The iPad 2 is the second generation of the iPad, a tablet computer designed, developed and marketed by Apple. It serves primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, presentations and web content, and is available in black or white. The Foxconn China-manufactured iPad 2 has a lithium-ion polymer battery that lasts up to 10 hours, a new dual core Apple A5 processor and VGA front-facing and 720p rear-facing cameras designed for FaceTime video calling.
Apple unveiled the device on March 2, 2011, began selling it by website and retail stores on March 11, and released it in 25 other countries on March 25, including Australia, Britain and Canada. Apple announced that the iPad 2 would be released in Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and other countries on April 29, 2011.
History
Apple sent invitations to journalists on February 23, 2011 for a media event on March 2. Apple CEO Steve Jobs revealed the device at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on March 2, 2011, despite being on medical leave.
Apple began selling the iPad 2 on its website on March 11, and in its U.S. retail stores at 5 pm local time on that date. Many stores in major cities, such as New York, sold out within hours. Online shipping delays had increased to three to four weeks on Sunday and four to five weeks by Tuesday. One analyst predicted that Apple would sell 35 million iPad 2s in 2011.
The iPad 2 was released internationally in 25 other countries on March 25, 2011. The countries included Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Hungary, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Apple announced that the iPad 2 will be released in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and other countries in April 2011.
The March 25 release date for Japan was postponed due to the earthquake and tsunami which struck the entire nation on March 11, 2011. The iPads may be delayed due to the NAND flash storage chip used in the iPads being created by Toshiba, which has been affected by the earthquake and tsunami and has closed indefinitely. The slowdown caused analysts to downgrade Apple’s stock.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPad_2
