We all learn how to touch with our fingers before we figure out how to type or click a mouse. Often when we think about computing we overlook children and the elderly, and the iPad is going to be the first computer to eliminate the social divide.

The iPhone was the first phone that a Luddite could figure out in seconds and a hacker could tinker around with for endless hours. In an analogous way the iPad is going to be the computer a toddler can play games with and learn, and the same computer your grandma uses to send e-mails, browse the web and edit photos.

If you think about how a computer like this will impact people sociologically, suddenly the iPad is far more than a larger iPod Touch, as many have described it. It’s the computer for everyone: an idea Apple has been working toward for years.

That doesn’t mean the iPad will be the only computer for everyone and destroy every PC on the market, because that’s not even remotely likely. But it will introduce a significant new category.

For anyone plugged in to tech history, the idea of the child-friendly, super-lightweight computer is actually reminiscent of Xerox pioneer Alan Kay’s 40-year-old concept of the Dynabook (pictured in sketch above). I’ve been chatting with Kay about the iPad, but he’s waiting to provide his official comment on the device until he’s had a chance to try it out.

Tablet naysayers have anticipated Apple’s tablet would be a failure because of form factor, ergonomics and UI. But they missed out on the bigger problem: Nobody has cared to create content (be it web or native applications) for tablets — until now.

Say what you will about Apple, but Steve Jobs’ company is a market shaper, and the iPad is the only tablet that could shove the computing world in a new direction.

Apple has shipped over 75 million iPhones, and the iPhone OS continues to dominate mobile web traffic. Meanwhile, the App Store has served 3 billion downloads and claimed 99.4 percent of the mobile-software market.

Content developers need to see these kinds of numbers to have faith in investing in a new platform. At this rate, we’re all heading with Apple into the future of computing, and it’s looking quite bright.

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Every year around this time, a few brave forecasters declare that advertising on mobile devices is poised to become the next big thing in marketing. And every year, the results disappoint.

But this year, with technology powerhouses like Apple and Google introducing whole new mobile devices and buying up ad firms specializing in the small screen, the forecasts may finally be right.

By now, the sales pitch is familiar: The mobile phone offers advertisers all the benefits of traditional Internet ads, including the ability to track their effectiveness. And it lets marketers reach consumers on the go, on a gadget they clutch intimately.

Industry analysts say that now, with the introduction of Apple’s iPad tablet, an entirely new approach to mobile ads could be near.

That is because the iPad, a cross between a laptop and an iPhone, looks more like an iPhone from an ad perspective. It does not support Adobe Flash, the software used for much PC-based advertising. So, to make their ads available to iPad users, marketers may have to develop new kinds of ads, rather than simply adapting existing Web ads.

Apple, seeing big potential in mobile advertising, recently agreed to acquire a specialist in that business, Quattro Wireless. That followed a deal by Google to buy one of the largest players in the field, AdMob. The combined $1 billion-plus cost was of a scale not previously seen in the world of advertising on the tiny screen.

Indeed, Windsor Holden, a principal analyst at Juniper Research, predicts that mobile ad spending worldwide will more than quadruple, to $6 billion, by 2014. And he does not shrink from the prediction.

11:11 am: iWork for the iPad will be $9.99 for each application. Projects can be synced with a full mac for seamless use between devices. iPad can be connected to a projector to show presentations.

11:10 am: iPad syncs via USB like an iPhone. Photos, music, movies, etc. all managed with a Mac or PC through iTunes.

11:15 am: iPad will come in variations with Wi-Fi and 3G. 3G services for the iPad will include a few variations, including 250MB of data for only $14.99 a month. Unlimited data plan for $29.99 a month. Services provided on AT&T. Plans include free use of AT&T Wi-Fi hot spots.

11:16 am: iPad 3G service plans through AT&T are pre-paid. No contracts! Services can also be set up on the iPad itself. No store visits.

11:17 am: iPad uses GSM micro SIMs and all models come completely unlocked. Apple currently exploring international deals.

11:18 am: I feel a lead up to pricing and release date info coming… Jobs is wrapping things up.

11:19 am: The iPad will start at $499. Frantic applause ensues.

11:20 am: 16GB iPad will be $499, 32GB model will be $599, 64GB will be $699. Each model comes in 3G variants costing $629, $729, $829.

11:21 am: iPad will ship in 60 days (Wi-Fi only), 3G models in 90 days.

11:22 am: Now for iPad accessories. Apple will be offering an iPad dock, which stands it vertically, and another with a keyboard built right into the base, making the iPad essentially a full computer. A new case for the iPad as well that serves as a stand.