REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach

We’ve been waiting a while for the iPad 2 revelation today and now it is upon us.

Apple’s iPad 2 announcement gala unveiled itself today amidst a deluge of Beatle’s songs inside the Yerba Buena Theater and actual rain outside transitioning the warm atmosphere of the event against the inclement weather of San Francisco. The appearance of Steve Jobs himself on stage carried the performance. We’ve followed live blogging reports from Reuters and All Things D in order to bring you a summary of events happening within those walls.

Since this event is about the iPad 2, he started off by pointing out how much impact the initial iPad has had on the market. “Competitors were just flummoxed,” Jobs said. “They went back to the drawing boards; they tore up their designs, because they weren’t competitive.” He followed with a series of data points on how well iOS tablets apps have been selling, the number of developers, and how Android just isn’t keeping up: 65,000 apps tailored for the iPad vs. 100 apps for Android tablets.

The video played after Jobs’s initial statement about 2010 being the Year of the iPad conveys a message of iPad being a game changer: iPad is changing enterprise, it’s changing medicine—it’s changing people’s lives. As 2010 was the year of the iPad, Jobs notes, would that mean 2011 is the year of the copycats?

No, Jobs says, it will be the year of the iPad 2.

The iPad 2

The iPad 2 has a new design, a dramatic increase in speed—running on a dual-core A5 processor, up to 2x faster CPU, 9x faster graphics. The iPad 2 will be the first dual-core tablet to ship in volume and Apple will be there to do it. Front and back facing cameras and a gyroscope (possibly accelerometers) so that it can stabilize and determine directionality of movements.

As for form factor, the iPad 2 will be lighter and thinner. “Not just a little thinner,” says Jobs. “It’s a third thinner, the new iPad 2 is actually thinner than the iPhone 4. All of these other tablets coming out are thicker than the original iPad, they don’t even approach this.” Even with the lighter weight and thinner form factor, the device will still receive 10 hours of real-world battery life, no loss from the iPad’s capability.

The iPad 2 also supports both GSM and CDMA out of the box and will be carried by both AT&T and Verizon Wireless from zero day when it ships March 25 and 26 into the U.S.

Running at a price of $499 the iPad 2 will cost exactly as much as the iPad did. A little bit on the expensive side when it comes to tablets, but it is Apple hardware, after all. With the dual-core processor and the twin cameras, having the same price as its predecessor means that it’s even better value than before.

Accessories

How people might accessorize the iPad 2 seems to be a very big deal to Apple, so they’re spending a bit of time on the subject.

The first on the line happens to be a HDMI cable—running at about $35—that will allow users to output full HD to a display from the iPad 2. It’s reported to work with all apps and supports rotation at 1080p

Next happens to be a new type of cover designed to protect the glass. Made with polyurethane or leather, with magnets to auto-align it to the iPad, and the cover will be “smart” as in the iPad can detect the presence of the cover and go to sleep or wake up according to its presence. They come in five colors and run between $39 and $59.

Apple Announces iOS 4.3 Release

Scott Forstall took the stage to talk about the release of iOS 4.3, the newest iteration in the Apple mobile operating system. It will have improved Safari performance via the Nitro Javascript engine, iTunes Home Sharing, and some AirPlay improvements. AirPlay will include plugins for a variety of apps as well as video for browsers.

He also mentioned that iOS 4.3 will enable the iPad switch to become a mute button or a rotation lock.

Additionally, iPhone 4 only—the phones will be able to become personal hotspots (previously announced for CDMA version.) Something that many would love to enjoy from their phones—in this era of advancing connectivity it’s no longer about just what your phone can do, but how it can connect your other devices to your network.

According to Forstall, iOS 4.3 will also support touch interactivity for Apple’s PhotoBooth application for all its myriad filters.

And, of course, FaceTime will be coming to the iPad 2—which only makes sense with its dual camera system. It will be supported on the iPhone and iPad Touch and the devices will be capable of connecting to one another in whatever combination.

iOS 4.3 is slated to be available March 11 and should be compatible with most of Apple’s newer devices.