Try racking your brain for a device more crowed about, lusted over, or prematurely criticized than Apple's (AAPL) iPad 2. (We know. Pretty hard.) That's probably because, over the last six months, media outlets everywhere gave voice to even the most outré rumors, design mockups, and wish lists.
And why not? The first-generation of Apple's tablet moved 15 million units in 2010, the most of any tablet device ever, and both versions are expected to sell as many as 25 million this year. Though detractors continue to throw haterade its way, many more simply swear by it, and roughly two-thirds of Fortune 100 companies currently use it in day-to-day dealings or soon plan to. Like it or not, the iPad, with its 1.5 pound lightweight status, svelte aluminum chassis, easy multi-touch user interface, and booming app ecosystem, singlehandedly reinvigorated an area of computing that until recently, even Apple had failed to successfully penetrate with its Newton tablet platform back in 1993.
We have Jobs to thank for the iPad's 9.7-inch form factor -- as he once pointed out, anything smaller wouldn't do iOS justice. "7-inch tablets are tweeners: too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with the iPad," Jobs said. As usual, the Apple CEO's sense of what users really wanted from tablets outweighed the conventional wisdom that anything that wouldn't fit in a coat pocket could never be a smash hit. The only question users and fans have for Apple today is, "What's next?"
The iPad 2 rumors started shortly after the iPad 1's April launch. Despite glowing reviews from The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg and an oddly hedged, but no less positive, piece from David Pogue of The New York Times, that human condition which states that we always want more, more, more meant that in this case, users craved even better, improved features from their tablets, some of which were justifiable: a video camera with FaceTime, an integrated SD card reader, a USB port, a sharper iPhone 4-like Retina-quality display, faster processor, more RAM.
On and on the wishlists went, so understandably, even the tiniest morsels of supposed, leaked information raised an eyebrow on when the next-gen tablet would hit, how much, and what new features it would have. Tech blogs focused mostly on the features: a dual-core processor with faster speeds, a Retina display that might offer double the resolution of the iPad's 1,024 by 768 screen, and front and back-facing cameras! Most recently, an alleged Apple source told Engadget that "engineering issues" plagued the iPad 2, resulting in the loss of planned components like a sharper display and SD card reader.
The real iPad 2
Now of course, we know better.
After questions over whether he'd make an appearance, a thin, slightly frail but altogether fine-looking Jobs took the stage, walked the audience through the iPad 2's new features and apps, and deemed this year the iPad 2's "moment."
"It's in Apple's DNA, that technology alone is not enough," he said, emphasizing that a sound relationship of hardware, software, the liberal arts and humanities is required to make "hearts sing." Given Apple's latest creative efforts, "we stand a pretty good job of being competitive in that market."
When it launches March 11 domestically and March 25 in 26 countries including Australia, Canada, France and Japan, the 1.3 pound iPad 2, which is 33% thinner than the iPad 1 and a hair thinner than even the iPhone 4, will rock a dual-core ARM A5 processor that offers up to twice the speed and graphics 9 times faster than the current iPad, the same 10-hour battery life, 720p 30 frames-per-second (fps)-capable front and rear-facing video cameras for FaceTime video chat, HDMI out for a 1080p signal, and be available in both standard aluminum and white from day one. 3G versions will also run on both AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ), and pricing across the board stays the same: $499 for the 16 GB version, $599 for 32 GB, 64 GB for $699, $629 for the 16 GB 3G edition, $729 for 32 GB 3G, and $829 for the $64 GB 3G. A new version of the mobile operating system, iOS 4.3, will up Safari performance with Nitro JavaScript performance and allow iTunes home sharing.
The two onboard cameras should come in handy. The iPad 2 is powerful enough to support 9 simultaneous live video streams. Tweaked Photo Booth software features with super-responsive touch-based filters and manipulation tools like "Light Tunnel" and "Stretch."
