Steve Jobs announces iPad 2

Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs has unveiled the newest version of his company's iPad tablet computer.

TheiPad 2is a "dramatically faster" dual core processor device that is 33 per cent thinner than the original,Jobs announced Wednesday.Its new features include cameras that can be used with the iPad 2's video-conferencing software, FaceTime.

The device is shipping March 11 in the U.S. and March 25 in Canada.

The iPad"moves the bar far ahead of the competition and will likely cause them to go back to the drawing boards yet again," Jobs said in a statement.

Jobswas greetedwith a standing ovation when he appearedfor the announcement at the Yerba Buena Center for Arts in San Francisco, bloggers reported live from the event.

He had personallyunveiled the iPad in January 2010, calling it a "magical and revolutionary product."

However, there were questions about Jobs's health and about whetherhe would appear atWednesday'sevent becausehe'dannounced anindefinite leave from the company in January. In recent years, Jobs hasdealt withpancreatic cancer and had a liver transplant.

Apple says iPad 2 will have the same 10-hour battery life as the original iPad. It will range in price from $499 US for the WiFi 16 GB version to $829 for the 64 GB version that supports both WiFi and 3G.

The launch of the iPad 2 had been anticipated since the Cupertino, Calif.-based company sent invitations last week to journalists asking them to "join Apple March 2 for a Special Event"and "see what 2011 will be the year of."The invitationfeatured the date with the upper right corner peeling off to show what appears to be an iPad.

Apple alsoused the event Wednesday to announcea new operating system, iOS 4.3, and new accessories for the iPad, including a magnetic cover that automatically puts the device into sleep mode andan HD video output cable that can be used while the device is charging.

The iPadhas sold roughly 15 million units since it first hit stores in April.

Since the iPad's launch, many other companies have come out with their own tablet models. Waterloo, Ont.-based Research In Motion unveiledthe first version of itsBlackBerry PlayBooks in September. Samsung's Android-powered Galaxy Tab launched in November. Motorola's Xoom and Dell'sdiminutive Streak 7 were among tablets unveiled at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in January.

Jobs spent part ofthe iPad 2 announcement taking jabs at competitors' tablets, accusing them of "scrambling to copy the first generation iPad."

Bloomberg reported that tablets running Google's Android operating system claimed a 22 per cent share of tablet computer shipments around the world in the quarter ended Dec. 31, according to the market research firm Strategy Analytics.That has eroded Apple'sshare of the tablet marketto 75 per cent from an earlier high of 95 per cent.