

Live from Apple's iPad 2 event - kylelibra
http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/02/live-from-apples-ipad-2-event/?sort=newest&refresh=60

======
achompas
For me, the most exciting announcement has to be the line of Smart Covers.

iPad covers aren't new, but this cover looks like it could solve the ergonomic
problem of typing on your iPad or watching a movie/TV show while you're not
sitting on a couch. It also protects your iPad's screen without adding bulk.

EDIT: @marcoarment: "The Smart Cover might be the best feature of the iPad 2.
I can't possibly express how much I hate every iPad 1 case for some reason."

[0] <http://www.apple.com/ipad/smart-cover/>

~~~
WesleyJohnson
Anyone notice at the end of the video on Apple's site the disclaimer about the
colors potentially wearing off on the leather versions? Still love the concept
and I'd just go with a poly one anyway. Definitely agree with the ergonomics
aspect as well. I think the Smart Cover is pretty brilliant in its simplicity.

~~~
jonnathanson
Lots of dyed leathers have a tendency to take scratches, scuffs, etc., and
generally weather over time. A lot of folks love this effect, especially on
furniture, shoes, jackets, and other items made of leather. Other folks either
don't care for the effect, or simply haven't owned leather items long enough
for the distressing to kick in. My guess is that Apple is preparing that
latter set of consumers for some sort of weathering/distressing over time.

~~~
marklabedz
Nothing a little good polish can't take care of.

------
decklin
The auto-refresh on this page is rather annoying. I was attempting to skim the
whole thing, and in the middle, the entire page was replaced by a connection-
refused error (I imagine they're getting some heavy load, but I don't know why
they wouldn't use some sort of AJAX refresh). Here's a link with that
parameter removed:

[http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/02/live-from-apples-
ipad-2-e...](http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/02/live-from-apples-
ipad-2-event/?sort=newest)

~~~
benologist
The aren't using an AJAX refresh because this way they can pretend they got xx
pageviews/visit.

~~~
raufrajar
After all AJAX will not bring content from nowhere, they can still count the
feed's requests.

~~~
coderdude
But not the ad views.

------
portman
For me, the most interesting announcement was that _$2 Billion_ had been paid
out to App Store developers to date.

That means Apple's 30% of App Store purchases is currently $857MM and change.

I also find myself wondering what portion of that $2B went to Angry Birds. I
wouldn't be surprised if Angry Birds turns out to be the first >$100MM
business on the App Store.

------
Pewpewarrows
So... a dual core processor, two cameras, and... that's it? I was honestly
expecting a LOT more considering how much competition they're getting this
year. The new cover is neat, and it seems like they did a great job with the
Movie and Garage Band apps, but the new iPad 2 is pretty underwhelming. Same
old low resolution, no USB ports, and no desperately needed UI changes (I'm
guessing iOS 5 wasn't ready yet and you'll have to wait for the new iPhone
announcement).

The only good thing still going for it is the price, and if the past few years
of the smartphone market has taught us anything, we'll soon see a flood of a
variety of cheap tablets on all the service providers using Android. Can the
iPad 2 compete with that? We'll see.

~~~
catch23
USB would add a huge power drain to the ipad. plus I'm not sure if most people
would need it. What's wrong with bluetooth add-ons?

Also, where are these cheap tablets running honeycomb? The only one I've seen
available so far is the Xoom and that's $800 for their starter model.

~~~
Pewpewarrows
The Xoom is $600, not $800, and my comment said soon. Android smartphones
started out slow as well as you may or may not remember.

Apple Fanboys were all too eager to laugh at the first model or two of phone
running on Android, and now look who's running the market just a short time
later. If you don't see any correlation between what happened then and what's
happening now I honestly don't know what to tell you.

~~~
achompas
> and now look who's running the market just a short time later.

Can we stop with the "market share" talk? No one is "running" the smartphone
market. What is this, Engadget?

Android benefits from mass adoption, since Google makes money on ads. So they
license their OS for free to a bunch of manufacturers. They're doing pretty
well.

Apple benefits from a simple, walled-off platform because that's their design
philosophy. So they update a few products a year. They, too, are doing pretty
well.

------
fourspace
Love the faster processor, HDMI out and better Safari performance. However,
the main reason I'd upgrade my iPad would be for better resolution. Going from
my iPhone 4, the iPad's screen just looks like crap. I primarily use the iPad
for reading websites and Instapaper, and my guess is that I'm not alone.

