Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, made his first public appearance since going on medical leave six weeks ago, taking the stage at a San Francisco media event to introduce the iPad 2, the second generation of the company’s tablet computer.
Thin but energetic, Mr Jobs showed off a thinner iPad.“We’ve been working on this product for a while and I just didn’t want to miss this day,” he said.
His absence has concerned investors, especially since the group has given no details of his condition.He was diagnosed(确诊)with cancer in 2004 and had a liver transplant(肝脏移植)during almost six months of medical leave in 2009.People close to him said last month his health had been changing.
Apple’s stock(股票)rose more than 2 percent in the minutes after Mr Jobs began speaking, then gave up some of its gain as he detailed the iPad 2.
The device will go on sale in black and white versions in the US on March 11 and in 26 other countries, including the UK, Germany and Japan, on March 25.
Most of the improvements in the latest version had been expected, including a camera in the front and back for video conferencing, taking photos and videos.The iPad 2 is one-third thinner than the original tablet(平板电脑)and slightly lighter.In the US it will work with AT&T and Verizon, the top two mobile carriers.The pricing will be the same to the 2010 iPad at its introduction, ranging from $499 to $829 in six models.But Apple dropped prices on the older iPad on Wednesday by $100 across the board.
Apple has made the most of its year-long head start in tablets, selling 15,000,000 units of the older iPad last year and taking about 85 percent of the market.It is predicted that Apple’s fresher tablet would claim 80 percent of the US market this year, or 20,000,000 out of 24,000,000 total shipped(出货量).
Motorola, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, Samsung and others have brought out competing tablets, many based on Google’s Android software.
Mr Jobs said the rest of the field was still catching up with the first iPad and their markets for applications designed for tablets had, at best, 100 small programs.This compares with 65,000 on Apple’s applications store.
(1)
In what respect are the iPad 2 and the 2010 iPad exactly alike?
[ ]
A.
The weight.
B.
The camera.
C.
The thickness.
D.
The pricing at the introduction.
(2)
How many tablet computers were sold in the market last year?
[ ]
A.
About 15,000,000.
B.
About 17,000,000.
C.
About 20,000,000.
D.
About 24,000,000.
(3)
What makes Apple’s tablets superior(优越于)to the competing tablets of other companies?