Good News: iPad 2 is here! The long wait is finally over

Many of us have been itching to get a hold of this much anticipated Apple tablet and it’s here! We have heard enough rumors & have searched so hard about the specs and features of the iPad 2 that we had to act surprise when it was unveiled.

Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs took the stage and the new iPad 2 took the spotlight during a press event at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts yesterday,  March 2.

The “dramatically faster” iPad 2 boasts a dual-core A5 “system on a chip” processor under the hood, said Jobs, good for twice the CPU power and nine times the graphics performance of the original while maintaining the same 10-hour battery life. As with the first iPad, the iPad 2 comes with Apple’s proprietary 30-pin dock connector for syncing and charging, along with a 3.5mm headset jack. This will give it faster performance than its predecessor, as well as support for high-definition video out. Early hands on reports claim the new iPad is amazingly fast.

iPad 2 is now 33 percent thinner & 15 percent lighter than the original iPad. That means it’s even thinner that the iPhone 4 which is 9.33 mm thick.

Just as we predicted: The iPad 2 has  2 cameras: front-facing video camera with FaceTime support & can be conveniently use for FaceTime chats with other iPad, iPhone & Mac users. There is also an application that allows you to take photos of yourself using the front camera.  The rear camera can shoot 720p HD video. To add, the iPad 2 is supported by Verizon’s 3G data network and AT&T data support. For  technical specifications, click here.

The iPad 2 retains the same price points as the original: $499 for the 16GB version, $599 for the 32GB model, and $699 for the 64GB model. The 3G-enabled versions will also come with the same $130 premium over the Wi-Fi-only models (think $629 for the 3G-ready 16GB iPad 2, $729 for 32GB, and $829 for the 64GB version).

I personally think there’s nothing in the iPad 2 that’s going to make the origanal iPad obsolete but all the added feature just made it even better. The video conferencing is the new feature that I love the most & for those who are current owners of the original iPad should seriously consider upgrading if video conferencing is important to you. Also, do check out the iPad Smart Cover, it is indeed “One great idea on top of another”!

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