Steve Jobs makes suprising appearance to introduce iPad 2
Despite being out of work on medical leave, Apple's Steve Jobs took the stage at a San Francisco news conference to introduce the new iPad 2 Wednesday.
The new device hits store March 11.
Jobs said Apple has sold more than 15 million iPads in 2010, from April to December accounting for nearly $10 billion in revenue.
"More than every Tablet PC ever sold," Jobs said.
The new iPad will be, Jobs said, up to twice as fast on CPU performance. He said graphics are nine times faster while not increasing power consumption from the first iPad. Battery life remains at 10 hours.
It will use a dual-core processor (Apple's new A5 chip). It comes in white and black. It's got front and rear facing cameras. It's got the same gyroscope that is in iPod and iPhone. It's also 33 percent thinner than the first iPad, thinner than the iPhone 4. The device -- which weighs 1.3 pounds, down from 1.5 -- will work on AT&T and Verizon's networks.
There's also HDMI out with 1080P video support. And iPad will do mirror video so you can see what's on the TV screen and the iPad at the same time. A special $39 cable will be needed for HDMI usage.
Pricing will remain the same as the current iPad: $499 for 16 gig Wifi, $599 for 32 gig Wifi and $699 for 64 gig Wifi. The 3G models add a $130 price premium on top of that.
OTHER NEWS:
--Apple is designing what it calls "Smart Covers" for the iPad. They will use magnetism to cover the front of the device and will also prop it up for reading and light typing.
A microfiber lining will clean the screen when in use and the iPad will go to sleep when covered and wake up when uncovered.
There will be five poly and five leather versions, in multiple colors, for $39 (poly) or $69 (leather).
-- Apple also released its latest mobile software, iOS 4.3. Releasing March 11, it allows home sharing of iTunes content via WiFi and faster browser performance. Ir will also bring the Wifi hotspot capabilities to all iPhone 4s. Currently, Verizon iPhones can do the hotspot, turning the phone into a internet connection for up to five devices.
-- The new iPad 2 cameras will take advantage of a photo software called PhotoBooth that allows users to manipulate images, and they will allow FaceTime video calls between iPhone 4, iPad 2 and Mac users.
-- Apple also is bringing its popular GarageBand music app and its iMovie editing suite to iPad as $4.99 apps.
-- Jobs said Random House will bring 17,000 books to Apple's iBooks store today and that makes more than 2,500 publishers distributing through the e-retailer.
-- Jobs said more than 200 million people have iTunes accounts used to buy music, videos and books through Apple's e-stores.
-- He said Apple recently shipped its 100 millionth iPhone.
