Setting the Scene

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, located on the Moscone Center campus in downtown San Francisco, was the scene for the new iPad launch, as it was for many previous Apple product launch events.

Once all the invited guests were inside—an estimated 600 people—there was hardly room for anybody to move. This is typical of Apple product launches.

Television crews came from far and wide to cover the event, including KTLA 5 from Los Angeles and a crew from Japan.

Apple CEO Tim Cook shows the first photos of the new iPad.

Although the new iPad isn’t quite as thin—or as light—as the previous version, users most likely won’t care all that much. The new version is 9.4mm thick, or 0.37 inches. That compares with 8.8mm, or 0.34 inches, for the iPad 2. The weight is going up from 1.33 pounds (600 grams) to 1.4 pounds (640 grams).

Apple chief marketer Phil Schiller shows the new, higher-definition display (which Apple calls Retina Display) also greatly improves book and document reading. It also features 1080p high-definition (HD) video.

Schiller explains that the new iPad ranges from $499 for a basic 16GB model with WiFi only to $829 for 64GB of storage and 4G capabilities. All the iPad 2s will drop in price by $100 from now on.

The new iPad will come in two colors and be able to hook up with more types of networks than any previous tablet, of any kind, including the upcoming 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks.

An updated version of iPhoto enables users to—using gestures and fingers—do even more to photos then they could previously, including a series of new brushes for photo finishing.

After the presentation, invitees made their way into the test area, where they could actually get their hands on the first new iPads. In less than two years, Apple’s iPad franchise has marketed and sold nearly 50 million units worldwide, and the company sees no ceiling in sight.

People stayed for a couple of hours afterward to test the iPad. At the event, Apple also launched new versions of GarageBand, iPhoto and others. Battery life has been improved to 10 hours of 3G use and 9 hours of 4G use.