To some surprise, Steve Jobs himself took the stage during his medical leave of absence, as he “didn’t want to miss it”, as he said, since they had been working on the product (iPad 2) for awhile.
Before the iPad 2 presentation, Steve Jobs explained how 100 million books were downloaded so far from iBooks and that Random House will bring over 17,000 more books to the iBooks store.
He also revealed that Apple has recently shipped their 100 millionth iPhone. Not bad.
As for iPad 1, 15 million iPad’s sold during the 9 months it was available in 2010. That brings it up to a market share of over 90%. There are currently over 65,000 iPad apps in Apple’s App Store – and some 100 apps for Android’s Honeycomb, Steve showed on stage. Ouch!
iPad 2
The new iPad 2 is lighter and thinner. It’s even thinner than iPhone 4, coming in at 8.8mm thick compared to 13.4mm of iPad 1 (and 9.3mm iPhone 4). Weight is reduced from 1.5 pounds to 1.3 pounds.
Hardware is upgraded to dual-core A5 CPU, 2x faster and 9x faster graphics. It will use the same low power as A4 CPU so battery usage remains the same, 10 hours and 30 days of standby. There’s no HDMI-out port but you can buy a cable from Apple ($39) that will give you full 1080p video-out using HDMI and it even works with all apps. As expected, iPad 2 is equipped with a gyroscope as known from iPhone and iPod Touch.
Videos cameras. Of course, this was expected. Front and rear video cameras for FaceTime, Photo Booth etc.
Other than that, it looks more or less like the old version. iPad 2 ships in two colors, black and white, from day 1. Pricing is also the same as iPad 1.
Steve also showed off a new iPad case which is actually not a case, but more a cover. It looks pretty cool on pictures. There’s no screws etc., it attaches using magnets. When you start folding it off, iPad automatically unlocks – and locks again as you “flap it back” onto the front of iPad.
You can get a hold of iPad 2 in the US starting March 11th and adding 26 more countries on March 25th.
iOS 4.3
To wrap things up, iOS 4.3 was also announced at the iPad event.
Faster Safari (Nitro JavaScript engine), iTunes home sharing, AirPlay improvements, Preference for iPad switch (mute/rotation), Personal Hotspot (iPhone 4 only).
Oh my! Ill have to get this for me sometime soon too…looks so nice. And yes! Finally the cameras.
So you’re gonna sell your old iPad? 😀 (You’ve got one, right? I remembere you did)
Not sure yet. Might sell it or might loan it out to family etc. so they can get hooked on the tablets as well 🙂
Think I’m just gonna go with the cheapest WiFi 16GB iPad 2 (same as the one I have now). In general, 16GB seems to be enough for my tablet needs, though I could use more, but rumors are suggesting an iPad 3 later this year so I’d rather not spend too much money on iPad 2 if something “magical” comes around later this year.
I would still like to see USB and/or SD card reader though… and higher resolution screen.
Yeah, 16 GB is heaps to go around. Unless you are storing heaps of videos on your iPad, there is no reason to get a 32 or 64 GB!
If you have had enjoyed the first iPad, then I’m pretty sure you’d really love the new iPad 2. With all the great new specs it has, and with the price as same as that of the previous one, then I guess it’s a great bargain for all Apple lovers and gadget geeks out there!
I just bought an iPad just before Christmas, what this means is that what I have is a data device. Well, I guess there’s ebay for flogging items.
Looks sweet.
Holding that big thing up like a camera will look funny.
Imagine if it could make a call and you held it up to your head.
Ha ha
Apple iPad 2 is very tempting. If you have extra cash to spend, I think it is worth to get one. Furthermore, it is not too expensive and affordable.
I really want to get this version though, but not supporting Flash web based applications still a glitch for me.
I hope this will be improved in the next version, and I will definitely get it.
Thanks
Really good post! I haven;t used Ipad 2 yet but I have read its features and I am dying to buy this. I hope I will get it soon.
I’ve seen Apple iPad 2 and it’s quite tempting. Besides the features, the new design is also so cool. I like both colors, so it would be difficult to choose between white or black version. Hope to get one soon.
There should be a pop-up box and you can choose which option you want 😀