iPad 2 is announced - available on 11 March 2011

Oh oh... The news are rolled out already... the gorgeous new slim device is out and will be available in about a week's time!

There are a few major changes on the latest iPad:


3. There will be a HDMI video-out option that will allow people to port video out of the device and mirror what happens on another screen. Jobs said this was a big request from teachers. It will cost $39 and works with all apps.

4. The other accessory is something called "Smart Covers." This new case is a bendable flap that sticks onto the side of the device. It wakes up the iPad from sleep when you open it, and puts it to sleep when you close it. The cover uses magnets to grasp onto the unit, and align it. "You can add it in a second. You can remove it in a second," Jobs said. The new case comes in five colors for the polyurethane version, and five as well for the leather. The polyurethane case is is $39, and the leather one is $69.

5.  There are also other new applications on iPad:

- Apple iMovie app for the iPad will allow people to edit video right on their iPad and offers timeline scrubbing and clipping. The iPad uses gestures, so users can tap on parts of clips to add them to the timeline, as well as pinching pictures or icons to adjust things.

The iPad iMovie app also has an audio editor that lets you can adjust audio waveforms. Also included are 50 sound effects users can throw in their creations. Each video can have up to three audio tracks, in addition to a voice-over track you can record on the iPad's microphone.

- The Garage Band app, which helps teach people how to play musical instruments, has been adapted for the iPad. The application, which simulates different instruments, makes use of note dynamics, so that the iPad can tell how hard users are hitting the screen to affect the power of the note. This is handled via the accelerometer. Also included are "smart instruments," which help novice musicians learn how to play. Similar to its desktop counterpart, the GarageBand iPad app can record whatever the user is doing and let him or her combine them together.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-20038297-266.html#ixzz1FUWB7ez0

Steve Jobs was there to announce iPad 2, but he looks worryingly thin...

1. The new tablet has two cameras and is faster with dual-core processors. They just about double CPU performance and make the graphics speed 9 times faster, while using the same power as the processor from the first iPad. The iPad 2 is thinner than the older model. It went from 13.4mm in thickness on the old iPad to 8.8mm in thickness on the new one. And it works not only on AT&T's 3G network, but also Verizon Wireless' 3G network.

2. In terms of the technical specifications, the device is 9.5 inches high, 7.3 inches wide, and 0.34 inches deep. And it weighs just 1.33 pounds. It comes in three storage sizes for both the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi +3G models: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB. And the rear camera is 720p and the front camera is "VGA-quality" suitable for video and still photography.

The new tablet will go on sale in the U.S. on March 11 and will start at $499. The original iPad, which went on sale last April, is now $399 for the 16GB Wi-Fi only version of the product. The 3G version of the 16GB iPad is $529. Apple will begin shipping the iPad 2 internationally to 26 countries starting March 25.