Apple began taking pre-orders for the iPad from U.S. customers on March 12, 2010.
[3] The only major change to the device between its announcement and being available to pre-order was the change of the behavior of the side switch from sound muting to that of a screen rotation lock.
[29] The Wi-Fi version of the iPad went on sale in the United States on April 3, 2010.
[3][30] The Wi-Fi + 3G version was released on April 30.
[3][4][4] 3G service in the United States is provided by AT&T and was initially sold with two prepaid contract-free data plan options: one for unlimited data and the other for 250 MB per month at half the price.
[31][32] On June 2, 2010, AT&T announced that effective June 7 the unlimited plan would be replaced for new customers with a 2 GB plan at slightly lower cost; existing customers would have the option to keep the unlimited plan.
[33] The plans are activated on the iPad itself and can be canceled at any time.
[34]
The device was initially popular with 300,000 iPads being sold on their first day of availability.
[35] By May 3, 2010, Apple had sold a million iPads,
[36] this was in half the time it took Apple to sell the same number of original iPhones.
[37] By May 31, 2010, Apple had sold two million iPads
[38] and by June 22, 2010, they had sold 3 million.
[14][39] Between July 1 and September 30, 2010, Apple sold a further 4.2 million iPads. During the October 18, 2010, Financial Conference Call, Steve Jobs announced that Apple had sold more iPads than Macs for the Fiscal Quarter.
[40]
The iPad was initially only available online at The Apple Store as well as the company's retail locations. The iPad has since been available for purchase through many retailers including Amazon, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Verizon, and AT&T.
The iPad was launched in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom on May 28.
[5][41] Online pre-orders in those countries began on May 10.
[4] Apple released the iPad in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore on July 23, 2010.
[42] Israel briefly prohibited importation of the iPad because of concerns that its Wi-Fi might interfere with other devices.
[43] On September 17, 2010, the iPad officially launched in China.
[44] On November 30, 2010, the iPad officially launched in Malaysia.
[45]
The iPad 2 is thinner and lighter than its predecessor, and is available in black or white (shown).
The iPad 2 is Apple's 2nd generation iPad tablet, announced on March 2, 2011, and released in the United States on March 11, 2011. Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs revealed the device at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on March 2, 2011, despite his medical leave at the time.
[46] Alongside the iPad 2, Jobs also announced that the iOS 4.3 operating system would also be available March 9, 2011.
[47] The iPad 2 started selling on the Apple website on March 11.
[48] Apple introduced a new hardware design for its 2nd generation tablet, making it approximately 33% thinner than its predecessor. New standard features include a gyroscope, as well as front and rear-facing cameras designed for FaceTime video messaging—capable of messaging with iPhone 4, iPod Touch 4, and Mac OS X Snow Leopard devices.
[49] The iPad 2 also features an upgraded processor, a dual core Apple A5, which Apple claims is twice as fast as its predecessor for CPU operations, and up to 9 times as fast for GPU operations. In spite of a thinner design and more powerful processor, Apple claims to have retained the previous generation's advertised 10 hour battery life for the iPad 2. In addition to WiFi-only and AT&T cellular data models available with 16, 32 and 64 GB of internal storage, the iPad 2 introduces a third tier of model with CDMA support for Verizon Wireless in the United States, available separately from the AT&T capable version. With the option of white or black trim for all aforementioned models, this brings the total number of available models to 18, up from 6 for the previous generation.
[50] Apple also unveiled the Smart Cover, an accessory that attaches magnetically to the side of the device and protects the front of the device.
[51] Alongside the iPad 2, Jobs also announced that the iOS 4.3 operating system would be available March 11, 2011.
[47]
The iPad 2 has been available for purchase, depending on stock availability, as of March 11, 2011 at Apple retail stores in the United States, as well as to United States customers shopping online at Apple's retail website.
[52] The iPad 2 will be released internationally in 25 other countries on March 25, 2011. These countries include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico and the United Kingdom. iPad owners who bought an iPad in a Apple Retail Store or in the Apple Online Store within the two week time frame before the announcement will receive a $100 reimbursement from Apple.
[53]
