14 DAY TRIAL // On Wednesday, Cupertino-based Apple announced at a packed media event in San Francisco the upcoming availability of the iPad 2, the sequel of its already popular tablet PC, and UK carriers Orange and T-Mobile already confirmed plans to add the device to their offerings.
T-Mobile also announced that they would range the tablet PC as soon as Apple decides to make it available for purchase in the UK, which should happen as soon as March 25th.
The new device was announced as being available in the US on March 11th, while set to land on shelves in more countries two weeks later.
The same as with the original iPad, Apple announced the availability of both iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G and iPad 2 Wi-Fi models, along with variants differentiated by the internal memory: 16GB, 32GB and 62GB.
Specific info on the pricing of the new device in the UK was not unveiled until now, but, based on the fact that it would arrive in the US at the same cost as the original iPad, we should expect similar pricing here too.
The specifications list of the new device include a 1GHz dual-core processor (the new Apple A5 CPU), capable of delivering twice the performance levels of the first iPad, as well as a battery that can offer up to 10 hours of usage time.
Moreover, the new iPad 2 comes with a 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen, two cameras (a photo snapper on the back with 720p HD video recording capabilities, and a front-facing VGA camera for FaceTime and Photo Booth), and with a thinner, lighter design.
“With the new front and rear cameras, iPad 2 users can now make FaceTime calls to millions of iPhone 4, iPod touch and Mac users so they can see family and friends anywhere there is Wi-Fi,” Apple explains.
“Photo Booth lets you apply fun visual effects, including eight photo special effects like Squeeze, Twirl and Kaleidoscope, to photos captured by either camera.”
The new tablet PC is running iOS 4.3, the latest flavor of Apple's mobile operating system, and offers the Safari mobile browser, iTunes Home Sharing; enhancements to AirPlay, Personal Hotspot capabilities, and more.