Stand by your beds! Apple has issued invitations to the launch of the new Apple iPad. The announcement takes place next Wednesday, 2 March -- and you're invited.
CNET UK is invited, anyway, and that's the next best thing. Although the main announcement will take place in San Francisco as usual, we'll be reporting from Apple's launch event in London with all the news, as well as our hands-on first impressions of the iPad 2.
The fact that there's a UK launch is encouraging for us Britons who dont like to wait for our shiny new gadgets. In our experience, a UK press preview with lots of devices to play with often means a very short wait for the new product to hit shops -- sometimes a mere matter of days.
Could the new iPad be in stores by the end of next week? That would be a serious coup for Apple, and a massive step in securing its position at the top of the tablet tree, as it would mean the iPad 2 is available before the Motorola Xoom and other rival Android Honeycomb tablets.
The invitation doesn't give much away, coquettishly revealing a teasing
glimpse of the corner of an iPad. The picture suggests that the battery
indicator, lock switch, power button and volume controls are all still
in the same place. So it could all be a massive wind-up and Apple's just announcing some dull new productivity software.
But hopefully we'll finally see how much of the rumour and speculation will be proved correct: will the next generation of Apple tablet have an improved screen? Will it pack a decent camera? What will it be called? No matter what the answers to these questions, at least it'll put an end to the fevered imaginings, salacious gossip and bare-faced poppycock surrounding the sequelicious slate.
Until the iPad 3 rumour mill kicks in, of course...
The iPad launch event kicks off at 6pm on Wednesday 2 March. Keep it CNET UK for all the news and our first impressions of the new device, and in the meantime, tell us your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook wall.
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Comments 12
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J4M35 23 February, 2011 17:32
YAY FINALLY
Nyadach 23 February, 2011 18:45
Oh lovely, a thinner one with a front camera *yawn*.
bk93 23 February, 2011 18:53
I hope Apple will also release the iWork 11 suite, which it really needs revising. Alongside this, they should also update the MobileMe servers or even perhaps add new features to it. I'm looking forward for the release of the new iPad as well xD
anonymous 23 February, 2011 23:53
i still hate ipads just ipod touchs on drugs my brother has it its rubish
adamm255 24 February, 2011 00:07
its so rubbish it single handedly revived and refreshed the tablet computing market in a commercially viable way. Gone are the touchscreen laptops with no keyboard that cost > £1000!
anonymous 24 February, 2011 00:38
Well if Apple has made the iPad 2 better than the Android Honeycomb that were unveiled this year then I may consider buying one, if not i'll just buy a Android tablet...
Anonymous 25 February, 2011 21:40
I hope they release garageband and imovie for it
Anonymous 26 February, 2011 07:54
iPad wallpaper looks great on my laptop. Ipad 2 still needs sync with iTunes ,that sucks
Anonymous 26 February, 2011 11:57
Ooooooooooo!
Time to shoot out load over Apple.
Quick let's get excited like we are meant to.
Corporate bully on a scale Microsoft would never even have contemplated.
The ipad is a pointless exaggeration if the touch.
JUst watch as the Applites throw their toys out.
bk93 26 February, 2011 14:18
^^ I wonder why the iPad bought the tablet market thriving into the market back in 2010, pretty much every other manufacturer started making tablets after the production of the iPad - it's just a heck of an innovation. So yes, Apple does deserve the credit.
Anonymous 28 February, 2011 10:19
Love it or hate it, its still an obsession..
remind you of a song?
Anonymous 28 February, 2011 14:51
@Ryan Hammy Pattinson: Dude! Take a second. Breathe. Now let go. Breathe. Then let go. Now do the same with your typing.