All Things Digital reports Apple will unveil the iPad 2 next week, at a media event on March 2:
To those who intensely cares about this kind of stuff–which would be pretty much everyone in the tech ecosystem–Apple will hold its much-anticipated event on March 2, where the tech giant seems poised to unveil a new version of its hugely successful iPad.
It’s not clear when Apple will begin sending out its famous invites for gathering, but I am guessing soon, in order to get the Apple faithful to the proper level of froth.
Invitations for the event haven’t been sent out to bloggers and journalists yet, and if the date is real this time, we suspect it may happen as early as tonight or tomorrow morning. Note that March 2nd is a Wednesday, a day that fits Apple’s typical patterns for media events. It is also unclear whether Apple will hold a smaller event for the announcement in Cupertino, or at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco. Steve Jobs won’t likely announce the product on stage, leaving the presentation to Tim Cook and Phil Schiller – like in 2009 for the iPhone 3GS media event (when Jobs was on a medical leave of absence). The Yerba Buena Center calendar indeed shows there are no available programs on March 2.
The iPad 2 is widely believed to sport a thinner and lighter design, front and rear-facing cameras, a bigger speaker and a rather mysterious additional connection port that’s been spotted in various case designs leaked in the past months.
Update: The New York Times and Reuters believe the iPad 2 will be announced next week as well.
NYT:
In an article about iPads in the enterprise published on Monday, we reported that Apple plans to unveil a new iPad as soon as next month. Now people with knowledge of the matter say that Apple will host an event on Wednesday, March 2 to showcase its new iPad. The people agreed to speak on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss Apple’s product plans. Reporters and other guests are likely to receive invitations in the next couple of days.
Apple will host an event on March 2, where the company is expected to take the wraps off the newest iPad model, an individual with knowledge of the situation said. Apple declined to comment.
