The Innovators
Max Chafkin | Inc. magazine

Steve Jobs Announces iPad 2

 

Steve Jobs just wrapped up another one of his trademark announcements and it's now official: There is a new iPad. The bottom line, via the New York Times, is that the new iPad is thinner, lighter, faster, and has two cameras—all for the same price as before. Gizmodo calls it "a completely new beast." Also there's a sweet new line of cases!

But as interesting as the iPad 2 will be for app developers who are probably already plotting ways to make use of those cameras and the faster processor, the real news is how successful the tablet, which was widely mocked when it was released a year ago, has been.

According to the Times, Jobs said that some 100 million iBooks—the company's e-book format—have been downloaded. The App Store, which includes both the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, has paid out $2 billion to developers. There were 15 million iPads sold in 2010. 

 

Senior contributing writer Max Chafkin has profiled companies such as Yelp, Zappos, Twitter, Threadless, and Tesla for the magazine. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. @chafkin