~~~
ugh
Why would you buy the new version of any product only one year after you
bought the last version? That seems just crazy to me.

~~~
mechanical_fish
You sell the old one used.

Apple kit holds its value very well, as you would expect from a product that
is selling almost as fast as it can be made. Gazelle.com is currently offering
me 60% of the retail price of my old iPad. Must... resist...

~~~
sachitgupta
Have you ever used Gazelle before? $375 is really good for a 16gb wifi iPad.

EDIT: Planning on selling mine, so wondering if anyone has used the service
before?

~~~
rkudeshi
Looks like Gazelle's offer just went down to $283. They're convenient if you
don't want to use Craigslist, but note that they will always lowball you
(since they're planning to resell it themselves).

I sold my original base model iPad for $400 on Craigslist last week ($100 less
than I paid). I'm sure you could still get at least $300 now, more if you put
in the time to write a good ad and/or offer to deliver nearby.

~~~
mechanical_fish
Hee hee, I knew I should have clicked that button before I posted here. ;)

I find that Gazelle's value proposition has been pretty good, for me. I'm
happy to surrender a few dozen dollars in exchange for not having to deal with
Craigslist or eBay.

------
Tycho
The piano on Garage Band is touch-sensitive (dynamic volume depending how hard
you press)? That almost is, dare I say it... magical.

All in all, goalposts shifted once again. Can't wait to see what sort of games
hit the AppStore (although I suppose backwards compatibility will hinder the
uptake of the '9x better' graphics)

~~~
siglesias
I think it pays attention to the accelerometer.

EDIT: In fact, it does. See thread below.

~~~
jrockway
Also, dip your finger into an inkwell. Then press really lightly on a piece of
paper, then press really hard on a piece of paper. Note the difference.

No accelerometer needed -- flesh is fleshy and distorts under pressure.

~~~
siglesias
How does that account for finger size though? Children might have a hard press
of the same area as my light press. Hm, could be they look at the rate of
change in the growth of the tap event...but this wouldn't provide information
about mass. I think it's a no go.

We need a force here. They know how heavy the iPad is. They have an
acceleration. There's a force.

~~~
Almaviva
The same thing happens with a real piano though: differing fingers impart
different forces with the same perceived effort, yet we still manage.

------
pohl
No mention of memory? Is it still 256MB, or did they bump it up to the 512MB
in iPhone 4? Or is it finally 1GB?...

~~~
drawkbox
On their tech specs page they have no mention of it:
<http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/>

I am guessing 512MB otherwise it would have been mentioned if it was 1GB.
Kinda bummed by that, 1GB would have been nice.

------
WesleyJohnson
As expected, the 1st gen went on clearance. Starting at $399 for 16GB WiFi
only and going up to $729 for 64GB WiFi & 3G. The refurb prices were
discounted as well at $349 and $659 respectively.

[http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/clearance...](http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/clearance/ipad?mco=MjEzNTIxMzk)

------
Newky
Maybe if I don't directly look at it I won't want one.

------
cryptoz
No mention (yet) of changes to iOS. Clearly they haven't changed the home
screen or added widgets, only the hardware seems to have significant upgrades.

If Honeycomb is going to excel this year, it will be because they can surpass
Apple in the UI. We'll see...

(posting this mid-presentation, it's possible iOS changes will come soon)

~~~
jonknee
He's talking about 4.3 now. No apparent huge updates, but things like making
the mute/rotation lock switch a preference will be appreciated. Improved
AirPlay support (can work with websites now), shared hotspot on iPhone, etc
etc.

Probably the biggest news for this crowd is Safari's JS boost with the Nitro
Javascript Engine.

~~~
stcredzero
I really want to be able to do a timed mute on my iPhone. I keep on putting my
phone on mute to see a movie, then my girlfriend is mad at me the next morning
because I don't answer the phone.

~~~
WillyF
Call her before you go to bed...

