The iPad 2 hit our shelves in March this year and surprised everybody with inbuilt cameras, an all new A5 processor chip, and a lighter, thinner design. In competition with the likes of Motorola Xoom, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Dell Streak 7, HTC Flyer, LG Optimus Pad, Blackberry PlayBook and more, we’d say Apple are so far ahead in the tablet race. But does it match up to our predictions, and is it worth the 10-month wait?
iTechnology predicted last year that the iPad 2 would be slimmer, have better performance and include better speakers…but we also predicted it would be high definition, with a bigger screen and a decent camera. So we got some parts wrong, but we don’t think there will be a long wait until the future models turn into everything we’d hoped.
Although Apple have not given any specific sales numbers, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster predicts about 70% of iPad 2 buyers are new users which Apple will be more than pleased about. Apple spokesperson Trudy Miller said in an interview with The Loop: “Demand for the next generation iPad 2 has been amazing. We are working hard to get iPad 2 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible.”
But despite months of distribution planning Apple reportedly sold out of the iPad 2 within the first weekend. Why? Apart from rumours of stock shortage due to it going on sale in America weeks before us, we’re not sure. As far as we’re concerned the original iPad has just had a facelift and a kick up the backside. The 9.7-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD with 1024 x 768 pixel resolution is exactly the same, you can still only get it in 16, 32 or 64GB and the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth hasn’t been upgraded.
But it does get better. The first obvious improvement is how slim and light the iPad 2 is. At just 8.8mm wide and weighing 1.33 pounds the new device is 33% thinner and 15% lighter than the original. This, along with angled edges to reduce weight, seemed like a brilliant transformation until we realised how flimsy it made it.
Also, brand new to the iPad is not one but two cameras. A front-facing VGA camera and rear-facing 5MP camera allow users to take photos, 720p HD video recording and use the new FaceTime feature to connect the iPad to other Apple products such as the iPhone. Although the cameras aren’t iPhone 4 quality, it’s more than the original offered and it’s a nice addition that can be worked on.
The new Apple A5 chipset was something we had hoped for given the original iPad’s tendency to crash and stall on some applications. Apple claims the 1GHz dual core application processor is twice as fast as the original A4, meaning “multitasking is smoother, apps load faster and everything just works better.” The clock speed of the A5 processor is described by Apple as nine times better on graphics whilst still being able to maintain a 10-hour battery life. This, along with the doubled RAM size of 512MB compared to 256MB in the first iPad, means these tablet generations are moving fast in the right direction. Apple have also greatly improved the browsing experience on the iPad 2 by an iOS 4.3 upgrade which shows 80% better performance than the first iPad, also loading pages at around 35% faster.
Other additional features such as the HDMI capability, parental control restrictions, wireless keyboards and docking stations push the iPad 2 to the top of the tablets chart… but the colourful covers that are being sold to protect the delicate device are feeble and not sufficient enough for us. Whatsmore, we can appreciate the benefits of the iPad 2 knowing your whereabouts by combining the gyroscope, accelerometer and compass to navigate maps and play games, but with recent news of Apple’s secret hidden files tracking our every move…we’re just a little cautious.
So the answer to our question is yes it is better, but certain ‘improvements’ are half-hearted and will see further improvements when the highly rumoured iPad 3 is released!
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