Apple iPad 2 To Launch In 25 Countries This Friday; Including Canada, Starting At $519

There may not have been enough iPad 2's for the US but that's not stopping the international launch. Apple has just announced that the iPad 2 is launching in 25 more countries this Friday, March 25th and that includes: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.

Update: Mobile Syrup has mentioned that the iPad 2 prices in Canada will actually be $20 more than the US. On the Apple website the 16GB iPad 2 is listed at $519.

[BGR]

Best Buy Launching iPad 2 In Canada At 10AM On March 25

This Friday will be quite a big day for Canadians. Best Buy has announced that they'll be launching the iPad 2 at 10AM but it doesn't look like pre-orders will be kicking off as usual. If you want to get one you'll have to line-up and who knows how many each store will have. This is unconfirmed right now but you better be there early!

[9 to 5 Mac]

Apple iPad 2 Available Now; 1AM PT Online and 5PM Local Time In Various Stores

Today is March 11 and that could only mean one thing. Apple releases their next-generation tablet, the iPad 2 to much fanfare and line-ups. This will be available at 5PM in your timezone and you'll be able to snatch one at Apple Stores, Best Buy, Target, Walmart, AT&T, and even Verizon stores. Of course, there's no LTE (4G) model ready so you're stuck with 3G for probably another year. If you don't want to leave your house into the horrible weather outside then you go online at 1AM PT to order it off of Apple's website. Let's see how many they sell.

Update: Check it out on Apple to order yours right now. It'll ship in 3 to 5 business days but you won't have to wait in line. Don't forget that there's a limit to two per order.

[Engadget]

iPad 2 Gets Announced By Steve Jobs; Sports Dual-Core A5 CPU, Cameras, and Black / White Options

Steve Jobs made a surprise appearance introducing the iPad 2 today. After talking about how great and magical the iPad is they talked about all of the copcats launching tablets this year. Oh yeah, they've sold 100 million iPhones so far. Getting on to the good stuff, the iPad 2 features a new dual-core A5 CPU (probably supplied by Samsung again), a rear-facing camera, a front-facing camera, a gyroscope, an HDMI output (cable costs $39), and an 8.8mm thin body (thinner than the iPhone 4) that weighs just 1.3 pounds. Battery life is still 10 hours and that's great considering how thin the device is.

Of course, since it has dual cameras you're able to FaceTime whoever you want and you'll be able to launch Photo Booth as well so you can make them look as silly as you want them to. Display stays at 9.7-inches and has the same 1,024 x 768 resolution display. Basically, if you already have the first iPad, this might not be worth the upgrade unless you really want the dual cameras.

Thankfully, Jobs also mentioned that this will be available in black and white starting on day one. Prices will stay the same as the current model so that's amazing. The iPad 2 will be launching on March 11th in the US and it'll be launching in 26 more countries, including Canada, on March 25th. Models will be available on both AT&T and Verizon in the US so that's some pretty good news as well. Don't forget that the iPad 2 is bringing iOS 4.3 along with it. Anyways, I'd still rather get a WiFi-only Motorola XOOM.

Update: Engadget has just mentioned that the iPad 2 has just been spotted at the FCC. This includes all models: WiFi (A1395), GSM (A1396), and CDMA (A1397).

[Engadget]