This would actually create an interesting problem. If you have a hardware
switch and a software timer, then the switch is going to be wrong sometimes.

~~~
stcredzero
Simple: you only get to use the software timer/switch if the hardware switch
is mapped to orientation lock, which is what I was getting at in the first
place.

(I have a problem, in that I assume everyone thinks things out two steps
ahead, because that's how it works in my family. This is why bystanders
sometimes wonder if we all share a gene for schizophrenia. Our conversations
seem disconnected.)

------
nroach
Is this Steve Jobs signing off?

Looking at Engadget's coverage, the tone of Steve's closing seems very
different from any past event I can recall. It's always about Apple and about
the Product. Jobs is very focused and doesn't "accidentally" include
information in his presentations that isn't deliberate.

Why then would he include that slide depicting the intersection of technology
and liberal arts? Why bother using a product launch to make a mission
statement: "This is worth repeating. It's in Apple's DNA that technology is
not enough. It's tech married with the liberal arts and the humanities.
Nowhere is that more true than in the post-PC products. Our competitors are
looking at this like it's the next PC market. That is not the right approach
to this. These are post-PC devices that need to be easier to use than a PC,
more intuitive." _edit_ (Commenters have pointed out that the slide was used
in the iPad launch as well. Sorry, chalk that up to fuzzy memory on my part.)

That doesn't sound like a product pitch to me. It sounds like a going-away
message to Apple's employees. It's a public reminder of what Apple stands for,
even without Jobs at the helm.

Jobs also highlighted very prominently the scope of apple beyond the stage
presenters: "I'd like the teams that worked on this to stand up -- give them a
round of applause. And as always, I'd like to thank everyone's families. They
support us and let us do what we need to do. They make it possible for us to
work our tails off."

Perhaps I'm reading more into this than necessary, but this change in tone
appears to be significant. It's the first steps to mapping out a post-Jobs
Apple. A public recognition that the success or failure doesn't hinge upon one
man's presence, but instead the atmosphere and culture that was developed
under his tenure.

I'd like to be wrong, but this may be of the last times we see Steve Jobs take
the stage, and I think he knows it.

~~~
ben1040
_Why then would he include that slide depicting the intersection of technology
and liberal arts?_

He did the same thing last year at the original iPad launch, with same phrase
(here's the top hit in google I could find for a picture of the slide):

[http://submittedforyourperusal.com/2010/02/10/the-
intersecti...](http://submittedforyourperusal.com/2010/02/10/the-intersection-
of-technology-and-liberal-arts-or-why-apple-is-so-successful/)

~~~
nroach
Good point. Somehow it didn't stick with me that it was used before. But, I
think the tone is very different in this context. It's hard to pin it down,
but the way he used it previously seemed less reflective and more promotional.
Of course, the re-use could just be incidental, but I think its re-use may
give it even more weight.

------
mambodog
Ars liveblog:
[http://embed.scribblelive.com/Embed/v5.aspx?Id=22452&The...](http://embed.scribblelive.com/Embed/v5.aspx?Id=22452&ThemeId=819)

~~~
6ren
> _if you tap softly or hard, it changes the sound_

How can a touch-screen detect velocity? There's no travel. (I ask because it
would be cool if you can).

EDIT _iPad has an accelerometer, so it can measure the force at which your
finger strikes the display_

~~~
WesleyJohnson
They're saying it uses the accelerometer in the device itself to detect how
hard you touch the screen?

~~~
tesseract
The screen is rigidly attached to the rest of the device, so yes, it should be
possible to use the accelerometer (F=ma) to measure a force applied to the
screen.

------
HSO
from the iOS 4 page: "the built-in dictionaries support over 50 languages and
dialects"

Hmpf, I just splurged on German-English, French, and Korean dictionaries a few
days ago... :-( Still, if this means I can tap a word in any app, say Le
Monde, and an explanation/definition pops up, I'll be superhappy. At the
moment, one needs to switch back and forth between dictionary and app.

~~~
JacobAldridge
If you can tap Le Monde for immediate translation, then the world will be at
your fingertips.

~~~
three14
I was tempted to downvote, then wondered why, then realized that downvoting
would have been a translation of an urge to groan.

