During the iPad 2 launch announcement today, Steve Jobs presented the new Smart Covers that Apple has been working on for the iPad 2. They’ve done a good job of keeping most of the details about these under wraps (pardon the pun) until now, although there were some rumours a while back that Apple was working on developing a cover that would automatically put your iPad to sleep when you insert it and wake it up when you remove it. And guess what? That’s pretty much what the Smart Cover does, aside from a few other things besides! The Smart Cover is a flap that covers the front of the iPad 2, and can also be used as a versatile stand for both landscape and portrait mode. It’s held on by magnets, which grasp and auto-align it onto the iPad 2, and it wakes the iPad when you pull it back and puts the iPad to sleep when you close it. According to Jobs, it “adds minimal weight and thickness†and even comes with a micro-fiber lining to clean the screen. They come in polyurethane or leather, with the poly cases costing $39 and the leather ones costing $69, and available in five different colours each.
Source: Live from Apple's iPad 2 event -- Engadget