Jobs back in spotlight with new Apple iPad

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple chief executive Steve Jobs briefly emerged from his medical leave and walked on stage to a standing ovation Wednesday to unveil the second generation of the popular iPad. It comes with two cameras and will go on sale March 11 in the United States.

Jobs looked frail as he appeared in his signature black mock turtleneck, blue jeans and wire-rimmed glasses.

The next-generation tablet computer is faster than the original iPad. As expected, it comes with two cameras for taking photos and video chatting. The battery life will be the same as the original - about 10 hours of usage or a month on standby.

The iPad 2 is also thinner - 8.8 millimeters, or about a third of an inch, instead of the current 13.4 millimeters, or a little over one-half inch. "The new iPad 2 is actually thinner than your iPhone 4," Jobs said.

The original iPad, on sale last April, was more popular than analysts anticipated. Apple sold 15 million in nine months.

The iPad was initially used for checking e-mail, surfing the Web and watching online video. But as the number of software applications - or "apps" - designed just for iPad grew, the tablet made itself at home in offices, shops, restaurants and countless other settings.

The new iPad will make it harder for competitors. "Overall, the big message today is that Apple is offering a version 2 device while everyone else is still attempting to ship their first version 1 devices," said Yankee Group analyst Carl Howe.

He said the iPad 2's improvements are modest over the first one, but it will stand out because there are more apps available.

Sarah Rotman Eps, a Forrester Research analyst, said iPads should make up at least 20 million of the 24.1 million tablet computers she expects people in the United States to buy this year.

The new iPads will cost the same as the originals - $499 to $829, depending on storage space and whether they can connect to the Internet over a cellular network. Apple said there will be black and white versions, despite its problems getting the promised white iPhone 4 models to market. The first iPad came only in black. In the United States, the iPad 2 will work on AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless.

Jobs also introduced an iPad accessory that will let people connect the tablet to high-definition TVs, so they can watch videos up to 1080p in resolution on the bigger screen. - AP