Ipad 2: It's here!

The big news at today’s Apple event wasn’t so much the iPad 2, but the fact that Apple CEO Steve Jobs made an appearance. Looking a bit frail from heath issues, but just as energetic as ever, Jobs delivered the expected update today on the follow-up to Apple’s highly successful tablet computer to much anticipation.

The big news? In my opinion, the biggest surprise is the fact that Apple will be shipping a white version of the iPad 2. Customers have been waiting patiently on a white version of the iPhone for several months now, but are still waiting. The white iPad 2 is expected to ship when the rest of the units ship, which will be 9 days from now — March 11.

So, what are the new features of the iPad 2? Here they are:

-Front and rear-facing cameras

-A5 processor. The chip that powers the unit is now a dual-core chip, meaning it has two processors on one chip, and according to Apple, up to 9 times faster

-A new operating system — iOS 4.3

-Thinner design — 8.8 mm (thinner than an iPhone 4) and more lightweight (1.3 pounds)

-Built-in gyroscope

-Availability of an HDMI adapter cable to output 1080p graphics

Well, that’s the gist of the announcement. This is pretty much on par with what people were expecting. The only disappointment is that there is no increase in screen resolution and there are no new ports, such as a possible USB port or even a much-rumored SD card port.

Check back later when I will discuss some of these new features more in-depth as well as go over details of the new iOS 4.3 operating system.