Apple announced its upcoming product today, the second generation iPad, named: iPad 2.

Steve Jobs, whose presence at the event was doubted, came on stage to give the keynote address, starting, as usual, with a few stats.

iBooks:

– Over 100 million books have been downloaded so far.

– Publisher “Random House” (DaVinci Code…) is now available on the iBooks Store, adding up over 17,000 books.

Apple ID:

– Over 200 million subscribers, possibly the biggest credit card subscribers online.

App Store:

– $2 Billion is the total revenue App Developers have made by selling their apps via Apple’s AppStore.

iPhone:

– Apple has crossed the 100 million iPhone threshold.

Pretty interesting, right?

Jobs then proceeded with a brief presentation about how 2010 was the year of the iPad. Calling it their third post-PC blockbuster, it’s both “magical and revolutionary.”

With over 90% market share, the release of the iPad has been the most successful consumer product launch yet. Over 15 million iPads were sold between April and December 2010.

Moreover, he announced the availability of over 65,000 apps for the iPad currently. Other platforms have a measly 100.

A brief video was then played about how ground-breaking the iPad was: used with doctors, in brain surgeries, in helping autistic children, in universities…

Then it was time to announce the main event of the keynote:

iPad 2:

– All new design.

– Boasts an A5 processor, becoming the first tablet to have a dual core processor, using the same low power as the A4 processor found in the original iPad and the iPhone 4.

– Has a built-in gyroscope, like the iPhone 4.

– It’s thinner than the iPhone 4, at 8.6 mm and 33% thinner than the original iPad. It’s also, at 1.3 pounds, lighter than the original iPad.

– It has two cameras: One on the front and one on the rear.

– Comes in two colors: black and white.

– Battery life is over 10 hours, or a month on standby.

– Same prices as the original iPad.

– Supports HDMI video output via a separately purchased cable for $39.

– Available starting March 11th in the U.S. and March 25th in 26 other countries.

Next was another highlight of the evening, the Smart Cover:

– Instead of hiding the iPad’s design, this is a front cover.

– Has magnets, allowing it to auto-align.

– iPad sleeps when the cover is closed and wakes up when it’s opened.

– Can be folded into different shapes, depending on your need.

And it wouldn’t be a complete Apple event without a part addressing iOS.

iOS 4.3:

– Available March 11th, along with iPad 2.

– Involves improvement to Safari’s performance.

– Enables iTunes home sharing, allowing you to get your iTunes content over Wi-Fi.

– Involves improvement to Airplay.

– And for the iPad, it enables the preference if you want the side button to be a mute button or an orientation lock button.

– Enables personal hotspot, for iPhone 4 only.

– Facetime is also added to iPad 2, along with PhotoBooth functionality, allowing the user to have split-screens, tamper with colors, etc…

Then two apps for the iPad were demoed: iMovie and Garageband, both available on March 11th as well. They looked pretty cool and on a Dual Core device, I think they’d be pretty functional, as evident by the many video and song demos that were played at the keynote, made only by those apps.

So are you buying an iPad 2?