Apple announced the iPad 2 today at a media event in San Francisco to an invite-only crowd of media reporters. Steve jobs made a surprise appearance, though his attendance was rumored, and spoke often throughout the 70 minute event.
You can order the iPad 2 starting March 11, color choices include black or white.
Pricing is as follows:
16GB WiFi – $99, 32GB WiFi – $599, 64GB WiFi – $699
16GB 3G – $629, 32GB 3G – $729, 64GB 3G – $829
Let’s take a look at what the iPad 2 has to offer:
Body:
The new iPad 2 design is 1/3 thinner and 15% lighter than the original iPad weighing only 1.3 pounds.
New iPad 2 Features and Apps:
A much anticipated upgrade for iPad is the forward(VGA) and rear(720p resolution) facing cameras. Users can now enjoy the FaceTime video conferencing feature between 2 iPads, iPad and iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and iPad and Mac. The rear facing camera shoots HD video to be used with iMovie and can also be used with FaceTime to shoot video from the opposite side of the iPad. Learn more about FaceTime here or more about the cameras here.
Photobooth compliments the new iPad cameras and allows users to edit and manage their photos easily. And with iMovie, editing videos is easy simply by using your fingers. Videos can be uploaded directly to Vimeo, CNN iReport, and YouTube. Cost will be $4.99 and availability is March 11. Learn more here.
GarageBand for iPad is a great advancement. It allows you to use your own instrument or play different instruments within the iPad like piano and drums. Included are touch instruments, guitar amps, loops, 8 track recording, mixing capabilities. The cost is $4.99 and will be available March 11 with iOS 4.3.
The iPad can now be shown on your HDTV through the new HDMI cable. This feature will show on your TV exactly what is on your iPad screen in full 1080p. The cable also charges the iPad at the same time as viewing and will cost $39.
AirPlay lets you share pictures and videos to your TV wirelessly.
Apple did away with a case and has create a “smart” cover which attatches to the iPad magnetically. To save weight and space, the Smart Cover only covers the glass surface and can be used to prop up the iPad in two different ways while holding it in the landscape view. The iPad automatically turns on when the Smart Cover is opened, and automatically shuts off when the cover is closed. The mico-fiber lined cover helps to keep the glass display clean as well. There are 10 colors available, 5 in polyurethane and 5 in leather.
Inside:
iPad 2 received a processor upgrade to a dual-core A5 chip which is up to twice as fast as the first generation iPad’s processor and gives up to 9 times the previous graphics performance. This adds more speed to everything you can do with the iPad. It was pretty fast before, but it’s even faster now. The chip’s power will be seen most with its enhancement of graphics and playing games.
A new gyroscope allows for move movement control and orientation detection in games.
iPad 2 will also come with the new iOS 4.3 with updated features like better Safari performance and faster JavaScript. Users will be able to stream music with iTunes wirelessly from a remote Mac. The lock button can now be used as a mute button or rotation lock. And a much welcomed addition to iOS 4.3 is support for a personal hotspot, but only for iPhone 4. iOS 4.3 will be available March 11.
Apple has posted a video detailing the new iPad 2 design which can be seen here. They also have a video demonstrating the new iPad 2 smart cover here.
Steve Jobs ended the iPad 2 media event with a quote about the iPad and its future:
“This is worth repeating. It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology is not enough. It’s tech married with the liberal arts and the humanities. Nowhere is that more true than in the post-PC products. Our competitors are looking at this like it’s the next PC market. That is not the right approach to this. These are pos-PC devices that need to be easier to use than a PC, more intuitive.”
After the event, Apple put all first generation iPad models on sale, reducing the price for each by $100.
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