Apple names iPad 2 reveal date
'Magical and revolutionary', part deux
Apple will uncloak the next generation of its überpopular fondleslab, the iPad, on March 2 in San Francisco.
Fanbois, mark your calendars.
This news comes to us from The Loop, which – clearly being on better terms with Cupertino than The Reg – received its invitation to the event on Wednesday morning.
It's not hard to guess what might be discussed at Apple's March 2 event, eh?
The invitation art, above, is unusually direct for an Apple event, showing as it does an iPad behind a peeled-back version of the iPad's Calendar icon. Jobs & Co normally tease prospective event attendees with more-inscrutable comes-ons, such as those for past events that announced the upcoming Mac OS X Lion and the current iPod lineup.
The invitation comes hard on the heels of rumors that the iPad 2 would be delayed by up to two months – rumors that were quicky rebutted by The Loop.
Of course, when the iPad 2 will actually hit store shelves is anyone's guess. Those "sealed packages" said to be winging their way to Apple resellers are most likely upgrades to the MacBook line, and not iPad 2s.
The rumor mill has been churning with purported features of the second-generation Cupertinian tablet: a slimmer and lighter build, more RAM, a snappier processor, front- and rear-facing cameras, and a less-reflective screen – which would be much appreciated by those of us who use our iPads primarily for Kindle, Instapaper, and the like.
There have even been rumblings and mumblings that the iPad 2 might have a Light Peak port – but we'll call foul on that speculation. Odds are that spiffy, speedy connection tech will first be seen in the MacBook line, as The Reg reported early Wednesday, and will be given the less-than-spiffy moniker of Thunderbolt. On Thursday, Intel will host a presser that will likely include a Light Peak announcement. ®
COMMENTS
Not sure it matters what the geeks think...
The geeks may only be 'whelmed' by the iPad but that didn't stop Apple from selling 15.2 million of the things in their last financial year which is what matters to Apple.
What are they for? I use mine every day for casual browsing as it's more convenient than having a laptop out all the time.
Re: Hoopla
Matt 89 wrote: "I rest my case"
Thank goodness - is that a promise? We don't need to hear again about how the iPad is a failure because you personally aren't excited by it. Sales of the machine to the general public will tell the story that really matters.
Hoopla hooraah...
What they for again?
In an office full of geeks, the 'company' fondleslab being used to develop a fondleslab app; so that marketing fondlers can impress at market fondling shows; has so far not managed to impress anyone.
We're talking design/developer geeks who gather around the water cooler to discuss the latest gadgets and who own ... a *lot* ... of gadgets.
The general premise is, "nice gadget, if I got one for free, that'd be neat" - in short, everyone is just simply whelmed by it. No under, no over, just whelmed. Whatever.
Effectively, to this day, it's the same whelmed response Jobs got at the product keynote...
"Is that it then? - erm, ok, we expected the second coming based on your marketing, but, erm, we got Brian"
"So, it's a portable computer with a touch screen. Cool. That it? Can it do anything my laptop can't do?" ... erm ... "You can interact with it with lots of your fingers..." ... "like a keyboard and mouse then?" ... er... "Yes, but it's sooo cool, look, I can rotate stuff with two fingers!, I can pinch and zoom!"
I'll never forget watching that keynote, there was a distinct air of .. "erm, er, yippee?" as Jobs sat in an armchair and dismally failed to impress a room full of uber fanboi's. Embarrasing.
I rest my case.
But hey, if anyone decides to give me one, or if the price drops to £200, I'm keen to get one so I can leave it in a drawer somewhere after a week...
... my kindle on the other hand, now THAT is a killer bit of hardware ...
@Greg J Preece : Product numbers
You see 5x more Kindles than iPads on the train. I see 5x more Ford Mondeos than Mercedes E-Class cars on the roads. The Mondeo costs less, is more economical to run, perhaps easier to drive (has handbrake in the right place) - however, some people will prefer a Mercedes E-Class. They both transport 4 adults in comfort from A-B. Each to his own.
Poor story, lacks depth
Did he make a profit on the sale then? Only 2 days later surely he could have just returned it to the shop?
Is this your attempt at fiction writing by any chance?
