When was ipad2 launched

As most pundits expected, the iPad 2 includes a pair of cameras -- one facing the front of the device, the other rear-facing, letting users take video and still photographs as well as conduct videoconferencing calls using Apple's FaceTime video chat application.

FaceTime debuted last summer with the iPhone 4. Apple also said it will update the iOS operating system next week to Version 4. Also set to launch March 11, iOS 4. The latter, which the Verizon iPhone debuted last month , lets iPhone 4 owners create a temporary Wi-Fi hotspot, which other hardware, such as a tablet or notebook, can use to connect to the Internet.

Also in iOS 4. Apple executives also demonstrated new versions of the company's iMovie and GarageBand programs for the iPad. And Jobs spent five minutes touting new covers for the iPad, pegged as Smart Covers, that morph into typing and video-watching stands. These are post-PC devices that need to be easier to use than a PC.

In the US, PC sales have begun to flatten, partly because people are buying tablets instead, analysts say.

Microsoft might not have a response to Apple's and Google's platforms before , when it is expected to release a new version of Windows designed for tablets. Meanwhile other companies including BlackBerry maker Research in Motion and Hewlett-Packard have announced that they will release tablets based on their own software later this year.

The new iPad will continue to solidify Apple's stranglehold on the tablet market according to Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps. Of the more than 24m tablets that will be sold to US consumers in , at least 20m will be iPads. Thinner, lighter, faster — Apple has added a touch of Air to the second version of the iPad. The front and rear-facing cameras, the biggest omission from iPad 1, have nowarrived, though the iPad is an unwieldy camera. A gyroscope catches up with iPod Touch and iPhone, and the new A5 processor means better screen performance and faster graphics.

Obsessives will lust after the trophy-white iPad — whose promised cousin the white iPhone 4 never appeared — while a pleasant surprise was the fingerprint-removing smart case. That should affect gaming and mapping apps, giving both more of a degree feel. Users will also be able to choose between a black or white iPad, which will both ship at the same time. That stands in stark contrast to the iPhone 4, which was also supposed to be available in both black and white options; however, the white iPhone 4 has been continually delayed , with model scheduled to arrive sometime this spring.

Apple says the iPad 2 will be available on March 11 through the online and retail Apple Stores. The iPad 2 specifications call for iTunes According to Apple, the iPad has more than a 90 percent share of the tablet market. At the event, Jobs acknowledge the role of the retail Apple Stores as a key to the success of the iPad. Apple has a video demonstration of the iPad 2 available on its Website.

The video is also available if you subscribe to the Apple Keynotes podcast in iTunes. Updated a. PT with details on the cameras and the display, and a link to the video demo.