With Google releasing Android Honeycomb (3.0 OS) tablets, including a 10.1 inch Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Motorola Xoom, Apple isn’t sitting idly by; announcing the release of three new devices featuring their iOS for 2011.

Funnily enough, Apple did not talk much about these things at the Mobile World Congress  but instead let people talk about Honeycomb and non-Apple hardware.  But now that the excitement has died down a bit, here they are, announcing the launch of iPhone 5 and the iPad 2  and even a new MacBook Pro.

While not all of these are set to release straight away, the iPad 2 has been scheduled for a 2 March unveiling in San Francisco; so just around the corner.  According to sources and AllThingsD, who broke the story, the iPad 2 is expected to be thinner, have an improved display, feature a Qualcomm multimode chip, and be both GSM and CDMA capable.  It is also anticipated that there will be a front-facing camera and feature Apple’s Facetime.

It will be interesting to see how it stacks up against the new Android tablets; although I imagine that, as with all things Android and iOS, opinions will be split and somewhat biased amongst certain groups.  While their target markets do overlap, there are certain groups to which one has a stronger appeal than the other.  For instance, some see Android as more a geeky, ‘guy who loves their gadgets’ type-of-thing while young women are more drawn to the social aspect and bling of the iPhone.