Steve Jobs unveils iPad 2, takes a break from medical leave

San Francisco: Surprising a crowd of enthusiasts, Apple CEO Steve Jobs briefly returned from his medical leave to unveil the second generation iPad 2. He was greeted by a standing ovation by a hall full of journalists and analysts after which he made his presentation. As expected, iPad 2 is a thinner, lighter, and a lot faster than its predecessor. It adds two cameras for video chatting as well video recording. Users can edit movies on the device with the downloadable iMovie app and with GarageBand app, they can make music on the device. iPad 2 runs on a new processor A5 which the company claims will double the speed and graphic display by nine times. iPad 2 starts at the same price as the original model at $499 and will be available in black and white colors and is offered by both AT&T and Verizon Wireless. The highest priced iPad 2 is the 64 GB version with WiFi and 3G that starts at $899. Jobs said the device will begin shipping on March 11 in the U.S. and in more than two dozen other countries on March 25. Industry analysts feel that a new era of tablet war would mark its beginning with the Apple iPad 2 as many other potential players are coming out with their tablet devices. BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) will soon launch its PlayBook. Other prominent players like Motorola Xoom, Cisco Cius, Google Chrome OS tablet, Dell Streak, and the Hewlett Packard PalmPad will give it a tough competition in the market.