------
ojbyrne
Nada (from what I can tell) clarifying subscriptions, especially as related to
Amazon and Netflix. That disappoints me.

------
maigret
For me the news of the day was that Steve is still over here.

------
zhyder
<http://www.apple.com/ipad/> is updated

~~~
koski
Starting 499$ ... Nice.

------
hakim
Live stream (video) is available here:
<http://bambuser.com/channel/mikebutcher/broadcast/1465264>

------
phwd
You can watch it on delay
[http://edition.cnn.com/video/flashLive/live.html?stream=stre...](http://edition.cnn.com/video/flashLive/live.html?stream=stream1)

------
xuki
Not really related to iPad 2, but Apple just dropped the original iPad price
everywhere except U.S store.

~~~
allwein
Dropped in the US too. They're all on clearance.

[http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/clearance...](http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/clearance/ipad?mco=MTM3NDc1NzM)

------
DrHankPym
This is why I love Apple. They heavily advertise the iPad during the holiday
season, I foolishly purchase one for my parents, and they release a new model
three months later.

Are they planning to release a new iPad every year or just with every new iOS
update?

~~~
dvdhsu
Good point.

John Gruber noticed this. He made the prediction that the iPad 3 would come in
fall, along with the new iPods. This would allow people to buy the iPad during
the holiday season without worrying a newer model coming a few months later.

~~~
marcuschristie
But they kept referring to 2011 as the year of the iPad 2. Not to read too
much into it, but is that a hint that there won't be an iPad 3 this year?

------
djacobs
Apple has already updated their iPad pages, perhaps prematurely. I haven't
heard mention of a white iPad, but it looks like Apple has one made:

<http://www.apple.com/ipad/built-in-apps/>

~~~
boredguy8
It was mentioned, and to huge applause. Shipping white from the launch.

~~~
gavingmiller
Why are people so interested in white versions of the iPhone/iPad? Is it
merely a matter of preference or is there some kind of significant difference?
(I ask this earnestly, and not to troll.)

~~~
ugh
I’m guessing that was ironic enthusiasm – more applause for the joke, really,
than for the color.

------
Hominem
Ehh.. I love my IPad but I dont know if I will upgrade. Lighter is good I
guess.

------
alienreborn
One thing for which I have high admiration for apple is that they never give
competitors the space to breathe ever they are quite ahead in the game. :)

The most exciting thing is that they kept the price same.

------
ylem
I currently have the first generation iPad. The thing that tempts me about the
iPad 2 is the front facing camera for video conferencing. I think I'll wait
and see what the reviews are like first...

------
ggordan
Screen resolution of the new ipad: 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 (ppi)

<http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/>

------
bherms
No retina display on the iPad 2 or did I miss that?

If not, it makes sense because that would likely greatly increase cost and
power, but it would've been cool to see.

~~~
klinquist
not. same 1024x768 res.

------
GHFigs
I don't know what Apple is thinking with these iMovie and GarageBand apps.
Everybody knows the iPad is only for consumption. Did they not get the memo?

------
Groxx
Ya know, the auto-refresh is nice and all... but could they _please_ remember
my scroll position? It's not that hard...

------
apitaru
Is there a place we can learn more about the Nitro engine for Safari? For
example, will it support webGL?

~~~
sp332
Nitro is Apple's branding of SquirrelFish Extreme, which is part of WebKit.

------
6ren
<http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/>

RAM not mentioned (so it's probably not increased).

~~~
moxiemk1
Does Apple normally include how much RAM iOS devices have on their site? It
doesn't seem to be:

<http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/specs.html>
<http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html>

Maybe the increased the memory, maybe not. But that doesn't seem to be a good
indicator.

------
pitdesi
Wow, Steve seems to have done a turnaround... does anyone remember when he
said 7" was way too small? [http://www.tipb.com/2010/10/18/steve-jobs-7inch-
tablets-terr...](http://www.tipb.com/2010/10/18/steve-jobs-7inch-tablets-
terrible/)

~~~
mattparcher
The iPad 2 retains the 9.7" screen size and dimensions of the original iPad:
<http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/>

~~~
pitdesi
thanks i totally misread that

