Steve Jobs, on temporary leave as CEO due to health reasons, arrived at the iPad 2 launch to a standing ovation from the crowd.
After a few introductory slides, Jobs introduced the new iPad2 to the crowd.
iPad 2 features:
- New A5 chip making it twice as fast
- Front and rear cameras
- 1/3 thinner than the original iPad
- Slightly lighter – from 1.5 to 1.3 lbs.
- Comes in white
- AT&T and Verizon support
- HDMI video out, via dock accessory cable ($39). This will allow 1080p output of everything on the iPad to a TV.
- Runs on iOS 4.3; improves Safari performance, addition of PhotoBooth, Facetime
- Airplay performance improvement (Airplay streams videos from your iPad to your Apple TV.
- iMovie and Garageband Apps
- Smart cover for the screen that peels back when in use.
- Same battery life
- Same pricing
- Random House, one of the world’s six largest publishers, is now part of the e-book store
- Available March 11, 2011
We have to hand it to Apple. Except for the Samsung Galaxy Tab (which is not running Android’s Honeycomb OS), Apple has brought to market the iPad 2 before its competitors, neutralizing most feature advantages they may have had over the original iPad. Features not found on the original iPad, such as front and rear facing cameras, are now included. Apple is also holding the line on pricing, meaning the costs to own an iPad are no different (in some cases cheaper) than its rivals, such as the Motorola Xoom.