Amid the anticipation we would expect following one of the most game-changing product launches in history (more than 15 million units sold), Apple has revealed the details on the second generation of their handy, dandy iPad, dubbed simply iPad 2. Chief among its improvements, although perhaps not obvious at first, glance is its thorough redesign yielding a multi-tasking touch-screen tablet that is both 33% thinner and 15% lighter than last year's inaugural model.
Under the hood will be Apple's superior dual-core A5 processor, promising faster performance in addition to top-notch graphics, which will surely be of value now that the hardware will be packing a pair of cameras. The front-facing VGA camera enables FaceTime video chat, while the rear-facing HD camera can record 720p video.
iPad 2 runs Apple's latest iOS 4.3, which offers faster Safari web browsing, iTunes Home Sharing, Personal Hotspot to share an iPhone 4 cellular data connection over Wi-Fi (with a supporting data plan), and helpful little tweaks to the audio/video controls. It will also run almost all of the 350,000+ apps available on the App Store, with more than 65,000 native to the iPad. New to iPad will be iMovie, enabling users to edit videos right on the device, and post their movies to sharing sites as well as stream them into the home theater via AirPlay and a second-gen Apple TV. And while we're in the home theater, we're very excited about HDMI Video Mirroring, which enables the iPad screen to be "mirrored" on TV, with the optional 30-pin/HDMI adapter.
Style-wise, the iPad will now be available in black and white finishes. The Apple folks also seem pretty excited about their new Smart Cover, a protective accessory that is thin and light and easy to handle, with a self-aligning magnetic hinge, but the "smart" comes in with the automatic system wake/sleep when the cover is opened/closed. The microfiber lining aids in keeping the screen spiffy, and the cover also folds into a stand.
Three key factors remain the same. Estimated battery life holds at ten hours, the 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen maintains the same size and resolution (despite hopes of an upgrade to Apple's Retina Display), and the pricing remains unchanged across all models. Starting March 11 in the U.S., we can pick up the iPad 2 with Wi-Fi in capacities of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB ($499, $599 and $699 respectively). And the iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G (our choice of AT&T or Verizon networks) will cost $629, $729 or $829 for those same capacities.
More Information:
