Apple today introduced iPad 2, the next generation of its magical device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading ebooks and much more. iPad 2 features an entirely new design that is 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter than the original iPad, while maintaining the same stunning 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen. iPad 2 features Apple’s new dual-core A5 processor for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics and now includes two cameras, a front-facing VGA camera for FaceTime and Photo Booth, and a rear-facing camera that captures 720p HD video, bringing the innovative FaceTime feature to iPad users for the first time. Though it is thinner, lighter, faster and packed with new features, iPad 2 still delivers up to 10 hours of battery life* that users have come to expect. iPad 2 is available in black or white, features models that run on AT&T’s and Verizon’s 3G networks, and introduces the innovative iPad 2 Smart Cover in a range of vibrant polyurethane and rich leather colors.
“With more than 15 million iPads sold, iPad has defined an entirely new category of mobile devices,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, in the press release. “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.”
With the new front and rear cameras, iPad 2 users can now make FaceTime calls to millions of iPhone 4, iPod touch and Mac users so they can see family and friends anywhere there is Wi-Fi. Photo Booth lets you apply fun visual effects, including eight photo special effects like Squeeze, Twirl and Kaleidoscope, to photos captured by either camera.
iPad 2 comes with iOS 4.3, the latest version of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, with new features including faster Safari mobile browsing performance; iTunes Home Sharing; enhancements to AirPlay;** the choice to use the iPad side switch to either lock the screen rotation or mute audio; and Personal Hotspot to share an iPhone 4 cellular data connection over Wi-Fi.*** Additional iPad 2 features include a built-in gyro for advanced gaming; HSUPA support for enhanced 3G upload speeds on iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G on AT&T, and HDMI Video Mirroring that lets users mirror their iPad screen on an HDTV using an optional adaptor.
The innovative new iPad 2 Smart Cover provides protection for the iPad screen while maintaining its thin and lightweight profile. Designed with a unique self-aligning magnetic hinge that makes it easy to attach and remove, the new iPad 2 Smart Cover automatically wakes iPad 2 when it’s opened and puts it to sleep when it’s closed, and has a soft microfiber lining to help keep the screen clean. The iPad 2 Smart Cover also folds into a stand for typing or viewing videos and is available in vibrant polyurethane for $39 or rich leather for $69 in a range of colors, including a (PRODUCT) RED one which helps support the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Apple also introduced two new apps: iMovie and GarageBand for iPad, both available on the App Store for just $4.99 each. With iMovie, iPad 2 users can shoot and edit videos right on their iPad and post their movies to YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo and their MobileMe gallery; watch them on their iPod, iPhone or iPad; as well as view them on their HDTV using AirPlay and Apple TV. GarageBand turns your iPad into a collection of touch instruments and 8-track recording studio, allowing you to perform with onscreen keyboards, guitars, drums and basses using multi-touch gestures–even if you don’t play a musical instrument.
iPad 2 runs almost all of the over 350,000 apps available on the App Store and there are more than 65,000 native iPad apps available from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. The iTunes Store gives iPad users access to the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 14 million songs, over 50,000 TV episodes and over 10,000 films including over 3,500 in stunning high definition video. The iBooks app for iPad includes Apple’s iBookstore, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile device.
Pricing & Availability
iPad 2 with Wi-Fi will be available on March 11 for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model, $699 (US) for the 64GB model. iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G will be available for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model. iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G compatible with the Verizon network will be available in the US only for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model. iPad 2 will be sold in the US through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iMovie and GarageBand for iPad apps will be available on March 11 for $4.99 each from the App Store.
iPad 2 will be available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK on March 25; and in many more countries around the world in the coming months. Further international availability and pricing will be announced at a later date.
More info about the new Apple iPad 2 here.
*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.
**AirPlay video requires second generation Apple TV running the latest software.
***Personal Hotspot requires supporting data plan. Customers should check with their carrier for availability.
Source: Apple Inc.
Good value for first time buyers of an iPad.
As a worthy upgrade for existing owners,
no way. I’m underwhelmed. Needed to up
storage from 64 to 128 or 256 GB or better
yet an SD slot for ‘unlimited’ storage. The
rear camera should at least be as good as
the iPhone4’s. iOS4.3 and new dual-core A5
processor hold great promise for the future.
I’ll pass and wait to see what the iPad3 has
to offer.
What is the rear camera, anyways, in megapixels? I can’t seem to find that info.
Everyone complaining about the lack of an iPad USB port or SD card slot, please go here: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC531ZM/A
Sheesh, you folks are complaining about the lack of something that already exists for those who want it. I only want it so I can use it for CoreMIDI goodness (which came out in iOS 4.2).
Woody,
It’s obvious that many of these nimrods are clueless.
I still talk to people who want to plug a mouse into it. A mouse!
Me thinks they want to save $29.
Yoi!! Where are all these whingers and whiners coming from?? It isn’t as if everyone reading this site is a techno-weeny, some of us just like the fact that “it just works” and allows us to get things done. Give it a break, if the techno-weenies were that important to Apple they would have been hired as consultants to help Steve Jobs bring out products. It must be nice to have the time to sit and dream up crap like we’ve seen posted, not just on this thread but on most of the ones MDN puts up. Go back to Momma’s basement and find something constructive & useful to do!
Alert: Moron on the loose!
I posted a link earlier to iPad vids earlier today, and they were ALL deleted…. so. try again.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/02/ipad-2-first-hands-on/
Very glad I just sold my iPad 1.
Will be in line on March 11.
