New iPad 2 Ad 'We Believe' Touts 'Magical' Tablet (VIDEO)

A new iPad 2 advertisement touts the device's ease of use, rather than its tech specs.

"This is what we believe," says the ad's voice-over. "Technology alone is not enough. Faster, thinner, lighter: those are all good things. But when technology gets out of the way, everything becomes more delightful, even magical."

No mention is made of the dual-core processor, the exact dimensions or weight, the battery life, or the dual webcams. Instead, the ad focuses merely on the user casually engaging with the device.

Though the growing list of competing tablets sport similar hardware, Apple is apparently stressing the iPad's standout usability.

View the ad for yourself and answer our quick poll (below).

WATCH: [via Apple Insider]

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What do you think of Apple's new approach to the iPad 2?

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Comments

[fannefer]

04:07 AM on 04/07/2011

i was ready for the video to not worrk on my iPad one!

[jaredbrain]

12:56 PM on 04/06/2011

so HP gives apple free advertising? If i was a paying advertiser on HP I wouldn't want my ad on this "article"

[gvscmr]

10:58 AM on 04/06/2011

@JohnTheMac said this in response to my desire to have choice like a slide out qwerty keyboard for my phone...

"I could get a slideout keyboard on an iPhone too, if I wanted one so bad. I don't though.”

I would like to get a show of hands from those folks who believe that you can get an iPhone with a slideout qwerty keyboard... Thanks!

[Noahsmokeshack]

05:58 PM on 04/06/2011

A third party developer makes a Bluetooth slide out keyboard. Google it

[gvscmr]

08:48 PM on 04/06/2011

ROFLMAO!!! This just keeps getting better and better! Great Credibility you have there. It appears it is YOU who does not read and who does nothing but throw a bunch of silly points, again with NO Backup. Absolute tell tale sign when someone realizes they stepped into is is when THEY tell the the people questioning them to "Google It!" Hahahahaha Yeah! Right! YOU brought up the point of "Apple iPhones" having the Option of a slide out Qwerty Keyboard so the burden of PROOF is On YOU! So Prove It!

If I were You, I'd be careful what absurd statements you throw out there... Someone is likely to call you on it and make YOU out to be the F00L.

We'll be waiting for those links that show an Apple iPhone with an integrated slide out Qwerty keyboard. Oh and by the way, here is one sample reference for you as to what a Slide Out Qwerty Keyboard looks like with a mobile phone.

http://www.xphones.net/category/samsung/page/2/

[BookwormMN]

08:34 AM on 04/06/2011

Brilliant marketing, a thirty second vignette capturing the wonders of the iPad. Apple's vision is clear and their fierce attention to detail in all things is what has made them the wonder of the tech industry. And very, very rich.

[thunder405]

04:41 AM on 04/06/2011

iPads suck (too bad I used it to type that). I read the reviews, but somehow the amateur astronomer somewhere inside me said "I want that". Good job Jobs.

[Noah Alberici]

11:51 PM on 04/05/2011

@Gvscmr - yet again, your response is uneducated and uninformed. Excellent attempt to try and explain your version of marketing 101, but apparently you either don't understand business, or your version of cliff notes is outdated. There isn't much an arguement that eventually android will take over the market, but that's to be expected when multiple companies are slapping a case on an open source OS. As far as the last sentence, educate yourself on product development and control. I suggest starting in a local community college. As far as market value, pick up a magazine and learn to read. Company #1 ExMo, #2 Apple. As far as Apple having superior products, apple has the fastest growing market segment of all primary OS developers. I'm Confused as to why your so ignorant and blatantly refuse to acknowledge facts. Maybe you should read Drudge, that's always a non biased supplier of information.

[gvscmr]

11:44 AM on 04/06/2011

ROFL... and the Apple iZealots always want to have the last word defending their totalitarian leader. What a laugh. And just where was Apple Computers the last time iJobs took a hiatus? Just where do you think your golden company will be when Steve iJobs cashes in his chips? Your arrogance is only exceeded by your ignorance and isn't it amazing how you claim all these facts without a single link to back up your position?

This one is cute...

"apple has the fastest growing market segment of all primary OS developers"

Really? just where is the proof? The Apple Newsletter? Well when you have small percentage of the overall market I guess that could be true­... NOT!

