Video: Latest Apple iPad 2 ad: ‘Now, There’s This’

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Videos

Apple has debuted a new ad for its popular iPad 2, touting things that Cupertino said wasn't possible before its tablet.

The ad, titled "Now," highlights the versatile nature of iPad apps. "Now, you can watch a newspaper," a voiceover says, zooming in on someone flipping through the Wall Street Journal app. "Now you can listen to a magazine," the voice says, switching to an interactive "Fantastic Mr. Fox" feature from Spin magazine.

The ad also flashes to someone watching "The King's Speech," video chatting via FaceTime, and taking an online class. "Hold an entire bookstore [via iBooks] and touch the stars," the ad concludes, flashing to an astronomy app, "because now, there's this."

This, of course, is the iPad 2, and the commercial ends with a shot of the updated tablet sitting on a table, presumably waiting for you to dole out hundreds of dollars for the pleasure of its company.

The "Now" ad comes about a month after the last commercial, which discussed the iPad 2's various uses and how its fans perceive it.

"If you ask a parent, they might call it intuitive," a voice said, flashing to a Smart Cover-enhanced iPad 2 displaying photos from a family trip to Yosemite. "If you ask a musician, they might call it inspiring," it continued, showing the iPad 2 in a music studio utilizing GarageBand.

The first iPad 2 commercial made its debut in early April. Entitled "We Believe," it was more serious than most other Apple ads, hitting sentimental notes—both literally and figuratively—and focusing almost entirely on ease of use.

During a recent earnings call, Apple said it sold 4.69 million iPads in the last quarter, a steep decline from the 7.33 million iPads the company sold during the fourth quarter holiday sales season. Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook, however, said at the time that Apple was facing the "mother of all backlogs" regarding the iPad 2.

March commercials for the iPhone, meanwhile, used the subtle tagline: "If you don't have an iPhone, you don't have an iPhone."

This article, written by Chloe Albanesius, originally appeared on PCMag.com and is republished on Gear Live with the permission of Ziff Davis, Inc.