Thinner, Lighter, Faster: Apple Unveils iPad 2

There is a second this week, and the second is the iPad: the iPad 2 that Steve Jobs unveiled on Wednesday. The second is the sequel, and the sequel is the statement: the tablet that made the category, back to defend it. The second is thinner and faster, with cameras front and back, at the same 499 dollars. The press asked this week: can anyone catch Apple? The answer begins now. The second is the March 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: the tablet that became a category, the sequel that became the standard, the race that is only beginning.

The Second is the subject of this article: what Apple unveiled on Wednesday, why the sequel matters, who is chasing the tablet leader, and what it means this year.

1. The Unveiling on Wednesday

The unveiling is the news, and the news is the Wednesday: the March 2 event at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, the stage Steve Jobs stood on, the iPad 2 that was shown to the world. The unveiling is the report: the keynote that Apple staged, the headlines that followed, the specs that were listed, the price that was repeated, the number they checked. The unveiling is the moment: the technology press that filled the room, the bloggers who typed through the demo, the analysts who did the math on thinner and lighter, the story that owned the week.

The unveiling is also the week: the reports that followed the keynote, the analysis that ran through Thursday, the comparisons to the original that began that hour. The unveiling is the March 2011 context: the iPad that created the category, the fifteen million that were sold, the App Store that passed three hundred and fifty thousand apps, the iPad applications among them, the lead that Apple holds. The unveiling on Wednesday was the beginning, and the beginning was the second: the sequel that will be judged, the tablet that must hold the lead, the year that belongs to the tablet.

2. The Second Tablet

The second is the sequel, and the sequel is the category: the original iPad that was announced in January 2010, that went on sale in April 2010, that created the tablet market that did not exist. The second is the follow through: the device that had to prove the first was not a lucky moment, the product that had to show the category could grow, the machine that had to answer the doubters. The second is the position: the iPad 2 that inherits the crown, the tablet that the world measures every other tablet against, the name that every competitor whispers.

The second is also the numbers: the fifteen million iPads that Apple sold since the first went on sale, the App Store that holds more than three hundred and fifty thousand apps, the iPad applications around the screen. The second is the economics: the same 499 dollar starting price, the white model that joins the line, the Smart Cover that was unveiled with it, the ecosystem that feeds the machine. The second tablet is the bet, and the bet is the market: the category that Apple made, the lead that Apple holds, the ground that Apple will defend all year.

3. The Return to the Stage

The stage is the return, and the return is the man: Steve Jobs, the chief executive on medical leave since January, who walked out again to present the iPad 2 himself. The stage is the surprise: the chief executive who was not expected, the applause that greeted him, the health questions that hung in the air, the show that he owned, the stage that was still his. The stage is the proof: the company that moves on, the leader who still sets the pace, the keynote that became the story within the story, the moment that the press wrote about first.

The return is also the message: the company that does not slow down, the product that comes on schedule, the hand that points at the future, the pace that the rivals cannot match. The return is the January context: the medical leave that began on the seventeenth, the weeks of quiet, the questions that hung over the company, the answer that Apple gave on Wednesday. The return to the stage was the headline, and the headline was the assurance: the leader who is back, the company that is steady, the iPad that is only the start, the year that belongs to them.

4. The Thinner Machine

The machine is the thin, and the thin is the story: the iPad 2 that is 33 percent thinner, that measures 8.8 millimeters, that weighs 1.3 pounds, that fits in the hand like a magazine, that slips into the bag. The machine is the speed: the dual core A5 chip, the performance that is up to two times faster, the graphics that are nine times faster, the games that will come for it. The machine is the battery: the ten hours that match the original, the full day that the users expect, the power that the thinness did not cost.

The thin is also the craft: the engineering that shrank the parts, the design that the rivals must copy, the teardown that the analysts will do, the envy that the specs inspire. The thin is the comparison: the original that was already thin, the second that made it look thick, the leap that the numbers describe, the gap that the competitors must close. The thinner machine was the proof, and the proof was the point: the tablet that keeps getting better, the bar that keeps getting higher, the race that Apple still leads, the year that will test the lead.

5. The Cameras and the Cover

The cameras are the addition, and the addition is the call: the front camera and the rear camera, the FaceTime that comes to the tablet, the video calls that were missing from the first iPad. The cameras are the gap: the original that had none, the list that ended too soon, the feature that the second finally answers, the check that was missing before. The cameras are the future: the family that talks face to face, the tablet that sees, the conversations the screen makes possible, the reason that the front camera faces the user, the screen that becomes a window.

The cover is the design, and the design is the detail: the Smart Cover that Apple showed on Wednesday, the accessory that travels with the tablet, the extra that the buyers will consider, the name all will remember. The cover is the accessory: the piece that sits beside the tablet, the business that lives around the machine, the sign that Apple thinks in systems, the ecosystem that feeds the whole. The cover is also the white: the white model that joins the black, the choice that was missing, the second that offers something for everyone, the polish that defines the product.

6. The Competition Arrives

The competition is the wave, and the wave is the year: the Android tablets that run Honeycomb, the Motorola Xoom that shipped in February, the RIM PlayBook that is announced but not yet out, the HP TouchPad that runs webOS. The competition is the question: the press asked it all week, can anyone catch Apple, the question that defines the tablet wars, the question that the second iPad answers. The competition is the timing: the rivals that arrived late, the lead that Apple built, the fifteen million that came before them, the ground that they must take from the leader.

The wave is also the doubt: the Android that is young, the Honeycomb that is new, the PlayBook that is not shipping, the TouchPad that must prove webOS, the challengers that remain. The wave is the history: the original iPad that created the category in 2010, the fifteen million that were sold, the head start that the rivals must close, the pattern that they now face. The competition that arrives was the context, and the context was the timing: the second iPad that lands in the middle of the wave, the answer that the market will give, the wars that are just beginning.

7. The Post PC Question

The question is the category, and the category is the third: the post PC era that Jobs describes, the iPad as the third kind of device, the machine that sits between the phone and the computer. The question is the language: the words that Jobs used on Wednesday, the post PC phrase that will be quoted all year, the framing that the industry will borrow, the claim that the rivals must answer. The question is the vision: the tablet that replaces the laptop for some, that joins the phone for others, that defines the decade, that the second carries forward.

The third is also the challenge: the personal computer that still rules the desk, the phone that lives in the pocket, the tablet that must earn its place between them. The third is the bet: the consumers who will choose the tablet over the laptop, the developers who will build for the screen, the software that will grow around it, the market that the second iPad must expand. The post PC question was the framing, and the framing was the future: the third category that Apple claims, the war that is beginning over it, the decade that will decide it.

8. The Lesson

The lesson is the pace, and the pace is the product: the company that refreshes on schedule, the sequel that follows the first, the machine that is thinner and faster and smarter. The lesson is the defense: the leader that does not wait for the chase, the update that answers the rivals before they arrive, the price that stays the same, the lead that is rebuilt every year. The lesson is the business: the 499 dollar price, the ecosystem that surrounds the tablet, the apps that number more than three hundred and fifty thousand, the machine that feeds them all.

The lesson is also the race: the Android tablets that are coming, the PlayBook that waits in the wings, the TouchPad that carries webOS, the tablet wars that begin this year, the wave that is rolling. The lesson is the question: can anyone catch Apple, the question that the press asked, the question that the rivals must answer, the question the year will decide. The lesson is the March 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: the unveiling on Wednesday, the second iPad, the category that Apple made, the lead that Apple keeps, the race that is only beginning.

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