APPLE HAS stepped up the tablet war with the announcement of a thinner, more powerful version of the iPad.
Chief executive and co-founder Steve Jobs made a surprise return to the stage in San Francisco to unveil the device, to a rapturous reception from the crowd. “I didn’t want to miss this,” he said.
The event was streamed live to European journalists at the BBC headquarters in London.
The iPad 2 is one-third thinner than its predecessor, making it slimmer than the iPhone 4.
The new tablet will also be more powerful than the first version and “dramatically faster”, Apple said, with a new dual-core A5 processor.
Graphics would be nine times faster, Mr Jobs said.
It also includes front and rear facing cameras to allow users to video conference, using Apple’s FaceTime application, and the motion-sensitive gyroscope used in the iPhone 4 and iPod Touch.
The iPad 2 will also be available in both black and white from the day of launch.
In true Apple form, Mr Jobs was full of praise for the device. “This is awesome, I’m blown away,” he said.
However a number of expected additions, including the high- definition Retina display that is on both the iPod Touch and iPhone 4, a USB slot and the ability to expand the memory of the device through a removable memory card, did not appear.
Mr Jobs was confident that the device would make as much of an impact on consumers as its predecessor did.
The iPad has sold about 15 million units in nine months, making $9.5 billion for Apple in revenue.
“We think 2011 will clearly be the year of iPad 2,” he said.
The company also unveiled the newest version of its software for iOS devices. Version 4.3 of the operating system for iPads and iPhones will be available next week.
Improvements have been made to the performance of its web browser Safari. The update will also allow the iPhone to create a Wi-Fi hotspot, sharing its internet connection with other devices.
Apple has faced increasing competition in recent months from companies such as Samsung and Motorola, both of which have released tablet devices running Android.
Mr Jobs, who took sick leave from the company in January, took a number of shots at rivals, saying their approach was to consider tablets as the next PC.
“Our experience and every bone in our body says that that is not the right approach to this,” he said, explaining that the devices must be easier to use and more intuitive than a PC.
“We think we’re on the right track with this,” he said. “I think we stand a pretty good chance of being pretty competitive in this market.”
The latest addition to Apple’s “post-PC” product line will begin shipping next week in the US, coming to 26 other countries, including Ireland, on March 25th. It will be priced the same as the existing iPad.
