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During the  nearly 90 minute news conference in San Francisco this afternoon, Apple CEO Tim Cook called the NEW iPad, (in what we're sure Apple Execs think signals the death knell for PCs) the "poster child of the post PC world" . But even after 90 minutes, there was no mention of a new, catchy moniker (Steve Jobs just rolled over in his grave). Speculation had ranged from the boring, iPad 3 to the slightly less boring iPad HD.

What we do know is that HD is the word most associated with the New iPad (that's what Cook kept calling it during the 'show'). Cook mentioned that just over Fourth Quarter last year Apple has sold 15.4 M iPads, and over 55 M worldwide since it's introduction.

As rumored, the New iPad will be available March 16th (next Friday) which confirms a previous report that Apple Stores across the country were gearing up for a major event next week. The price point was a pleasant surprise; $499-829, depending on storage, which represents no change in the current price. However, iPad2s will drop in price to $399. Pre-orders will start today at the Apple Store.

Much of the pitch centered on better and faster gaming, thanks to an A5X processor with quad-core graphics, and an increased display; including a new 9.7-inch screen with a "retina display" of 2047 by 1536 pixels, compared with the current model's 1024 by 768 pixels, in other words that's 3.1 million pixels on the display screen.

It will also record video in 1080p (HD) and sports a 5 megapixel camera, a significant increase from the old one that made most shots look like one of those old throw-away cameras you bought at the grocery store.

It's no surprise that connectivity-wise it will run 4G LTE and can be your personal hotspot if your carrier offers that. Voice dictation was one of the advanced features demoed, but no word on whether SIRI was incorporated. Another nice feature is a 'Home' button.

During the same conference, Cook also rolled out a new and improved Apple TV.

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