iPad 2 media event - March 2 (confirmed)

Sad Professor

All Things Digital, Reuters and the New York Times are all hearing that the iPad 2 will be announced at an event on March 2.

To those who care intensely about this kind of stuff–which would be pretty much everyone in the tech ecosystem–Apple will hold its much-anticipated event on March 2, where the tech giant seems poised to unveil a new version of its hugely successful iPad, according to multiple sources.

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/02/22/media-event-for-next-generation-ipad-set-for-march-2nd/

adox

Whats the usual launch date after these announcements? 6-8 weeks?

Sad Professor

adox wrote: »

Whats the usual launch date after these announcements? 6-8 weeks?

For a first generation device, yeah. But new iPods, Macs, etc, usually get released immediately. With the iPad 2, I'd expect it to be out in the US within a month of the announcement. They aren't going to beat around the bush as they will be losing sales in the meantime.

jester77

No longer a rumor, iPad 2 event for Mar. 2nd announced

Boxfresh

Looking forward to this

seamus

Curious.



Is that an engadget mock-up or the actual Apple image? Would be strange of Apple to effectively confirm that they're announcing the new iPad - that's not an iPhone or iPod touch.

rivalius13

That's the invite.

Danbo!

It's pretty certain that it's an iPad announcement. I would hazard a guess that we'll hear about 4.3 and expect the update to be available soon after.

So it would appear apple have lined up media events 3 months apart, march, June and september.

I would also guess the iPad 2 will be available very soon after the announcement. iPad one was announced in jan but not available here til July. The Market is being flooded with other tabs so my guess is apple have them all boxed and ready to go within a few weeks. Hopefully anyway!

seamus

Definitely iPad then. Kind of has an iPhone 4 look about it. I can't see them going with the same look though, glass front and back on the iPad would be a tad risky.

StanMcConnell

seamus wrote: »

Definitely iPad then. Kind of has an iPhone 4 look about it. I can't see them going with the same look though, glass front and back on the iPad would be a tad risky.

That's the first generation on the poster. That's been the default wallpaper for iOS 4.

Gregor Samsa

Pretty much unprecidented that Apple have acknowledged what the event is specifically about. I wonder does this signal a change in Apple's approach?

I'll be in the US for a week at the end of March. Hopefully it will be available then.

Johnmb

phutyle wrote: »

Pretty much unprecidented that Apple have acknowledged what the event is specifically about. I wonder does this signal a change in Apple's approach?

I don't get why people think this. When they announced OSX 10.7 they clearly had a Lion on the invitation, and I'm fairly sure there was reference to iPods/music on their refresh invitations for last autumn. Why would this be any different? When announcing a brand new product they keep it secret (e.g. last year's iPad announcement), but upgrades to existing products don't tend to get treated that way.

banquo

phutyle wrote: »

I'll be in the US for a week at the end of March. Hopefully it will be available then.

I think you and I could be good friends :pac:

rivalius13

Johnmb wrote: »

I don't get why people think this. When they announced OSX 10.7 they clearly had a Lion on the invitation, and I'm fairly sure there was reference to iPods/music on their refresh invitations for last autumn. Why would this be any different? When announcing a brand new product they keep it secret (e.g. last year's iPad announcement), but upgrades to existing products don't tend to get treated that way.

TECHNICALLY those were subtle. Like, saying "Macbook" and "Air" on the invite to hint at an MBA announcement. This is "HERE'S A PICTURE!!"

IamMetaldave

MacRumors have an interesting article up.

iPad 2 mockup



iLounge reports on several items of interest in light of today's MacBook Pro and iPad news, most notably claiming that some questions have arisen about just what Apple will be able to show at next week's iPad media event and when a true "second-generation" iPad will become available.
Two reliable sources are suggesting that next week's "iPad 2" event has some serious cliffhanger potential - as in, consumers may not see the real "iPad 2" for some time. There's apparently some truth to the reports of production problems with the new model, and as a result, no one is really sure at this point what Apple is going to be shipping as the "iPad 2," or when.

The report lends credence to a theory put forth by Daring Fireball's John Gruber several weeks ago stating that Apple could release another new version of the iPad as soon as September. iLounge's report takes the angle that Apple could be preparing to release something that could be more accurately considered an "iPad 1.5" with a camera and other tweaks to carry consumers through to a more substantial upgrade later this year.
In any case, our sources aren't sure whether Apple is going to release the iPad 1.5 now and call it the iPad 2, hold off a few months and release something dramatically better, or hold off a few months and release the iPad 1.5. The sources strongly believe that Apple cannot possibly ship enough truly "new" iPads to meet a late March or early April release date. One expects that Apple will only preview the next iPad at next week's event, then release it widely around June. A price drop for the current model would keep sales flowing until then.

iLounge acknowledges that the claims are somewhat difficult to believe given the high visibility of next week's iPad event and the steady stream of rumors that have been steadily (until recently) pointing to a March/April timeline for a revamped tablet device, but Apple may in fact be feeling pressure to do something to keep iPad sales moving as it continues to prepare what it had originally envisioned as its second-generation iPad for a release later this year.

Today's report also notes that the MacBook Pro update coming tomorrow is clearly more of a refresh of Apple's existing MacBook Pro lines, and that a significant redesign, which Apple generally undertakes every few generations, is on tap for 2012 and currently in the design phase.

Finally, Apple is said to be set to introduce the fifth-generation iPhone in June as expected. The report says that "worldwide shipments" would occur by August at the latest, with the U.S. and other major markets for the company almost certainly at the head of the rollout plan.

freeze4real

Will it have the ios4.3 firmware.

The_B_Man

It looks a bit big from the review here:
iPad 2 hands on review

Sad Professor

IamMetaldave wrote: »

MacRumors have an interesting article up.

MR aren't making the slightest bit of sense. So Steve or whoever is going to come out on stage and say "Here's the new iPad, tada! Oh and it won't be available for another 4-5 months!" This would kill all current iPad sales. I don't think so.

I really think all these iPad production problem rumours are being circulated by Apple's competitors who want to put people off waiting on the next iPad. Apple were pretty quick off the mark about announcing this media event once the rumours started.

whiterebel

Sad Professor wrote: »

MR aren't making the slightest bit of sense. So Steve or whoever is going to come out on stage and say "Here's the new iPad, tada! Oh and it won't be available for another 4-5 months!" This would kill all current iPad sales. I don't think so.

I really think all these iPad production problem rumours are being circulated by Apple's competitors who want to put people off waiting on the next iPad. Apple were pretty quick off the mark about announcing this media event once the rumours started.

TBH, they seemed to nail the production on the first one from the off. I've heard very, very few reports of problems with them, which is unusual for a first run on a first generation. This would seem to suggest they should be able to ramp up very quickly on the next one. I agree, they won't do it again with 4-5 months to wait, that'll just give the opposition tablets a sniff. it wouldn't surprise me at all though, if they shift the next one to September, as introducing new ones so soon after Xmas must be damaging sales.

redout

I expect a quick release after announcement. The rumours were that it has been in production since the end of 2010 I think it was. Just hope we dont need to wait too long for an Irish release.