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View Full Version : Apple unveils thinner, faster, camera-packing iPad 2



Teh One Who Knocks
03-03-2011, 01:15 PM
By Ben Patterson Wed Mar 2, 1:23 pm ET


A year after revitalizing the once-sleepy, now red-hot tablet market with the original iPad, Apple surprised absolutely no one Wednesday by taking the wrapper off a slimmer, trimmer version of the wildly popular slate, complete with a front-facing camera for video chat (finally!) and a souped-up processor.

The new iPad 2 took the spotlight during a press event at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, with none other than Apple CEO Steve Jobs—who is still on medical leave, mind you ("he looks good," Engadget noted on its live blog)—taking the stage to unveil the much-anticipated follow-up to the best-selling original.

The "dramatically faster" iPad 2 boasts a dual-core A5 "system on a chip" processor under the hood, said Jobs, good for twice the CPU power and nine times the graphics performance of the original while maintaining the same 10-hour battery life.

Also new: dual cameras (at last), including a front-facing camera for VGA-quality video chat, while the rear camera will be good for 720p video capture. (Apple hasn't listed specific megapixel counts for the iPad 2's cameras yet.)

As predicted, the 9.7-inch display on the iPad 2 has the same resolution as that on the original: 1,024 by 768, to be exact, disappointing news for anyone hoping that the new iPad would boast an improved "retina"-style display.

Measuring 9.5 by 7.3 by 0.34 inches, the iPad 2 is slightly shorter and narrower than the original (according to Apple's specs, at least), with the listed weight of 1.33 pounds (or 1.35 for the 3G-enabled iPad 2) a bit lighter than the iPad 1.

As with the first iPad, the iPad 2 comes with Apple's proprietary 30-pin dock connector for syncing and charging, along with a 3.5mm headset jack. Missing in action, however, is a slot for SD (or microSD) memory cards.

A white version of the iPad will be available on "Day One," promised Jobs, with Apple probably hoping to avoid last year's debacle of the white iPhone that never quite arrived.

The iPad 2 retains the same price points as the original: $499 for the 16GB version, $599 for the 32GB model, and $699 for the 64GB model. The 3G-enabled versions will also come with the same $130 premium over the Wi-Fi-only models (think $629 for the 3G-ready 16GB iPad 2, $729 for 32GB, and $829 for the 64GB version), and they'll be available for both AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

The ship date? March 11 in the U.S., and March 25 in 26 additional countries.

Jobs also announced a new "Smart Cover" to go along with the iPad 2—one with magnetic clasps that either wakes up the iPad or puts it to sleep depending on whether it's being attached or removed. The polyurethane version of the case will sell for $39, while a pricier leather one goes for $69.

Another new accessory is a $39 HDMI video-out cable that's capable of 1080p video mirroring. The cable works with all iPad apps, Jobs said, and it'll charge your iPad when plugged into a power source.

March 11 will also see the release of iOS version 4.3, with new features such as personal hotspot support for the iPhone 4 (nice), a speedier version of Safari, improvements to AirPlay media streaming, and FaceTime video chat. Not bad, but the iOS 4.3 release on the 11th will only be for iPads, third- and fourth-generation iPod Touches, and the GSM version of the iPhone—meaning that owners of the iPhone for Verizon (which runs a CDMA network) will have to wait.

There will also be a new iPad version of Apple's iMovie video-editing app, which is slated to arrive March 11 for $4.99.

Before unveiling the new iPad, Jobs confirmed recent rumors that book publisher Random House, the last of the major iBooks holdouts, would be offering more than 17,000 volumes through Apple's e-book store.

Jobs also took a shot at Honeycomb, Google's new Android-based tablet OS, by bragging that only 100 Honeycomb-ready apps are currently available for download, versus about 65,000 apps for the iPad—perhaps not the fairest comparison, since the first Honeycomb-enabled tablet only landed in stores about a week ago.

The first iPad, originally unveiled last January before landing in stores the following April, was initially greeted with skepticism.

Where's the camera, reviewers (including me, I'll admit) and wary consumers asked? Why no SD card slot—or USB, for that matter? How are you supposed to hold the thing, especially while tapping the on-screen keypad? Isn't it just a jumbo-sized iPod Touch? And what are you supposed to do with the thing, anyway?

Valid questions all, but in the end, the numbers speak for themselves: 14.8 million sold in 2010 alone, a total that shocked even the most optimistic Apple watchers, with the iPad laying waste to the once-burgeoning netbook market and even taking a bite out of laptop sales. During Wednesday's event, Jobs claimed that the iPad now has a 90-percent share of the tablet market.

Unsurprisingly, the massive success of the iPad has drawn a slew of competitors, with sleek new tablets from the likes of Dell, HP, LG, Motorola, and Samsung either on sale now or waiting in the wings.