Os Marketshare
http://goo.gl/9uQd

Android Beats Flatlined iPhone
http://goo.gl/0mQzX

"Apple only managed to gain very minimally in terms of worldwide use. In fact, it took Apple nearly three years to gain around 3 percentage points on Microsoft. Even still, Microsoft has held well over 90% of the global share for so long that it's hard for worldwide analysts to take the Mac OS seriously." http://goo.gl/6roid

Android beats Apple iPhone in US market share
http://goo.gl/S7N7t

Android leaps beyond RIM to take top spot in U.S. market
http://goo.gl/3clHG

Difference between you and I is that I back up my statements... You just make them in an arrogant way!

[Noahsmokeshack]

05:51 PM on 04/06/2011

Learn how to read, the comment was PRIMARY OS, not iOS. Fantastic research on a topic I wasn't referring to. Hey, how about those xoom's? Literally flying off the shelves aren't they.

[Noahsmokeshack]

05:57 PM on 04/06/2011

I'll also be sure to back up what I'm saying as soon as I land because you did do research and it's fair if I counter point.

[drularter]

09:46 AM on 04/05/2011

I have yet to see an Android tablet that would be good enough to use in a professional sense. People need to realize that Apple has made a great product. They don't need to point out all the neat parts because everyone knows. They did a great job with this ad because it shows that it is easy to use and for all. Android is too technical for most.

[Mitchman57]

11:00 AM on 04/05/2011

"Android is too technical for most"

...most ...ipad buyers?

"Most" of us use laptops, phones, TV remotes with ease. So Apple dumbed down the ipad's UI for their client base?

Maybe the ipad3 will track your eye movements so you don't have to point and slide your fingers. (Not a bad idea, actually)

[drularter]

01:53 PM on 04/05/2011

Wow. I am certain that you did not have to be oddly defensive. It is a common fact that Apple prides itself on making products that are easy to use for first timers, right out of the box. Just because you have an natural ease when using technology does not even near mean that anyone else does. Sadly, the majority of people still couldn't do the most basic things on a computer.

[Mitchman57]

08:21 AM on 04/05/2011

This iApple ifan adherence to the ieverything that Apple makes, makes Apple's 1984 TV ad all the more prophetic.

Who would have thought the 1984 commercial's image of a room filled with lemming-like cult members staring blankly at their leader would look so much like Jobs rolling out just another ithing in front of his loyal members 20+ years later.

Great products, yes. Cult-like following, also yes. Maybe we could have a lttle less hype.

[Furfles]

11:25 PM on 04/05/2011

Listen, let's talk pragmatically here. Consumer technology is not about the specifications, it's about what it can do for the user. The iPad delivers what people are looking for. If an Android table delivers that, too, great for those who own it. What you can't counter is the fact that a few million people bought an iPad and that they enjoy it. Call them lemmings, if you want, but give them the benefit of the doubt. Markets are not all dumb, you know. If people are buying, the word is spreading. If the word out on the street was bad news on Apple's technology, do you honestly think that their sales would continue to grow?

[Mitchman57]

09:14 AM on 04/06/2011

Maybe you aren't old enough to remember the Sony Betamax/VHS wars. Betamax was a clear winner in performance but was heavily licensed.

Edison invented the phonograph. Edison's phonograph needle moved up and down. Victor's moved side to side. Why did Victor and VHS win in the marketplace? Because the lesser technology was open to all who sought to improve upon it and that garnered support long after the hype subsided.The losers clamped down on outside innovation and cranked up on license fees to make a profit in a smaller market share.

Like Edison and Sony, Apple will not gain a majority share if they don't open up and ease restrictions. History repeats itself.

Apple, one manufacturer / Android, many manufacturers. Android will win once the hype dies off.

How many Smart phones are there.... but only one with Apple's architecture. How many tablets are there, but only one with Apple's architecture.

Microsoft Windows - open. Apple OS, closed. Who, even after nearly 30 years is still winning market share despite having the lesser product?

Sometime, the better mousetrap doesn't make it - after the hype dies down.

