Apple to unveil iPad 2 next Wednesday 2 March in San Francisco

Add to My Stories

• New model is expected to be launched in San Francisco on March 2

If you're about to whip out your newly acquired iPad on a crowded train to the envy of fellow commuters, think again.For no sooner have you spent your hard-earned cash on the must-have tablet computer, Apple is expected to announce the launch of its new iPad - in just seven days from now.
And the news has taken the technology world by surprise.

Scroll down for video report...

Must-have gadget: Apple boss Steve Jobs unveils the iPad in January 2010. The iPad 2 is expected to be launched in San Francisco next WednesdayContrary to speculation that the iPad 2 had been delayed, it now appears Apple willofficially unveil it at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center For The Arts, its preferred venue, on March 2.It is thought the iPad 2 will differ from its phenomenally successful predecessor in a number of ways.The new model is expected to be slimmer, lighter, have a better resolution display and cameras on the front and back.Apple will also replace the heavier aluminium shell of the iPad with a carbon fibre version, it is believed, following complaints that the first iPad was too heavy to be carried around conveniently.

More...

• Apple poised to offer 'lossless' sound quality on iTunes
• Apple iPhone knocked off top of tree as it trails five budget rivals in UK
• Using mobile phones 'does not increase the risk of cancer'
• iRun fast: Marathon man hooks himself up to four iPhones and two smartphones to broadcast every painful step of Tokyo race on web

The iPad 2 is expected to be a 9.7in device, although there have been rumours that Apple is planning on releasing a smaller 7in sister tablet.Recent speculation that the iPad 2 had been delayed until June was 'simply not true', an Apple insider said.The firm is said to want a launch at the! same ti me of year as the first iPad, which went on sale in April 2010.

iPAD 2 - WHAT TO EXPECT

• Slimmer device than iPad
  
• Better resolution display
• Cameras on front and back
• Lighter thanks to carbon fibre casing replacing aluminium
• 9.7in device
• Rumours that Apple will also release a smaller, 7in iPad 2
• Possible April release date in the U.S.
• No price details yet
  

No release date or price has been set yet.Talk of the iPad 2 comes as reports detailing the faltering health of chief executive Steve Jobs emerged.Tim Cook, chief operating officer of Apple, is expected to take the stage at the annual shareholders meeting later today in the 55-year-old's place.Mr Jobs, who underwent a liver transplant in 2009, took his third medical leave in seven years last month.He was pictured last week leaving a cancer clinic in Silicon Valley. It is unknown whether he will make an appearance at next Wednesday's launch.
The iPad was the hottest technology device of 2010, selling nearly 15million units and sparking a slew of copycat devices from rivals. Morethan 50million tablets are expected to be sold this year, with Apple capturing the bulk of the demand.

Medical leave: A frail-looking Mr Jobs leaves breakfast in Palo Alto, California, earlier this monthShares of Apple fell 3 per cent after a Taiwanese brokerage firm saidthe iPad 2 will be delayed as maker Hon Hai faces production bottlenecksdue to the device's new design.But analysts quickly downplayed the report, noting that Apple has been reliable when it comes to its release schedule.

With Steve Jobs on medical leave, Apple's Tim Cook is expected to make next week's iPad 2 presentation'Apple has a very consistent track record,' said Hu! dson Squ are Research analyst Daniel Ernst.Yuanta Securities had said in a note the iPad 2 would come out two months later in the seasonal schedule this year than the first version, which launched in April last year.According to the note, component makers had to change their production processes after Apple made design changes to the iPad 2 beforethe Lunar New Year at the beginning of February.
Hon Hai declined to comment.
MorganKeegan analyst Tavis McCourt said investors were overreacting to Yuanta's note, adding that even if a late launch hurts second-quarter sales, he is not changing his expectation for full year sales of 27million iPads.The March 2 unveiling was originally reported in an All Things Digital blog report. Apple declined to comment.