WiFi + 3G $729
• 64GB WiFi only $699, WiFi + 3G $829

Apple also announced a case and keyboard dock accessory for “when you really need to do a lot of typing” said Jobs.

News of the announcement saw Apple’s (AAPL) stock drop over 1% initially and later recovered and rose 1%.