Apple fans can purchase the newly unveiled iPad 2 at the Tysons Corner Apple Store beginning at 5 p.m. Friday, March 11.
When the previous generation iPad launched on April 3, 2010, customers began lining up at the Tysons Corner Apple Store at 5 am. The Tysons store was the first of the chain of popular stores to open in May 2001. A second store opened latter that day in Glendale, Calif.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Performing Arts in San Francisco, California Wednesday morning to make a bold statement: “2010 was the year of the iPad.” He then went on to make an even bigger announcement: 2011 will, according to Apple, be the year of the iPad 2.
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Launching on March 11 in the United States, Jobs promised that the next generation iPad will be lighter, faster, and filled with new features.
“With more than 15 million iPads sold, iPad has defined an entirely new category of mobile devices,” said Jobs, issuing a direct taunt to competitors such as the Microsoft Tablet. “While others have been scrambling to copy the first generation iPad, we’re launching iPad 2, which moves the bar far ahead of the competition and will likely cause them to go back to the drawing boards yet again.”
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Features of the new iPad include:
- Rear and front cameras (like the new IPhone);
- 10-hour battery life, and one month of standby;
- A5 dual-core processor which offers up to 9 times faster graphics processing;
- 16, 32, and 64 GB versions, with wireless and non-wireless capabilities;
- 8.8 mm thickness, which is .5 mm thinner than an iPhone4.
Jobs also unveiled two new apps:
- Garage Band for iPad, which has and 8-track recording studio and touch instruments you can play on the screen;
- iMovie for iPad, which features a editor, multitrack audio recording, and the ability to share videos online in HD.
Because iPad users need accessories to outfit their new gadgets, Jobs presented the new polyurethane Smart Cover, which attaches to the iPad 2 using magnets. It is more than just an ornament, though; the Smart Cover will wake the device up when it is flipped open, put it to sleep when flipped closed, and clean the screen. It can also be bent into an iPad prop stand.
The iPad 2 will start at $499—the same price as the previous version. It will also be available with either AT&T or Verizon data plans.
