The wait is over for eager Apple fans wanting the next generation iPad. At an invite-only event in San Francisco Wednesday, the company took the wraps off the iPad 2.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who is taking a leave of absence from the company, returned to unveil the new product, which is expected to be a hot seller.
As expected, the new tablet is faster with dual-core processors, which just about doubles the CPU performance and makes the graphics speed 9 times faster, while using the same power as the processor from the first iPad. It’s also thinner than the older model. It went from 13.4mm for 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’s 3G network.
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, currently starts at $499 for 16GB Wi-Fi only version of the product. The 3G version of the 16GB iPad is $629. Apple will begin shipping the iPad 2 internationally to 26 countries starting March 25.
Full story: Jobs unveils iPad2