Apple's iPad 2 is due on March 2, confirms an invitation sent by Apple for a media event at Yerba Buena Center.

AppleInsider reported that the invitation was inscribed with March 2 calendar date with the side being peeled revealing an iPad. Apple had unveiled its flagship product iPad in the Yerba Buena Center in 2010.

Since the launch of iPad in 2010, hordes of tablets running on Android, Windows 7, HP's webOS and RIM's QNX have been released. Apple has spearheaded the tablet march and has set a precedent for others to follow.

However, Apple now has competition from tablets in both 10-inch and 7-inch. While Apple has placed its weight behind the 10-inch display calling it the optimum size for a tablet, tablets in the 7-inch form are in the market to disprove Apple CEO Steve Jobs' observation. The Register reported that Jobs in an earnings call in October 2010 said that a 7-inch display was less than half the size of iPad's - isn't sufficient to create great tablet apps, in our opinion.

A barrage of tablets donning 7-inch displays started inundating the market after Samsung launched its Galaxy Tab. Some of the key players in the 7-inch segment are HTC Flyer, RIM PlayBook, Dell Streak 7,Samsung Galaxy Tab and ASUS MeMo. In the 10-inch category Apple competes against Motorola Xoom, HP's TouchPad, LG Slate, Notion Ink Adam and Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Here is a list of top 5 tablets in the 7-inch category that Apple's iPad 2 has to fend:

iPad
Apple's first version of the iPad was launched in April 2010. The iPad sports a 9.7-inch display with a screen resolution of 1024x768 and runs on iOS 4.2. It is powered by 1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed system-on-a-chip. It offers 256 MB RAM and comes in 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB internal memory configurations. Apple
Samsung Galaxy Tab
Slightly larger than the original Tab, the 8.9-inch successor would be smaller than the recently-announced Galaxy Tab 10.1. Samsung
HTC Flyer
Taiwanese phone maker HTC launched its 7-inch tablet Flyer at the Mobile World Congress at Barcelona. The tablet offers a screen resolution of 1024x600 and is powered by a Snapdragon 1.5GHz processor. HTC Flyer runs on Android Gingerbread and uses HTC Sense user interface which brings its 3D home experience to users. It offers 32GB in internal memory and 1GB RAM. It also sports a 5MP rear-facing and 1.3 MP front facing camera. HTC Flyer weighs about .91 pounds. The tablet also comes with a stylus which aids in note taking and a special feature called Timemark which enables a user to capture the audio of a meeting in line with the written notes. Thus tapping on a word in the notes instantly takes a user to that exact place in time in the audio recording of the meeting. HTC
Dell Streak 7
Dell started its foray in the tablet market with a 5-inch tablet Streak. However, it soon realized the virtues of a larger display and launched a Dell Streak 7 which sports a 7-inch display. The tablet runs on Android 2.2 or Froyo and is powered by a dual core Tegra 2 processor. It offers 800x480 screen resolution and 16GB in internal memory and 512 MB RAM. It also sports a 5MP rear-facing and 1.3 MP front-facing cameras. Streak 7 weighs about 1 pound. Dell
ASUS EeePad MeMo
ASUS showcased its 7-inch tablet Eee Pad MeMo at CES 2011. The tablet is unique that it brings Android 3.0 or Honeycomb to the 7-inch form when most of the Android 3.0 tablets offer a 10-inch display. It is reported that the tablet is powered by a Qualcomm 1.2GHz chip and offers 1024x600 in screen resolution. It is reported that it comes in 16/32/64 GB internal configuration. It also sports a 5MP rear-facing and 1.2 MP front-facing camera and weighs about 0.8 pounds. ASUS
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