Steve Jobs return to stage once again as he unveil a new second-generation version of iPad that is thinner, lighter, and features video cameras. Despite of his health problems Apple chief executive Steve Jobs who went on medical leave last January for an unspecified illness, will be the one to introduce the next-generation iPad. Steve Jobs who appeared gaunt but energetic and was dressed in his trademark long-sleeve black turtleneck and blue jeans. The iPad 2 features front- and rear-facing video cameras to enable video chat and is thinner than the previous version. The second-generation iPad will have more memory and a front-facing camera for capabilities such as a Face Time video-conferencing feature on Apple iPhone 4 smartphones ”The new iPad 2 is actually thinner than your iPhone 4,” said Jobs. “It is dramatically thinner, not a little thinner, a third thinner.” It weighs 1.3 pounds, down from 1.5 pounds, has the same 10-hour battery life as the previous model and will come in black and white versions. Reports indicate that Apple has started production of a thinner, more powerful version of its popular tablet computer.
Jobs said the iPad 2 will sell for the same $499-$829 price as the previous model. iPad 2 will sell on March 11 in the U.S and on March 25 in 26 other countries including France, Germany and Japan. Jobs said the iPad 2 is “dramatically faster” due to a new A5 chip. “The graphics in this thing are wonderful,” he said.
The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year was rife with gadget manufacturers showing off tablets which they were racing to get into a market set ablaze by the iPad. Jobs also announced Wednesday that Random House would be making electronic books available for Apple’s iBook store, joining other major publishers.
“Our competitors were just flummoxed,” he said. “They went back to their drawing boards, tore up their designs.”
At last Apple finally released its new iPad after several months of speculation of new iPad 2 which I stated on my previous post.
US telecom titan Verizon begin selling Motorola Mobility’s hotly awaited “Xoom” tablet computer last week at a price close to that of a top-of-the-line iPad. Xoom will be the first tablet on the market powered by “Honeycomb” software crafted specifically for such devices by Internet powerhouse Google and has been heralded as a viable challenger to the iPad. Xoom will be sold for $800, but the price will be trimmed to $600 for those who opt for two-year service contracts with Verizon. With a 10.1-inch (25.6-centimeter) screen, the Xoom is about the same size as Apple’s iPad. Xoom also features a front-facing 2-megapixel camera for video chats and a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera that captures video.