[AngusC]

07:58 PM on 04/04/2011

Loved my iPad 1 and love my iPad 2 that I just got on Saturday.
Great products.
Even my mother was able to pick it up and figure it out within minutes.

[DRaymond]

05:40 PM on 04/04/2011

So why on earth does Apple releasing a new ad count as tech news?

Wow! Apple just made a TV ad for one of its products!  That hasn't happened since...their last new product.  And it uses lots of neat camera angles and dramatically lit closeups and a sooting voiceover that encourages people to think that they have accomplished something mystical and magical in their 'experience'.  They haven't taken that approach since...well they take that approach with everything in the last few years.

[tvkilledtheradio]

08:28 PM on 04/04/2011

Didn't they also post up news about the Xoom teaser ad that was going to play during the superbowl? That was news about a teaser of an ad.

I agree with ur comment about how a commercial counts as news. But your ranting paragraph follow-up shows an anti-apple slant to begin with. If so, then that easily explains your outrage at this article... lol

[DRaymond]

09:43 PM on 04/05/2011

I guess what I was trying to say in the 'rant' part was that it might be conceivable that an ad would be newsworthy for doing something really out of the ordinary in production or approach.  But this ad, really is kind of the same as every other ad for every other iProduct in the last several years.

[gvscmr]

03:46 PM on 04/04/2011

LOL Yeah that iPad is quite the tool isn't it? Our company found out the hard way when CIO decided to outfit the board with iPads to get to all the dashboard company statistics in the hands of the decision makers...

Oops... Sorry, did not work, as all the current Dashboard technology available on the market uses Flash for all the dashboard graphics...

Solution... Donate the iPads and outfit the board with Motorola Xooms running Android Honeycomb which support Flash.

[ResearchtheFacts]

04:40 PM on 04/04/2011

Android is incredible, and just how long does Apple think it can compete with the 20th century GUI?  Giant lazy icons ganged up on a page.  Their users are pushing buttons like on a playskool toy. Anybody going into a retail outlet will look at the 3D capability of Android and the ability to mod it to their usage habits compared to Apple's Fisherprice look and serious usage limitations and it is clear Android will take over the tablet market.  The industry has had ipad on death-watch for quite sometime.

[gvscmr]

05:10 PM on 04/04/2011

Yes and exactly why iJobs is trying to rush everything to the market thinking he will sew it all up... well and the fact that his life is running out. He just never learned his lesson with Microsoft and the IBM compatible PC's. Google and all the independent handset makers are that very scenario all over again... I could just imagine a high level meeting with Microsoft and Google in discussion just laughing about it.

Steve iJobs wants to control his users from the hardware to the software and to what applications are approved on his operating system to what content his users can see on the web... Sick really.

[Noah Alberici]

11:57 PM on 04/04/2011

Your awfully bitter for some reason. Maybe if your company did research they would have found out that apple doesn't directly support flash. Sounds your companies lack of product research is the problem, not Steve Jobs.

Having both an Android Tablet and an IPad and comparing noth side to side, I'll stick with the iPad. Android has a long way to go. Making erroneous comments about companies developing amazing products from an open platform source only proves one thing. They don't have the creative talent to develop both the hardware and software.

Say what you want about your "zealots" but for a company that develops both the hardware and software Apple seems to have a far larger market value then some of them combined.

As both a PC and Mac/iOS user, I'll place my trust in Apple because the products are far superior.

As far as the statistic that apple controls 90% of the tablet market, it's absolutely correct. Apparently you missed the word TABLET in the posters comment.

Hypothetically, 10 companies developing hardware for free souce software will sell more, it's based on bulk volume and simple math. But also keep in mind that these same companies have to split all revenue 10 ways - which in the long run will make Apple a more profitable company even if they sell less product.

But I forgot, the line at best buy was compared to black Friday when the Xoom was released, so I must be incorrect in my critique.

[gvscmr]

12:46 PM on 04/05/2011

Yawn... Boring response and I will admit a mistake... it was the CFO who knows nothing about technology that made the decision as the CIO was out on Medical Leave...

"Having both Android and iPad" LOL funny how you omitted the brand and stats of the "Android Tablet" that you have.

"Apple has a far large market VALUE then some of them combined" Yet another talking point hyperbolic statement that has absolutely no VALUE!

