The second generation iPad was unveiled yesterday. Despite Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ recent announcement that he was taking a leave of absence due to health issues, he showed up to do what he does best. The live blogs I followed said most people seemed shocked when he took the stage. He looks pretty good and his enthusiasm was as genuine and passionate as always. Mr. Jobs took a few opportunities at the beginning to brag on creating and then killing the tablet category with jabs at the competition, their anemic app offerings and slow-to-market OS releases. He also announced that over 100 million iPhones have been sold. That’s a mind blowing figure. Another impressive figure was revealed. Over $2 billion has been paid out to app developers selling their software in Apple’s online retailing system. Jobs stated he believes that more credit cards have been used online within the Apple ecommerce system than any other retailer.

A few of the more notable features of the iPad 2

• A dual-core 1 GHz “system on a chip” A5 processor
• Thin to win – at .34″ It’s thinner than an iPhone 4
• Front and rear facing cameras for video, stills and Facetime video conferencing
• 3 Axis gyroscope
• Faster graphics processor
• Video Mirroring. Using a Digital AV or Apple VGA adapter with projectors or HDTV
• Prices remain the same as iPad 1
• White or Black. Both shipping March 11

iOS upgrade 4.3
(Apple’s mobile specific operating system available 3/11)

• Air Play Enhancements. Stream wirelessly to HDTV and Home Sound System
• iTunes home sharing. Share all iTunes content over Wi-Fi
• Personal hotspot for iPhone 4, share connection with 4 devices

New Apple iPad Apps

• iMovie video production built for iPad
• Garage Band music creation built for iPad

Cool New “Smart Cover”

A polyurethane ($39) or leather ($69) cover in 5 colors each. Designed at the same time as the device, the cover uses magnets to align itself on the screen and features a micro fiber lining that cleans the screen as it’s opened and closed. The cover folds to be used as an angled keyboard stand or upright as a video or presentation stand.

Those opting to purchase the Wi-Fi and 3G connected versions will be able to get service through Verizon or AT&T.

Magical Market Share

I think taken in its entirety, the competition still has a long and hard market share battle. Apple’s combination of hardware, operating system and app availability give them a beach head. Apple’s ability to rapidly innovate and produce will keep most competitors in the also ran category.

iPad 2 & The Real Estate Professional

Video Blogging

Using this device to shoot and edit video would seem a bit cumbersome to me unless it’s done to create content that doesn’t need to be a polished marketing presentation. I could see doing “guy/gal on the street” interviews with local businesses, neighborhood tours etc. Being able to shoot, edit, upload and add the content to a blog or web site from the device could be a real time saver and a darn sight easier than trying to do it from an iPhone. The screen shots for iMovie for the iPad looks as if the process is simplified a great deal. It also looked as if the options for saving the video to sharing sites etc. had been expanded as well.

Listing Presentations

The display on this device is awesome. Video, photos and graphics look very good. Apple’s Keynote program is an easy to use presentation application and well worth the $10. If you’ve done many Power Points in the past, you’ll dig Keynote. The presentation can be easily modified, saved as a .pdf format file and e-mailed to a prospect. If you do speaking or training, you will definitely want to use the mirroring feature with your projector or large screen HDTV’s. Anyone who has fumbled with hooking laptops up to projectors will love this feature.

Facetime Conferencing

Using the video conferencing feature of the device allows you to have more personal conversations with clients and prospects (assuming they have a Mac, iPhone or iPad 2)

Documents & Signatures

I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before most all of the docs in a transaction will be iPad and digital signature ready. What started out to be primarily a consumer will product is starting to have a big impact on the applied technology of large and small concerns. It won’t replace your computer as a primary business tool, but by the time you get finish customizing how you use it to interact with clients and vendors, you will probably wonder what you did without it. “Numbers” is another Apple application that can be an invaluable tool.

Real Estate Applications

You would do well to become familiar with all of the real estate search applications on the iPad. Consumers ARE using these applications in rapidly increasing numbers and you should be viewing and interacting with the content through consumer eyes. Now is also the time to consider investments in advertising within mobile platforms. A prospect that has downloaded and installed an application is going to be a much more qualified target in my opinion.

Stress Relief – Games & Books

You have been warned. There are so many games now for the iPad, large blocks of time can tick away without noticing it. Download and play Angry Birds at your own peril. I am not a gamer. I told myself after a few times of playing Angry Birds that I could stop any time I wanted. I have now completed every level and achievement and look every morning for an update so I can get my fix.

The selection of books is vast on the iPad with a number of apps and companies offering them for sale. The prices are typically lower than a printed book and reading them on the device I find quite enjoyable. Be sure to download Amazon’s Kindle application. It’s free and despite the addition of Random House to the iBook store, I think Amazon has a better selection.

Are you using an iPad in your real estate practice? Will you be upgrading? Are you holding out hope that a competitor’s tablet will do what you need? Let us know!

Click here to see a video of yesterday’s Keynote.