Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs has taken the stage to unveil the iPad 2, the upgraded version of its market-leading tablet computer. His appearance is a surprise given he announced he was taking medical leave in January as a result of pancreatic cancer and a liver transplant. Jobs said the new iPad - which goes on sale in the US on March 11 and in Australia on March 25 - was an "all new design" with a new processor that would make the device twice as fast. A new version of the Apple mobile operating system - iOS 4.3 - will also come out as a free update on March 11.
"The first thing is it's dramatically faster," he said, talking about the new dual core A5 processor. "it's up to nine times faster on the graphics." As expected, the iPad 2 comes with front and rear-facing cameras and a built-in gyro for advanced gaming. The Apple CEO said the new iPad would be 33 per cent thinner - from 13.4mm to 8.8mm thick. He said that would make it thinner than the iPhone 4. The iPad will also be lighter: 590 grams versus 680 grams. He said the iPad 2 would come in two colours - black and white. "And we will be shipping white from day one," he quipped, a reference to the long-delayed white iPhone 4 which has been held back due to production issues.
Dressed in his usual black mock turtle neck and faded Levis, Jobs said the new iPad will go on sale at the same starting price. The base model of the original iPad sold for $629 in Australia, although that has now been cut to $449. "We think 2011 is going to be the year of the iPad 2," he said. He also announced a swag of new apps, accessories from cables to multicoloured magnetised covers.
Jobs said Apple had sold nearly 15 million iPads last year, generating $US9.5 billion in revenue in the nine months after its launch. Jobs also announced that Apple has sold over 100 million books on the iPad's iBookstore, Apple has just shipped its 100 millionth iPhone, and there are now 200 million active iTunes accounts. He said the majority of Apple's revenues now comes from these post PC devices.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
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