And the iPad2 is revealed!!!

If I ramble through this post it's because Steve Jobs is still on stage launching the Apple iPad2  as I type. My browser is furiously refreshing and following the launch in the other window as I'm trying to keep up, drool and post at the same time!
So without further ado let me answer the two most important questions- What's different and when can I get one?!
The iPad2 is thinner- 33% thinner in fact, which is quite a feat considering how bloody thin the iPad is to begin with. It has dual core processors which means it's twice as fast, and has 9 times faster graphics and uses the new Apple A5 chipset. The battery life unfortunately will be the same, with a 10 hour battery life. Oh and it'll have two cameras- one front facing and one rear camera. And as you can see from the picture above, it will come in black AND white (from the first day itself).
And for question number 2... it will be available in the US on March 11th! Will be available in "26 more countries" March 25th. I will let you know as soon as I know, if the UAE is part of that first batch.

Accessories-
There is an HDMI output cable now available for the iPad2-

 

The new cases are also called "Smart cases" as they supposedly don't add bulk and weight to the iPad as the older one did. The case is made in polyutherane- the same material used to make space suits. It is thin and light and can be bent to use as a kickstand for a keyboard or folded to watch video. It is held in place using magnets, and switches on the iPad when you open up the case and turns it off when you shut it! 

The cases come in a variety of colours- 5 in polyutherane and 5 in leather!

New Operating System- OS 4.3-
The new iPad2 is coming with a brand new OS 4.3 which has a significantly better performing Safari browser and has improved AirPlay abilities. Like the new Android devices, the iPhone 4 using OS 4.3 will also be able to share their 3G capabilities with other devices by becoming a personal hotspot- this is quite a cool addition!
Photo Booth is also coming to the iPad which uses the Front-facing camera to allow you to take pictures of yourself. It also has 9 built in transitions you can use to play around with.

And of course!! FaceTime is also going to be built in which now allows you to chat face-to-face with your friends world over! Now you can chat from your iPad with your friends using FaceTime on their iPads, Macs, iPhones or iPod Touch devices!

2 New Apps!
iMovie for iPad- It has a precision editor, multitrack audio recording, new themes, AirPlay to Apple TV, and the ability to share your videos in HD. It’s also a universal app, so will run on the iPhone too.
Will be available for $4.99 on March 11th.

GarageBand- Ok I don't really use this on my Mac so don't know too much about the technology on here. Just know that you can learn to play new instruments using the Smart instrument feature, and that the accelerometer on the iPad recognizes the pressure applied on the instruments. And you can also use the record feature to record your songs. I'm sure we're going to see a lot of GarageBand bands popping up in high schools and colleges everywhere! Also available for $4.99 on March 11th.

Unfortunately the cameras in the iPad seem like they're the same cameras used in the iPod Touch, not the 5 megapixel ones used in the iPhone 4. I wonder why they'd do that?!

Anyhow, that seems it for now! Will post more tomorrow when all the tech blogs get their hands on  the device and get to play with it, and of course will have my own long in-depth review when I get my hands on my own device. March 11th cannot come around fast enough!!
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