Steve Jobs Announces iPad 2 with Pricing and Availability – Video Within

Steve Jobs is back on stage talking about Apple products and yes, he announces iPad 2. No love for Singapore. No mention of Singapore even though there are 26 countries that are going to get iPad 2 on the 25th March.

It is powered by A5 chip that consumes similar power to A4 and is dual core.

The new iPad 2 is 33% thinner with front and rear cameras.

It has built in gyroscope (like iPhone 4) and comes in two colors. The white will be shipping out first!

It has the same 10 hours of usage with 1 month of standby time.

Here is the price

It ships from 11th March in the US and to 26 countries 2 weeks later.

As mentioned, Singapore is not in the 26 countries. Sad!

With iPad 2, Steve Jobs also introduces the HDMI output connector cable. You can use it to watch Full HD on the TV and charge at the same time. US$39 for this accessory.

Apple also designed a cover (Smart Cover) for iPad 2. It is actually very nice. It uses magnet to attached to the iPad 2 and align itself perfectly. To take out, just pull it out. And as the name implies, it is quite “smart”. You can roll it out to make it as a stand to watch video or to use it to type.

It uses the Proximity sensor (I think) to wait up the iPad 2 when you lift the Smart Cover.

Here is a close up of the hinge.

Features of the Smart Cover for iPad 2.

It comes in 5 colors for the Polyurethane cases at US$39 and 5 colors for the leather at US$69.

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With this announcement, Steve Jobs also announced iOS 4.3 from 11th of  March. Some improvements on the iOS 4.3

Finally, they decided that consumers can choose the function of the iPad Switch.

Also, the next announcement is on Personal Hotspot. iPad 2 will NOT be getting it. Only iPhone 4 will get the personal hotspot.

And Apple also announces two apps, iMovie and GarageBand (at US$4.99 each from 11th March 2011).

 

BTW, the iPad 2 also comes with PhotoBooth, FaceTime

Photobooth

FaceTime

Here is a summary of the new iPad 2.

For those are interested on the whole event, you can check out Engadget’s live blog

Click Here to Engadget Live Blog of iPad 2 Event

And for those who are interested in the specs, I copied this from Apple Store (WiFi + 3G only).

Specifications of iPad 2 (WiFi + 3G)

Size and Weight

  • Height: 9.50 inches (241.2 mm)
  • Width: 7.31 inches (185.7 mm)
  • Depth: 0.34 inch (8.8 mm)
  • Weight: 1.35 pounds (613 g)
  • Weight: 1.34 pounds (607 g) (Verizon)

Storage

16Gb, 32Gb, 64Gb

 

Wireless and Cellular

  • Wi-Fi + 3G model: UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
  • Wi-Fi + 3G for Verizon model: CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)
  • Data only3
  • Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
  • Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology

Display

  • 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
  • 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
  • Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
  • Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Chip

1GHz dual-core Apple A5 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip

 

Cameras, Photos, and Video Recording

  • Back camera: Video recording, HD (720p) up to 30 frames per second with audio; still camera with 5x digital zoom
  • Front camera: Video recording, VGA up to 30 frames per second with audio; VGA-quality still camera
  • Tap to control exposure for video or stills
  • Photo and video geotagging over Wi-Fi
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Power and Battery

  • Built-in 25-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
  • Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
  • Up to 9 hours of surfing the web using 3G data network
  • Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system

Input/Output

  • 30-pin dock connector port
  • 3.5-mm stereo headphone minijack
  • Built-in speaker
  • Micro-SIM card tray (Wi-Fi + 3G model)
  • Microphone

Location

  • Wi-Fi
  • Digital compass
  • Assisted GPS
  • Cellular

Audio Playback

  • Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
  • Audio formats supported: HE-AAC (V1 and V2), AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
  • User-configurable maximum volume limit
  • Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound pass-through with Apple Digital AV Adapter (sold separately)

TV and Video

  • Video mirroring and video out support: Up to 1080p with Apple Digital AV Adapter or Apple VGA Adapter (cables sold separately)
  • Video out support at 576p and 480p with Apple Component AV Cable; 576i and 480i with Apple Composite AV Cable
  • Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format
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Mail Attachment Support

Viewable document types: .jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)

Accessibility

  • Support for playback of closed-captioned content
  • VoiceOver screen reader
  • Full-screen zoom magnification
  • White on black display
  • Mono audio

In the Box

  • iPad
  • Dock Connector to USB Cable
  • 10W USB Power Adapter
  • Documentation

Click Here to View More information on Apple iPad 2

And here is a nice comparison of the old iPad and the new iPad 2.

And for your information, it seems that the old iPad price has been slashed (in US).

Click Here to Check Out

Here is a short video from Engadget on their hands on on iPad 2

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