Glad to see Steve. But I can’t find the video of the event anywhere. Can anyone point me there with a link? 🙂
*gasp* I’ve fallen in love! Again!
People say that this isn’t for content production: they’re WRONG. I can’t wait to watch the keynote!
What’s the Pixel Count of the back camera? Anyone know?
YAWN….
Thankfully they didn’t do anything that would make anyone want to upgrade or I’d have to take a trip down to cupertino and smash some apples.
Sill no flash support, media card input, still must rely 100% on apple for content (read: apple makes it’s 30% tax), no retina display, no USB input, no greater memory (128 – 256 gb)
Galaxy Tab has nothing to worry about.
** Flamebait alert **
OK, I’ll bite.
Neither Flash, nor physical media, will ever make their way onto Apple’s iOS devices. Anyone who expects/demands this is either astroturfer or clueless.
As for content, iPad will play any unprotected content, regardless of where it came from. While iTunes is the largest store in the us (possibly in the world) for music (digital or otherwise), it is certainly NOT the only source for content on the iPad.
There.
Yeah Samsung has nothing to worry about anymore; Samsung no longer needs to produce more schmuck tablets for the purchasing impaired. (i.e. People won’t be buying it lol.)
On what planet are you living?
Apple has sold millions of iPad 1s and they will sell many millions more of iPad 2 while the Galaxy is in the rear view mirror (further back than what it looks like).
Go troll on your Android sites. We love the Apple products and would never settle for bad knockoffs. Why settle for crap when you can have the best!!! I am not talking just about specs. The whole package, hardware and software!!!
Dude,
have you been hanging out with Charlie Sheen? The galaxy tab? Isn’t that the POS that their own CEO admitted that they sold “very few” that Steve ragged on today?
What world are you living in?
No Flash support on Xoom, yet. Adobe is way behind. Read SJ “thoughts on flash” to understand the technical reasons, full Flash is imposable no mater what touch screen.
Retina Display is not on Xoom, or any other tablet.
There is SD and USB input by an adapter kit, have one works well.
Except apps you can have other media. You don’t have to buy you music through iTunes. It is very easy to download content into it, most of my songs don’t come from iTunes. You can get subscriptions from outside the app. The “tax” is for payment processing, that can be very expensive if your a small company.
Enjoy your Xoom, just give real justifications for it. Please tell us how the mouse hover works on Flash games when Adobe puts it out.
Yawn is right. It’s tiring reading posts from nimrods.
No Flash support is a feature, not an omission. I DON’T WANT FLASH. It sucks.
You don’t have to rely on Apple 100%, there are plenty 3rd party app creation alternative tools – LiveCode from RunRev comes to mind.
30% tax? Really? Are you saying iPad is 30% more than its competitors? Actually it’s the other way around.
USB? Yeah, it has USB. Always had USB.
Yeah, you stay with that Galaxy Tab. Marvelous POS that doesn’t even run the correct OS. Good choice.
I love the marginally better. Nobody said the Motorola XOOM was marginally better. What “geeks” miss is what it takes to actually mass produce something. Steve’O isn’t workin out of the garage with WOZ anymore. Realize they can actually drop the price if they wish because of their appstore leverage and the “sic” prices they are getting on displays. All the competition must start at near 800 or sign their life to a carrier for 2 years. The revolution is the cheapest tablet on the planet, with all the features everyone else has and more. Oh they also have “apps” not the junk/malware on Droid’s.
It’s a nice upgrade. The cover was a nice surprise. Camera and speed improvements was kind of expected.
Sad however that they didn’t upgrade it to a retina display…
@woody
So if I have copied Avatar,Iron Man,Network,and
various short movies to a 32GB SD card, I can pop
it into an iPad Camera Connection Kit and watch it
on my iPad? I don’t think so! Read the posts again
and understand what we’re complaining about.
You might also read your link to the Apple Store
and realize that this Kit is ONLY for downloading
photos to the Photo app.
🙁
@daugav
No you can’t do that.
Not because it doesn’t have a USB port, but because iPad doesn’t have a user interface construct like the Mac OS X Finder. They are trying to keep the iPad simple and avoid the use of folders and documents, etc.
So, you can take your SD card, jam it your MacBookPro or whatever computer you use, move the videos onto your computer, then bring them into the iPad via iTunes.
I have dozens of movies on my 64GB iPad.
Perhaps you’re just not suited for an iPad.
Have you instead thought of perhaps annoying 3rd party manufacturers of hard drives to make such functionality available to you via the iPad connector to USB cable that comes with the iPad 2 via an app and necessary appropriate hardware? Thought not.
If you’ve copied those movies to watch on your ipad you are not using it properly.
Let’s get ONE thing straight, WHY ON EARTH ARE U NOT STREAMING THE MOVIES TO YOUR IPAD TO WATCH?
If you want to have a copy on your ipad, just plug the god damn thing into your mac, iTunes app will then launch, click on the movies tab and select the movies you want to copy across.
Then all you is press sync!
Please read the manual and learn how to use your tech properly!!
Apple just blew the heads off of every other tablet
Let’s not all sit here and fluff ourselves… It ain’t that great. brought the specs up to industry standards which is great. Ios5 may make me partake on your circlejerk but we will have to wait.
Need some advice. At what time should I go to an Apple store on the 11th to actually get one when they start selling them at 5 pm that day? First thing in the morning when the mall opens?
I’d be going to the Houston Galleria store, which is super-busy all the time. Post your opinions please! I’ve no idea who else to ask.