Apple's iPad 2 launch: live

 

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By Nicole Kobie

Posted on 2 Mar 2011 at 09:48

Apple is set to unveil the next version of the iPad - and we'll have all the news from the press conference from 6pm.

Click here for the full news about the Apple iPad 2.

The iPad 2 is expected to keep the 10in form factor, but be lighter and feature a faster processor. Apple is also expected to add a camera for FaceTime video chat.

However, reports suggest the iPad 2 will be little more than a minor upgrade, and we should all actually wait for the iPad 3.

And, of course, there's much speculation about whether Steve Jobs will take to the stage himself to unveil the new tablet.

We're live from the UK press conference. The most recent updates will be at the top.

• That's all for us then: look for the full news story on the site shortly. Thanks for following along with us, and let us know what you think of the iPad 2 below.
• Back to Jobs. "It's in Apple's DNA that technology is not enough," he says, explaining tech needs to be married with liberal arts to create these post-PC devices. He's back to knocking rivals, saying they don't get that tablets need to be "even easier to use than a PC," and software and hardware need to integrate. "We think we're on the right track with this... I think we stand a pretty good chance of being pretty competitive in this market."
• Showing a video now: looks like that's all the features. So no Thunderbolt, then?
• Back to Jobs... Garageband for iPad "is no toy, you can use it for real work." It will cost $4.99 and on the App Store 11 March.
• Garageband also features "smart instruments" that let you play chords on a guitar with the touch of a button when you don't actually know how. "They're like musical training wheels, and make it so you can't play a wrong note."
• Virtual drum kit. "Another great feature of these drums is you kids can play them... with the headphones in."
• Xander Soren, director of music marketing, showing off the grand piano in Garageband. Uses accelerometer to measure how hard you want to play.
• Now, Garageband for iPad, with touch instruments.
• Says iMovie arrives on App Store 11 March for $4.99.
• Jobs is back. "It's awesome." Well, he would say that. "It blows my mind, this stuff."
• Showing video editing, as well as sound effects, on the iPad 2. Touch looks like a slick way to edit movie clips.
• Randy Ubillos, chief architect, now on the stage, to demo iMovie for iPad. Says it works on iPhone 4 and iPod Touch as well.
• Steve Jobs back on stage, unveils iMovie for iPad.
• iOS 4.3 comes 11 March, for iPhone 4 and 3GS, as well as 3rd and 4th gen iPods.
• More iOS 4.3: PhotoBooth software for messing around with photos. FaceTime comes to iPads, for talking to iPhone, iPods, and Macs. Now you can see your friends' faces in even more detail: "It feels very personal," says Apple's Scott Forstall in demo. We'll leave it to you if that's a good thing or not.
• Other iOS 4.3 improvements... For iPhone users, you can share 3G internet connection over Wi-Fi to other devices, letting you make a personal hotspot.
• New iOS, version 4.3: brings better Safari performance, running JavaScript twice as fast as before; iTunes home sharing, for wireless streaming from other devices; and AirPlay improvements, for working with Apple TV.
• The cases come in 10 different covers; $39 for polyurethane and $69 for leather.
• Now, something called smart covers, a case that's been designed alongside the product. It bends and folds into a stand, but only covers the glass, so it doesn't add much to the weight or width. Wakes up the tablet automatically when it's removed, and is held on with magnets. Jobs is so excited by how "cool" this is, that we get a video of it.
• Accessories now: HDMI-mirrored video output cable, that charges while showing exactly what's on the iPad screen. That'll cost you $39.
• "We think 2011 is going to be the year of iPad 2." Shipping 11 March in US and two weeks after on 25 March in 26 more countries, including "high volume" countries, aside from a few awaiting regulatory approval...
• "We've also preserved the price." Same prices as first version.
• Despite it being thinner, Jobs is promising same 10 hours of battery life. "Other guys are coming out with substantially less," he adds.
• Lighter than iPad 1, just 1.3 pounds. And in black or white: "We'll be shipping white from day one." That got applause.
• New iPad is 33% thinner - down to 8.8mm thick. (We wouldn't mind that level of weightloss). Says it's thinner than iPhone 4.
• Front and rear-facing cameras, too. Also built in gyroscope from iPhone.
• A5 chip promises 2x faster CPU, 9x on graphics, same power management as A4.
• And yes, the new one is called iPad 2. All new design, not just marginal improvements. Dramatically faster, new chip called A5.
• "Is 2011 going to be the year of the copycats," he wonders, saying rival tablets aren't catching up with the first tablet.
• "Our App store has over 350,000 apps in it," Jobs says. Over 65,000 work fully for iPad, mocks "hundreds" of apps available for Android tablets.
• “People laughed at us for using the word magical, but it’s turned out to be magical,” Jobs says of iPad. We sold 15m iPads, Jobs says. “That’s more than every tablet PC ever sold,” he says to laughs. Says Apple has seen $9.5bn in revenue over nine months from iPad alone.
• Have shipped 100m iPhones, and paid out $200bn to app developers. "A lot of people have tried to copy this, but we're way ahead," says Jobs.
• Just crossed 200m accounts across Apple's three online stores "with credit cards and one click purchasing." Job says Amazon doesn't publish numbers, but assumes it's more than them.
• iBooks news before the good stuff: users have downloaded 100m books in less than a year. Random House is bringing 17,000 books to iBooks store.
• And...we're on. And Steve Jobs is on stage.
• We're at the Apple event in London. The news should start rolling in 10 minutes.