"As both a PC and Mac/iOS user, I'll place my trust in Apple because the products are far superior." LOL According to Who? You? Hahahahaha

"As far as the statistic that apple controls 90% of the tablet market is absolutely correct..." LOL Apparently You do not understand Business and Marketing 101! ANY Computer User today or in the future is "Statistically" a prime candidate and a "Market" that can be sold a tablet computer to. You or your pal iJobs can try and twist the pure facts all you want... But I'm not buying your Apple Line nor your products.

"Hypothetic­ally, 10 companies developing hardware for free souce software will sell more, it's based on bulk volume and simple math. But also keep in mind that these same companies have to split all revenue 10 ways - which in the long run will make Apple a more profitable company even if they sell less product." ROFL Yeah... Okay! Keep Telling Yourself that!

[Jabali]

01:22 AM on 04/06/2011

I love these pathetic stories where (insert genius person here) who bought iPads and tried to get it to do something it clearly was not designed to do and are surprised when it was unable to do it.

[ResearchtheFacts]

01:53 PM on 04/04/2011

I saw this and am hoping they play it before or after that Xoom commercial which I love. The difference in the technology is stunning.

One, you can get inside of the belly of the technology beast and the other, oh well, there's garage band. lol Oh, and I forgot the scribble and page flipping app.  The brain scan was already previewed on the Blackberry playbook which also has a slick more modern interface.  Keep believing apple keep believing.  That's why you failed to capture the entire market when you were the only choice for a tab in town.

[PalletJack]

03:26 PM on 04/04/2011

It is true that Apple failed to capture the entire tablet market.
They only captured 90% of it.

[gvscmr]

03:51 PM on 04/04/2011

Ahhhh Geezzz here we go... just like on this very site about 9 months ago how all the Apple iZealots bragging that the iPhone was going to be the standard and that Android would never catch the iPhone... Here we stand today and Android phones have overtaken Apple phones just like Android based tablets in another 9 months will dominate the tablet market. Truth and reality hurts doesn't it?

[gvscmr]

03:54 PM on 04/04/2011

Don't you mean 90% of the Apple Zealots Market? Perhaps you should check your numbers prior to trying to zing someone and you end up zinging yourself.

[Jabali]

01:24 AM on 04/06/2011

There have been tablet computers for the last 10 years. Apple sold more in a weekend than was ever sold in those 10 years. They have obviously done something right.

[ResearchtheFacts]

01:40 AM on 04/06/2011

It's over, there done.  When they down grade your stock rating--that's the sound of the air going out of the blown.

[ResearchtheFacts]

01:41 AM on 04/06/2011

edit:  that's balloon-- just got through with a heavy work-load.

[garumphul]

12:20 PM on 04/04/2011

I hope the HP get a lot of money for all the Apple advertising they do.

Seriously, this should be marked as Paid Programming.

[ResearchtheFacts]

01:49 PM on 04/04/2011

Or in the comedy section.

[anthonyparker80]

02:09 PM on 04/04/2011

Seriously, i think they made the whole tech section for the Apple cultists

[JTS313]

12:16 PM on 04/04/2011

Is that Peter Coyote doing the VO? Nice. Keeping to their hippie roots.

[Mitchman57]

10:53 AM on 04/04/2011

Hey gang, look!... It's a post on Huffpo not about the ipad (thank God), but a post about the new ad for the ipad.

Don't other advertisers on Huffpo pay for their advertising?

Alright already, I'll buy one.

[ResearchtheFacts]

02:26 PM on 04/04/2011

Like everywhere else on the net it is being forced feed down our throats.  I am so tired of this device and cult following of it.  This is the very reason I won't be buying it.

[Draekia]

03:15 PM on 04/04/2011

Cult? Popular, yes. Cult? No more than pop music...

[Hehlol]

03:35 PM on 04/04/2011

"Forced feed?"

Didn't you click on this article and comment? Who forced you to click and comment? Who forced you to read this? But thanks for telling me you won't buy something because it's popular, that's a very enlightened approach to life - the other people I know like that are the 17 year old wearing skinny jeans and chucks that think they're fighting some sort of 'man' based on the clothing they wear. Dolt.