California, 13:00 EST: Apple has just unveiled the iPad 2. The presentation is still ongoing as we speak, but here’s what we know at time of posting.

Direct from Apple HQ, Steve Jobs, who is currently taking a sabbatical from his position at Apple, lead the presentation to launch the latest device. The eagerly anticipated tablet has already set the digital world alight, not least with the news that the iPad 2 will be available to buy as soon as next week (11 March).

Jobs, who told the excited audience that “2011 will be the year of the iPad 2”, unveiled a series of improvements to the first generation device, including:

* The new version will be 33 percent thinner than the original
* It will be thinner than the iPhone 4, at 8.8mm
* iPad 2 will offer mirrored video output
* It will include both a rear- and front-facing camera to allow for FaceTime use; the application will be available between two iPad 2s, iPad 2 to iPhone 4 and iPad 2 to Mac.
* iPad 2 boasts built-in gyroscope
* It will house an A5 chip
* It will offer enhanced graphics performance at nine times faster
* Will still offer users 10 hours of battery life

The new device will cost the same as the original iPad and will be released in both black and white. Launched alongside the device will be a new iPad case, known as a Smart Cover, which also folds out into a stand for the device. The Smart Cover, which will be available in the same range of colours as other Apple products, will include a micro-fibre cloth to clean the screen and both wakes up the iPad 2 or shuts it down when either opened or closed.

The news keeps getting better: Jobs announced that 65,000 iPad apps have been launched to date and that the iPad 2, which Jobs speculates will be available in 26 countries by 25 March, will also be joined by the launch of a new iOS system (4.3) that will significantly enhance Safari and AirPlay.

If you wish to see the full Keynote, as it happened, then head over to the Apple site.