Apple iPad 2 announced

It has been a long time and coming, and don’t say that you haven’t been forewarned – we even have an iPad 2 rumor page to bring you the latest on all the whispers and hush hush stories concerning this tablet extraordinaire. Sure, it isn’t going to revolutionize the way the world works, but that doesn’t mean we should take away the shine and gloss of the tablet device that spawned a whole lot more of other tablets in the process.

We do know that Steve Jobs has taken medical leave from his position, but by virtue of him being on stage while saying “We’ve been working on this product for a while and I just didn’t want to miss today.” just goes to show how important the sequel to the iPad is.

First of all, the usual stastistics fanfare from Apple, where they touted the success of their iPad which saw 15 million plus units sold worldwide, raking in $9 billion in revenues since its inception, making it Apple’s most successful consumer product ever launched, capturing more than 90% of today’s market share in the process.

Not only that, the iPad features 65,000 of the 350,000 apps in the App Store, and that figure certainly outgives what Android 3.0 Honeycomb has on offer – at a paltry 100.

Well, the iPad 2 is finally here, where it will feature the rumored A5 dual core chip in an all new design that will provide up to 2x of processing power, and up to 9x faster graphics than its predecessor.

Thinner than your iPhone 4 (who would have thought that this would happen?), it measures a mere 8.8mm – even though there are two cameras crammed into it on both the front and the back of the device.

At just 1.3 pounds in terms of weight, it has certainly gone to the fat house for some slimming sessions, coming in both white and black shades from day one, and you can choose to get yours from either Verizon Wireless or AT&T, depending on which carrier you jive with. No surprise there considering the recent CDMA iPhone 4.

Another feature that the iPad 2 comes with would be a cable that handles 1080p output that works great with all of the apps, mirrored video output, and a $39 price tag attached to said accessory for added convenience.

Smart Covers are thrown into the mix as well – after all, Apple thinks that their design is good enough to be on the front cover, and not only that, it might just do away with the need for third party accessories. Adding just minimal weight and thickness, it will come with a microfiber cloth that makes sure youre screen steers clear of fingerprints and the ilk, turning the iPad 2 on when you open it while putting it to sleep when it closes. Magnets are used instead of screws to hold it in place. You can choose from poly or leather designs with either material boasting 5 colors to choose from. Of course, the poly option is much cheaper at $39 a pop while the leather one requires you to fork out another $30.

The iPad 2 will also feature iOS 4.3 as the operating system version of choice, so could this be the end all and be all where tablet devices are concerned for the year 2011? We would hate to see the competition concede so fast, so hopefully others will keep the flag flying so that Apple won’t get too complacent for their own good.

Battery life stands at 10 hours, and for that kind of mileage, what is the price point like? Well, it will come in Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity, ranging from 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models for $499, $599, $699 and $629, $729 and $829, respectively. Out this March 11th for those living Stateside, it will slowly roll out elsewhere after that.

Product Page

Edwin Kee
Categories: Apple, Tablets, Top Stories
Tags: Apple Inc, iPad, iPad 2, ipad2