Apple's New iPad 2 Release Date Announcement: News on Specs, Features, and Pricing

New iPad 2 is Faster, with Better Graphics, Front, and Rear Cameras, Dual-Core A5 Processer Available March, 11

 

Courtesy of Apple

The new iPad 2 was announced on Wednesday sporting a fast A5 chip with twice the performance of the A4 chip in last-generation's iPad released in 2010. The new Tablet is also more svelte, its now slimmer at 8.8mm vs the 13.4mm of the old model and has lost some weight, coming in at just 1.3 pounds, vs 1.5 pounds for the last iPad, so you'll be carrying less, but gaining so much more functionality.

The shiny new device will ship in America on March 11 for both AT&T, and Verizon. And will ship in the following countries on March 25:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK

Pricing will start at: $499 - 16 gig Wifi, $599 – 32 gig Wifi, and $699 - 64 gig Wifi. As well as $629 – 16 gig Wifi/3G, $729 – 322 gig Wifi/3G, and $829 – 64 gig Wifi/3G.

The all-new graphics chip offers 9 times the power of the former chip, making for much better gameplay, and snappier Apps. Specs at a glance:

• Colors - Black or White
  
• Front camera - video, VGA at 30 fps. and rear camera - HD 720p at 30 fps
  
• Battery life of 10 hours, with 1 month on standby
  
• HDMI out (with $39.00 cable) HDMI video mirroring to an HDTV (with optional adapter)
  
• iOS 4.3
  
• Personal Hotspot (only for iPhone 4 users) share your 3G connection via Wifi
  
• Can directly upload videos to YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, or CNN iReport
  
• The new iPad 2 can stream 9 live feeds simultaneously via PhotoBooth.
  

Apple also offers a new Smart Cover which wakes your iPad 2 when you open it, and puts it to sleep when you close it. The new cover uses magnets to auto-align it perfectly on your new iPad 2. Smart Covers are available in leather or polyurethane – ”the stuff space suits are made of,” in 5 colors with the polyurethane covers at $39 each, while the leather covers are $69 each.

The new iPad 2 represents a huge leap over the original iPad, with much better features, specs, and iPad 2 accessories than the former, and pricing that can't be beat. With this announcement, Apple annihilates the competition, and makes iPad 2 the tablet to beat. Will you be upgrading to the new iPad 2? do you think it's the best tablet of 2011? leave your response in the comments section below.

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Apple's IPad - Buy it Now, or Wait for the New Version, iPad 2? Rumors, Specs, and News

Apple is nearing the beginning of it's upgrade cycle, and release date, for the sleek new iPad 2, as with the iPhone 4, rumors and news, are swirling thick and fast about when the new Pad will be released, and what the major features will be.

The questions on the minds of most current iPad owners, as well as potential new users are: to buy now, or to wait? So what seems to be the consensus about the Specs on the iPad 2?:

• Faster processor - Apple's fast A4 Chip seems all but certain to get an upgrade, and some sources are suggesting the possibility of a duel-core chip, on some models.

• Better Display - The screen on the current iPad is plenty sharp, but there's always room for improvement, and with Apple making bulk purchases of iPad component's we could see even higher screen resolution in next-gen devices.

• More RAM – This is almost a given, considering how far memory prices have dropped over the last few years. Increasing the amount of memory would make for a far snappier iPad 2, without a bump in price.

• Advanced GPU – With the advent of Game Center on iPad, with the release of iOS 4.2, now would be a great time to improve the Graphics chip for better gaming performance across the board.

With these possible advances, the new iPad looks to be a compelling product upgrade for current owners of the device. However to answer the “buy now, or wait?” question brings on this answer: if you need and iPad RIGHT-NOW, by all means get it. But if you can wait just a bit more, you may end up getting much more of a Tablet for your money, and the current Pad may even receive a price reduction.

MacToTheFuture Verdict: If you need it, BUY NOW, but if you can, WAIT for the new iPad 2

What do you think? do you plan on buying the iPad 2? leave a response in the comments.

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