It’s my birthday today. Amidst the socks, ties and four (4) identical, purple polo shirts (I kid you not), there’s the present I’ve been waiting for all year—iPad 2—or at least the news that it is real. In what was one of its most poorly concealed surprise product launches ever, Apple has finally torn away the wrapping from the new iPad, one year on from the original’s launch.

Steve is back
Nawww—Steve, it was nice to see him back on the stage (that must have put some pep back into the share price). Today he announced iPad 2 at the now ubiquitous Apple keynote event in San Francisco. Again, this was no surprise at all. New iPad is everything I ought to be: smarter, faster, thinner and prettier. It has two cameras (no surprises again), the front one for facetime and self-pics; whilst the back one can handle HD video and self-porn (as a serving suggestion).

Here’s a quick run-down in bullet point form:
  • 1GHz dual-core A5 processor (about twice as fast, old iPad was single core)
  • New graphics chip (9 times faster)
  • HDMI out (plug it into your TV)
  • 2 cameras—front-facing and 720p HD video on the back
  • Thinner by 33% (8.8mm vs. iPhone 4's 9.3mm)
  • Lighter by nearly 100g
  • Gyroscope (to sense its orientation/position)
  • Immediately available in two colours—black and white
  • Power consumption hasn’t changed and battery life remains at 10 hours
  • March 25th Australian release
  • Cheaper in Australia? It looks to be that way

Things I really wanted:
  • Retina display
  • 128Gb storage
  • A puppy for my birthday

 In addition to the new iPad hardware, Apple is about to release iOS4.3—an update to the software that powers iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. In addition to what are probably a lot of general optimisations, 4.3 brings a faster Safari browser, iTunes home sharing (accessing media across other Apple/iTunes under the one roof), improvements to Airplay (streaming that media across devices), Photo Booth (just like on your Mac) and Facetime for video conferencing.

On top of this are two new apps. The first is iMovie. Given the new cameras, this is a logical decision. The app looks quite similar to the existing Mac version, but I would expect the iPad set-up is going to suit it rather well. The other app is Garage Band. I was a bit MEH at first, but after watching the demo—I’m excited. Even though I’m ALWAYS wrong with Apple predictions, I’m certain Garage Band will be an iOS killer app and, if anything, it is a wonderful tech demonstration that will undoubtedly inspire a raft of new apps. More on these apps once they’re out.

There’s already a lot of harsh criticism on the web surrounding iPad 2. Detractors are complaining that there’s no Retina display as found on the iPhone 4. Sure; that would have been a super addition. They’re also saying that iPad 2 (or iPad 1.5 as some put it) is what the original should have been. But what they’re not taking into account is that creating a game changer, which the original certainly was, is no easy thing.

One more thing
There was no signature "one more thing" from Steve this time. I was a little upset by that. I wanted a mention of iTunes streamed from the cloud with MobileMe integration. But not just yet. Perhaps that comes with iPhone 5? There is one more thing from me though—Smart Covers. It's a new cover system that protects the iPad screen and clips in magnetically. Rather than me trying to explain it though, it's perhaps easier for you to understand by watching this video.

Apple has built upon this game changer by giving app developers a lot more beef to sync their teeth into (see what just I did there)? I’m excited by this new iPad and I’m excited, even more, about mobile computing in general. Not only is iPad  now a very solid package, but also Apple has ensured that these are good times for users, regardless of brand, because the tablet industry just got a whole lot more interesting.