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Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, introducing the iPad
Apple began taking pre-orders for the iPad from U.S. customers on March 12, 2010, 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.
Thw WiFi version
The Wi-Fi version of the iPad went on sale in the United States on April 3, 2010. The Wi-Fi + 3G version was released on April 30. 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.
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.The plans are activated on the iPad itself and can be canceled at any time.
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][40] Online pre-orders in those countries began on May 10.
Apple released the iPad in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore on July 23, 2010.[41] Israel briefly prohibited importation of the iPad because of concerns that its Wi-Fi might interfere with other devices.[42] On September 17, 2010, the iPad officially launched in China.[43]
The device was initially popular with 300,000 iPads being sold on their first day of availability.[44] By May 3, 2010, Apple had sold a million iPads,[45] this was in half the time it took Apple to sell the same number of original iPhones.[46] During the October 18, 2010, Financial Conference Call, Steve Jobs announced that Apple had sold more iPads than Macs for the Fiscal Quarter.[47] In total, Apple sold more than 15 million first generation iPads prior to the launch of the iPad 2.[19]
The iPad 2 has been available for purchase, depending on stock availability, since 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.[50] The iPad 2 was released internationally in 25 other countries on March 25, 2011, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico and the United Kingdom, Apple Inc.
CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad 2, the second generation of the device, at a March 2, 2011, press conference, despite being on medical leave at the time.[48][49] About 33% thinner than its predecessor, the iPad 2 has a better processor, a dual core Apple A5 that Apple says is twice as fast as its predecessor for CPU operations and up to nine times as fast for GPU operations. It includes front and back cameras that support the FaceTime video calling application, as well as a three-axis gyroscope. It retains the original's 10-hour battery life and has a similar pricing scheme.
