Apple announces iPad 2

Steve Jobs made a surprising appearance today at the Apple iPad 2 event to personally announce an entirely different second generation iPad.

The new iPad is 33% thinner at only 8.8mm than the previous one which is 13.44mm. It’s very thin that it’s thinner than the iPhone 4. It comes with a new Apple A5 processor which is a dual core cpu that is up to twice as fast as its predecessor and up to 9x faster graphics. iPad 2 also has a rear and front facing cameras that are missing in the current iPad. Also, the new iPad comes in two different colors, black and white.

Apple will be shipping the new iPad starting March 11th with the same price as the previous one starting at $499 (16GB WiFi only) and $629 (16GB WiFi + 3G).

India Unveils World’s Cheapest Tablet Computer

India took the first step to creating the world’s cheapest tablet computer on Friday when it unveiled the prototype of its low-cost version of the popular Apple iPad.

Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal lead the unveiling of the basic touchscreen tablet, which the government hopes to sell at only $35 each, or 1/14th of the price of the iPad. The tablet can be used as a word processor, Web browser, and video-conferencing device. If things go as planned, the computer would be commercially available by next year, but first, the government must find a company that is willing to manufacture what could be the world’s cheapest tablet.

Ministry spokeswoman Mamta Varma said that a number of companies have expressed interest in the project, but the government has yet to reach any manufacturing and distribution agreements.

The tablet is aimed at boosting India’s education system, with the government planning to subsidize the computer’s prize so that students can get the device for only $20.