New iPad 2 Drops March 11

@BWyche March 2, 2011 0

iPad 2 is an all new design & it’s faster (dual core, A5 chip, 2* faster CPU, 9* faster graphics). The old iPad is 13.4mm thick. New one is 8.8mm. It’s actually thinner than the iPhone 4! Rear camera, and front-facing camera! iPad 2: 10 hour battery life. Same price, too. Starting at $499, all prices exactly the same. 16GB $499. 32GB $599. 64GB $699. Plus $130 for 3G. iPad 2: Wifi versions $629 (16GB), $729 (32GB), $829 (64GB) Ships on March 11! That’s next week! US first, then 26 more countries on March 25, two weeks later. HDMI video out, check. Via an accessory cable. Mirrored video output over HDMI. Big applause. 1080p.

Smart covers. The old case covered up the design and added thickness and weight. Smart covers are, well, smarter. It just covers the glass, but also folds around for standing up, or typing. Automatically wakes/sleeps iPad when you open/close. Polyurethane cases are $39 and leather cases are $69. 5 colors available in each.

New app: Photo Booth to apply effects/filters in real time. FaceTime, of course. Photo Booth to apply effects/filters in real time. FaceTime, of course.

New App: iMovie 11. Precision editor, just like in iMovie 11 on the Mac. Very cool. Audio editing with the waveforms, adjust volume of any clip. 50+ sound effects too. iMovie is $4.99, on the App Store March 11. Universal app! Share to YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, CNN iReport, send to Camera Roll, send to iTunes.

New App: Garage Band for iPad. Touch instrucments, Guitar amps and effects, 8 track rec and mix, 250+ loops, email AAC files. Compatible with the Mac version, so you can start in one place and finish in the other. Smart Instruments, designed for nonmusicians. Guitar, keyboard, bass drums. You don’t need to know guitar. You tap a chord and then “strum” your iPad. “Campfires will never be the same.” Finger-pick indiv. notes. GarageBand for iPad will also be $4.99, available March 11. (not universal, just iPad.)