Steve Jobs rolls iPad 2
All is right with the world. Though he’s on medical leave, the Apple CEO strode on stage to a standing ovation and introduced the company’s second generation tablet, which is now more than twice the computer yet has the same impressive 10 hour battery life. Where’s my credit card…
Apple has, as expected, has announced the iPad 2, which comes to market with a dual-core A5 processor, graphics that are nine times faster, front and back cameras, and it’s one-third thinner and a little lighter.
“With more than 15 million iPads sold, iPad has defined an entirely new category of mobile devices,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “While others have been scrambling to copy the first generation iPad, we’re launching iPad 2, which moves the bar far ahead of the competition and will likely cause them to go back to the drawing boards yet again.”
Thinnovation aside, the iPad still has a 9.7-inch IPS LCD and the company says the battery’s good for 10 hours, which is impressive given the greatly faster — and one assumes power hungry — processor and graphics
The front-facing VGA camera — i.e. FaceTime and Photo Booth — and a rear-facing camera that captures 720p HD video were expected. That said, though it seems like a non-event, Photo Booth has sold millions of apps and the iPad 2 is now instant on fun for even the most hardened luddite.
Perhaps the killer iPad 2 feature is HDMI out, which allows the iPad and third-party apps to stream video live to the big screen. When plugged in, the second generation Apple tablet can charge — nice touch.
Versions of the iPad 2 will be available on both AT&T and Verizon. It will ship with iOS 4.3 and comes with an updated version of Safari, which was already the fastest mobile browser by a wide margin.
Disappointing, pricing hasn’t changed. I’m somewhat surprised they didn’t keep the iPad 1, slash the price to $399 or $429 to slam the door shut on the nascent competition. And, yes, white.
Ready to order? Already counting the days? Share your thoughts in the comments below…
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