Apple Unveils New iPad 2

Apple did not disappoint with its special announcement yesterday. First, we got to hear the news from Steve Jobs, which is a bit of a surprise since he has stepped back from day-to-day operations at Apple for medical reasons. Second, the news itself, the iPad 2, showed a number of exciting improvements over the original.
The most functional of these improvements are the two cameras: an HD camera on one side and a VGA camera on the other, similar to the iPod Touch. Along with these will come two new standard apps: Photo Booth and FaceTime. In addition, a version of iMovie for the iPad was demonstrated that will improve upon the current iPhone 4 app with more features. There will also be a version of the music creation software GarageBand for the iPad.
In addition to the cameras, the iPad 2 sports a faster dual-core A5 processor, a thinner and lighter design and an internal gyroscope for gaming and other apps. A new HDMI accessory will allow for screen mirroring on a second display or television. A special magnetic cover accessory will act as a screen protector, screen cleaner and stand. The new iPad will use iOS 4.3 which will bring improvements to Safari, Home Sharing and AirPlay.
There will be a variety of iPad models. There are three memory sizes: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. You can get a wifi-only model, one with wifi plus 3G for AT&T and one with wifi plus 3G for Verizon. In addition, each model will come in black or white. That makes a total of 18 variations. The 16GB wifi model is priced at $499 and a 64GB wifi+3G model is at the upper end at $829.
The iPad 2 will be available at 5 p.m. on Friday March 11 at Apple Stores in the U.S. Online ordering will start that day. Reports say that Best Buy and perhaps Walmart and some other stores will have the iPad 2 on launch day. AT&T and Verizon stores may as well.