iPad 2 unveiled at GDC

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Jobs: "We think 2011 is clearly going to be the year of iPad 2”

Friends with a MacHead? Now may be the time to cut ties. Apple has lifted the curtain off its new iPad 2, and if the reported specs and featuresarrive as advertised, Steve Jobs' new toy is going to have Apple enthusiasts making a lot of noise.

Revealed today by Jobs himself atApple's GDC press conference, the iPad 2 sports a 33% thinner design and a 15% lighter weight than its predecessor. You can also expectboth front- and rear-facing cameraswith a revamped gyroscope for all your, uh, gyroscoping needs. Inside, the next generation tablet is powered by a meaty 1.2GHz dual-core Apple A5 processor which Jobssaid will be double the speed and offer nine times more graphical oomph than the original iPad's A4 processor. Despite the extra power, however, Jobs claimed the battery life would remain at 10 hours.

Steering away from the hardware, Jobs delved into the iPad 2's updated iOS 4.3 system which will enhance features like FaceTime and increase web functionality. Demos for newly upgraded GarageBand and iMovie programs were also shown.

At launch, the iPad 2 will be available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB flavors, with the price structuring mirroring that of current generation iPads. Specifically, lower end models will start at US $499, and the higher end models will reach US$829. They will be also available in black or white; you know, in case color is a major factor for you.

After the big reveal, Apple alsoshowed off its newultra-thin, magnetic iPad Smart Cover and an HDMI-out connector cable that allows the iPad 2 to make sweet, sweet high-fidelity love to your HDTV.

So, yeah.New iPad. Huzzah! Oh, you want a release date, too? Geez. Always so demanding. If you must know, the iPad 2 is expected to hit the Apple Store on March 11th in the US and March 25th in 26 other markets including Canada and the UK.

[Source:MacLife]

Mar 2, 2011

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Matt Bradford

Matt Bradford wrote news and features here at GamesRadar+ until 2016. Since then he's gone on to work with the Guinness World Records, acting as writer and researcher for the annual Gamer's Edition series of books, and has worked as an editor, technical writer, and voice actor. Matt is now a freelance journalist and editor, generating copy across a multitude of industries.