Apple just finished its blockbuster announcement of the new set of commandments issued by Steve Jobs - aka the rumored Apple Tablet - which it turns out is called the iPad and is both less and more than the huge media storm leading up to the launch would have us believe. BUT from the telephony point of view there is one big thing missing - there is no phone.

Of course, that means little since there ARE both a  microphone and speakers - and it can already run all existing iPhone apps. Which means that there are tens if not hundreds of VoIP apps that will work out of the box. And since the carriers are slowly dropping their bans on VoIP over 3G networks, it'll work anywhere a cellphone would work. 

But wait, there's more. Apple also announced a special deal with AT&T, including unlimited 3G data for $29.99 or 250MB bandwidth capped for $14.99 per month. So it is going to be CHEAPER than an iPhone to use as a phone. Of course it will be a lot bigger (about 9.5 by 8 by 0.5 inches). But still - a better/cheaper phone than an iPhone (as well as being a Kindle, web browser, email client, simple document editor etc etc.)