After months of anticipation, Apple finally unveiled its second-generation iPad in their Apple event last night.Most rumors made it into the actual product, but there’s a few that actually didn’t. For example, the SD card slot isn’t present, nor is the ‘Retina Display’ that everyone hoped for. Let’s see what Apple actually changed in the iPad 2 after the jump.

The iPad 2 features the new 1GHz dual-core A5 chip, which is said to be twice as fast, with graphics performance up to nine times better than on the original iPad, while power requirements have been kept the same. Battery life is, consequently, unaltered, with Apple promising 10 hours.

Pricing, too, has been left unchanged, starting at $499 for a 16GB WiFi-only iPad 2 and stretching up to $829 for a WiFi + 3G SKU with 64GB of storage. The new tablet will come with an HDMI output capable of 1080p — which will set you back $39 for the requisite dongle, called an Apple Digital AV Adapter. Yes, the rumored front and rear cameras are also present.

The already known enlarged speaker grille on the back is also present. The 9.7-inch ISP LCD panel still uses the same 1024 x 768 resolution. Sadly thought, the just-announced Thunderbolt port won’t be making any presence this round in any way.

720p video recording at 30fps will be on tap from the rear-facing camera, which can also do a 5x digital zoom if you need, whereas the front-facing imager will record at a more modest VGA resolution, also at 30fps.

There’s a new cover for the device, which is best defined by Steve Jobs himself: “We designed the case right alongside the product. It’s not a case — it’s a cover.” Basically, it’s a magnetic flap that protects the front and automatically wakes and puts the device to sleep according to whether it’s open or closed. Guess we know what that proximity sensor was about now. These Smart Covers will cost $39 in plastic or $69 if you opt for leather.

The iPad 2 is 33 percent thinner than its predecessor, at a mind-melting 8.8mm, and slightly lighter at 600g. You can also choose what color you want, a choice of between white and black. It’ll be available on both AT&T and Verizon, and all variants start shipping on March 11th.

Software wise, Apple will debut iOS 4.3 alongside the new iPad. Having iOS 4.3 loaded with the iPad 2 will give it improved Safari performance as well as FaceTime, Photo Booth, iMovie and GarageBand (the latter two costing $4.99 each) apps specifically for the newly camera-enriched iPad. Personal Hotspot capabilities are also arriving in iOS 4.3, but exclusive to the iPhone 4, so you won’t be able to share your 3G iPad’s connection. The minimum compatible version of iTunes for the new iPad 2 will be the newly launched 10.2.

Official details can be found here