Apple iPad 2 event liveblog
See you back here at 5:45pm GMT
Well, it's here. Slap bang in the middle of – but separate from – GDC and one hour after Nintendo delivers its own keynote presentation Apple is taking to the stage in San Francisco to unveil the iPad 2.
What's it going to be like? Nobody knows, though rumours point to a thinner device with a mini-USB port, an A5 chip, 512MB RAM, a higher resolution screen, and a pair of cameras for full FaceTime and photo-taking action.
Of course, those are just the rumours up to the end of last week. The mill of Apple tablet hearsay continues to deposit matter into the blogosphere.
Gizmodo reports that the iPad 2 may have a tapered design and a larger speaker, 9 to 5 Mac reports that a white model may be available, and Cult of Mac reports that iPad 3 is the one "to make a song and dance about”, suggesting that this evening's event could be a little bit limp.
Pocket Gamer will be at the event in two places simultaneously: San Franciso and London. Bookmark this page for a thrilling cross-continental liveblog (though only Will in London will actually be doing the typing), and stay tuned afterwards for impressions of the hardware and the games on show.
Apple iPad 2 event live-blog
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19:20: [Rob] And then it was over. Will's battery ran flat before the end of the presentation, but that's okay because he caught the important stuff. All hail Will.
19:06: We're now being shown another promotional video, which includes the scarily calm Jonny Ives. He's so damn calm.
19:00: Sorry about that - battery died on my laptop. Only missed a walkthrough of the basic music editing software that is Garageband. "This is no toy" says Steve. Will be out March 11th for $4.99
18:57: The Garage band interface adapts to the chosen instrument, which is rather clever. So drums displays a drumkit while an drawbar organ shows a drawbar organ.
18:50: iMovie on app store on March 11th for $4.99. Someone back at HQ can do the currency conversion. Oh! This is more exciting - Garage band for iPad. It's not Logic, but that's ok. 250+ loops, 8 track recording, compatible with Mac version
18:47: To be honest, iMovie for iPad 2 looks a lot like its desktop version. It's still being demonstrated. The first menu where all the films are stored (which looks like the front of a cinema) is rather neat though
18:42: Steve's back on stage. He's introducing two new apps for iPad. First is iMovie, which should be familiar to all iPhone 4 and Mac customers.
18:40: iOS 4.3 will be a free download on March 11th. Doesn't support 2nd gen Touches and iPhones, but does support everything else.
18:38: FaceTime for iPad! Well that was(n't unexpected in the slightest). Still, a nice bonus.
18:36: Photo booth is coming to the iPad 2 - uses the front-facing camera. Looks very much like the desktop version.
18:34: Increased speed in Safari; iTunes Home Sharing allowing for wireless streaming between compatible devices; Airplay has been updated; Ah-ha! the iPad hardware switch will now be selectable between mute or rotation lock - Apple backs down after the hated update
18:32: Aha! New software - iOS 4.3
18:30: We're now watching a video of the smart cover. Surprisingly, this thing looks actually pretty ace.
18:28: New thing called 'Smart cover' to replace the old cases. It looks bizarre, like a padded strip placed above the glass, and bends to form an impromptu stand. Uses magnets to grip and 'auto align' to the machine.
18:26: No extra ports, on this new iPad, you'll notice. In fact, Steve is now going through new accessories for the iPad 2 including an HDMI mirrored cable for the standard iPad port.
18:25: iPad 2 will start shipping on March 25th for the UK. Week on friday for US.
18:24: Price of the iPad 2 will be exactly the same as the iPad 1 is now. Steve's taking a dig at the $799 Androids by pointing out 5 of the 6 models of iPad are cheaper
18:22: "Our engineering team found a way, and we have the same 10 hour battery life as the original ipad...over a month of standby" - that's despite the dual-cores, fact fans
18:21: iPad 2 is thinner than the iPhone 4. Crazy. Also is lighter than the iPad -1.3 from 1.5 pounds. The new design is very curvy. Comes in white from day one!! Richard Brown will be crying with joy
18:20: Front-facing and rear cameras, and a Gyroscope are also included. "One of the most startling things about the iPad 2 is that it is dramatically thinner - a third thinner"
18:18: The iPad 2! The A5 chip is inside - Dual-core CPU. 2x faster than A4, 9x faster graphics. 'same low power' consumption.
18:13: It's still going. Talking about success stories of the iPad like a Chicago school that's given them to children to work from; now a medical centre.
18:11: Urgh, we're watching a cheesy video about the iPad. It's a montage of how great the machine is to the sounds of a boyband-esque building-piano section. It's making me feel ill.
18:09: He's going through a range of apps that are already out for the iPad (out of 65,000 specifically tailored for the machine) like the National Geographic. "Our competitors, at most, have 100 apps [for tablets]. And we're probably being generous here"
18:08: 'Competitors Flummuxed' has appeared on one of the slides for the iPad. Very sneaky
18:08: "People laughed at us for using the term magical, but you know what? It is magical...2010 turned out to be the year of the iPad. We sold over 15 million iPads - more than every tablet PC ever sold"
18:04: Steve's going through sales/figure milestones 100 million eBooks downloaded; developers have earned $2 billions dollars from selling their apps on the app store "a lot of people tried to copy us, but we're way ahead."; 100 million iPhones shipped in total
18:02: Ok, we're off. Steve Jobs IS on stage!
17:58: Live feed from San Fran has started. Their auditorium looks a little more purple than ours. Two minutes to go.
17:55: Connection speed has just gone into freefall as hundreds of journos suck up MY bandwidth. Anyway, we're back on for now. Event is about to start in a few minutes
17:40: Plenty of celebs out here for the big reveal, including 'that guy from BBC's Click' and 'that other BBC guy with the double-barrelled name'. Mostly just see a sea of macs.
17:22: Surprisingly not been turfed out despite blatantly wearing an Android badge on my jumper. Anyway - event will begin in 40 mins, so I'll likely save my fingers for the really important stuff. See you all in a bit.
17:20: I'm here safely. Sitting at the very, very top of the auditorium in the British Broadcasting Corporation's headquarters in Wood Lane. Exciting stuff, indeed. A lady has just passed by warning everyone that photos are not allowed - disappointment ensues.
12:20: Waiting for the event to start.