Most of the hottest new tablets (such as the Motorola Xoom and the upcoming LG G-Slate) are based on Google's tablet-oriented Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" OS, although we'll also be seeing such non-Android tablets as HP's WebOS-based TouchPad and the BlackBerry PlayBook from RIM.

So, what do you think—is the iPad 2 a worthy successor to the iPad? Planning to get one on March 11, or will you instead go for one of the iPad's increasingly powerful, feature-packed competitors?

Teh One Who Knocks
03-03-2011, 01:16 PM
$500 for one that isn't even 3G enabled? :-s

What moron would actually buy one of these? :huh:

Arkady Renko
03-03-2011, 01:57 PM
beats me - Samsung Galaxy Pad seems to be the way to go instead.

redred
03-03-2011, 02:29 PM
can that ipad play flash stuff yet ?

Teh One Who Knocks
03-03-2011, 02:46 PM
can that ipad play flash stuff yet ?

Of course not ;)

redred
03-03-2011, 03:23 PM
:lol: haven't they seen any of the users asking them to have this

Teh One Who Knocks
03-03-2011, 03:42 PM
crApple doesn't care what the users want because they know that the fanboys will buy it anyway ;)

fricnjay
03-03-2011, 04:21 PM
Its not about function or productivity its a fashion accessory. :facepalm:

Jezter
03-03-2011, 05:01 PM
And funny how it took a whole another version to come up to get more power to it and the cameras. When others have had those for a good while now. :lol: And yet, Apple steals all the attention. Beats me why the fuck that is.

Loser
03-03-2011, 08:31 PM
While I don't understand why anyone would pay any amount of money for a crippled O/S, I can understand why apple doesn't allow flash.

1.) It's a security nightmare. It has very big security holes that have been outstanding for years. Adobe is only just now fixing them.
2.) It's a resource hog. It's capabilities have been scaling, year by year, with the processing power of desktop and laptop hardware. Flash runs like shit on mobile devices, flat out.

Will any of this matter in the next 6-12 months? No. HTML 5 is going to decimate flash...Hands down.

Godfather
03-03-2011, 09:05 PM
Interesting point about HTML5 Loser :-k

Still.. I don't want one.

I do however want a Windows 7 tablet at some point... I like the idea of tablets to be honest. They're all overpriced but I think I would get a lot of use out of one.

Teh One Who Knocks
03-03-2011, 09:23 PM
While I don't understand why anyone would pay any amount of money for a crippled O/S, I can understand why apple doesn't allow flash.

1.) It's a security nightmare. It has very big security holes that have been outstanding for years. Adobe is only just now fixing them.
2.) It's a resource hog. It's capabilities have been scaling, year by year, with the processing power of desktop and laptop hardware. Flash runs like shit on mobile devices, flat out.

Will any of this matter in the next 6-12 months? No. HTML 5 is going to decimate flash...Hands down.

When about 90% of the interwebz runs Flash of some kind on their sites, it would be kind of a nice thing to have. ;)

Yet another reason why only people that have had a lobotomy would buy an iPad. :huh:


http://i.imgur.com/4eMd5.jpg

beowulf
03-03-2011, 09:26 PM
http://i55.tinypic.com/2w4l91u.jpg

i did read today that its coming in white to appeal more to women :lol:

Godfather
03-03-2011, 09:29 PM
http://i.imgur.com/4eMd5.jpg

:rofl:

There is a lot of great stuff like this out there... this is bar-none the best

Jezter
03-04-2011, 07:07 AM
While I don't understand why anyone would pay any amount of money for a crippled O/S, I can understand why apple doesn't allow flash.

1.) It's a security nightmare. It has very big security holes that have been outstanding for years. Adobe is only just now fixing them.
2.) It's a resource hog. It's capabilities have been scaling, year by year, with the processing power of desktop and laptop hardware. Flash runs like shit on mobile devices, flat out.

Will any of this matter in the next 6-12 months? No. HTML 5 is going to decimate flash...Hands down.
All points are true, but when it comes to the security, that can always be improved, no? And that is why normal computers have antivirus and such programs. Androids have them too...
And yes, HTML5 will make life easier and better, but until we get full support of that to mobile browsers and until webpages start to fully utilize it, Flash is kinda nice. And atleast my android has Flash Lite to run youtube stuffs and such..and it works sweet. So it doesn't always run like shit. Needs the powaahhh! Which we now have even in mobile phones. Not on the low-end ones so much though.

Godfather
03-05-2011, 07:57 AM
So Apple is going to charge for a magnetic clamp on case that will protect the device and give it a fold-out leg to stand on. It has three folding positions, one of which will also clean with microfibers. It will be made from polyurethane and leather, and come in a dozen colors


So... you're paying 800$ for the thing, they have this cool/simple add-on a slim protective cover that will prevent scratching and fingerprints and clean and make it stand... but they're going to make you pay another 70$ plus tax for it?!?!

Great :lol: