March 2,2011, (I know I am too late :P) It was midnight here in India when I was constantly checking out Engadget’s Live coverage from Apple’s iPad 2 Event with the auto-refresh turned on where Steve Jobs launched Apple iPad 2. I could also see a number of Tweets and Facebook Status Updates on my Facebook homepage speaking about this much awaited event. Any geek would be much excited when Apple releases its second generation of iPad 2.
What’s New in the iPad 2?
The iPad 2 is going to be blazingly fast than its predecessor. The Graphics performance has been improved to about 9 times when compared with the original iPad. Its thickness has been reduced to 33% than the previous one and it measures 8.8 mm. Along with the thickness, its weight also has been reduced and is 600g.
The software used is iOS 4.3. With this new OS, the speed of Safari, FaceTime, PhotoBooth and many other applications has been enhanced. The version of iTunes used in the iPad would be 10.2.
The Power requirements are the same with a battery life of 10 hours. The rear camera has the ability to record 720p Videos with 5X Digital Zoom. The front camera is a VGA one.
A New Cover
This is something which adds to the looks and will also protect your $499 device. The iPad 2 will also have a cover which is designed by Steve Jobs himself. It is a magnetic flap which will wake up the device when it is opened and put it to sleep when it is closed. I guess this feature is too good as it reduces some of you finger work 🙂 The cover would cost $39 if you opt for plastic and $69 if you opt for leather. This video from Engadget lets you know about the cover in a much better way.
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Price of iPad 2
It is priced at $499 for a 16GB WiFi-only iPad 2 and the upper limit is $829 for a WiFi + 3G SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) with 64GB of storage. It will be available in two colors- Black and White. You can buy it from AT&T and Verizon. Shipping of iPad 2 starts from March 11th.