Yesterday Apple announced the iPad 2. Reactions have ranged from “the best tablet ever” all the way down to “an underwhelming launch with features that should have been included anyway”. Available here in the UK from March 25th it will have a dual-core CPU, two cameras and is just 8.8 mm thick.
Apple’s Steve Jobs was keen to dismiss rival tablets as over priced, and said that Android Honeycomb “only had 100 apps”. He also told us that 15 million iPads sold in just nine months last year and the same 10-hour battery life would be maintained in the new unit.
Pricing for the UK and Europe isn’t really available as yet, but we’re guessing that the entry-level unit may cost around £449. The original iPad has now dropped in price to around £329 for the cheapest model.
We’d like to know what you think. Since the original iPad shipped the competition have been busy creating very good alternatives. The Samsung Galaxy Tab, for example, has achieved some fantastic sales and – with access to the standard Android Market – you get many thousands of apps to choose from. Other choices include the Motorola Xoom, Optimus Pad, HTC Flyer, Huawei S7 Slim and the all-new Galaxy Tab 10.1. Can the iPad remain king?
Those awaiting iPad2 will now be very pleased that they can get the near identical iPad1 for about £100 less!
I’m underwhelmed. And you still have to do things Apples way – the Xoom may be overpriced, but competition will bring prices down. I can wait until an Android tablet with the functionality I want at the right price come out… lets face it a Tablet is not a necessity, so I’m in no hurry to get one.
the hardware may be nice but the OS is such old boring hack
The iPads have two key advantages over their competition – pricing & content.
Apple have been very careful to price the iPads less than their rivals, and I reckon they will maintain that. Samsung tried to sell the Galaxy for £700, but were forced to drop the price. Because Apple control the whole supply chain, they can take a hit on hardware if they need to.
But where they really win is content. If you just want to surf the internet, then ok, other tablets will be ok, but with the apps that are available for the iPad, the other manufacturers have a desperate fight on their hands. Apple have the corporate support – high street companies all have apps & some very good ones.
But introducing iMovie for iPad, and Garageband, Apple are killing the bottom of the laptop market. Microsoft have already acknowledged it hurting them, and its going to get worse, the more apps that come along.
Like them or not, Apple have flattened the competition with the iPad 2.
in total agreement :_)
I’m getting one. Facetime is brilliant.
The iPad-2 is great, but not impossible to resist — I have a feeling the iPad-3 will be irresistible 😉
I don’t want to want an iPad if that makes sense, but I feel I’m left with little choice as things stand.
I’ll preface all of this rant by stating that I have a deep dislike for Apple and Steve Jobs. My current phone is a Desire, running Cyanogen…..
Despite Android outselling iPhone in most markets now, companies still aren’t making enough Android apps. I work for one of the UK’s largest publishing companies, and our magazines are looking to develop iPad apps. Why no mention of an equivilant Android app? Despite Google offering better terms than Apple for subscriptions.
Also, everything on Apple seems to just “work”. I recently bought a Galaxy Tab but have just returned it to the store. My son lives away from me, so I thought a Tab would be great in that I can video call him, but there are no Tab to PC video clients yet.
I eventually found OoVoo, but the image was rotated by 90 degrees, very frustrating.
I know that Facetime on the iPad 2 will just work straight out of the box, why should I have to tinker with the Android device to make it work?
The other use I have for a tablet is presenting to clients, instead of carrying reams of paper.
Most of my clients are London advertising agencies, and they’re all so familiar with the iPad that I can just hand it to them and they browse around. Would this be the case with a Xoom for example?
Ultimately I expect Android will win out – look at how quickly it’s become the No 1 operating system for smart phones from a standing start…… but until there’s enough public support behind it, you’ll spend all of the time explaining to people:-
“it’s a Xoom, and runs Android”
– check for blank facial expression…..
“It’s like an iPad”.
That’s one of my points, and its sad – companies are looking to develop for iPad, but not Android. I too have an Android phone, and the lack of apps from mainstream companies frustrates me. For example the excellent Tesco Grocery app – no sign of an Android app (and yet Windows Phone 7 had it for day 1!).
I think part of the problem is at board level for the these companies – they’ve never heard of Android, only Blackberrys and iPhones and iPads.
Apple can make products work by introducing the supporting software that is required and getting people on board – people expect Apple to succeed, but aren’t so sure about Google sadly.
Does anyone have a list of the full specs for the Ipad2? Does it have one or two USB ports? Can we expand the storage with a SD card?
Here is a spec list from the net:
iPad 2 –
Weight – 1.3 Pounds
Thickness – 8.8mm
10 Hour Battery Life
Front and Back cameras
A5 CPU – Dual Core
Improved Graphics, 9 x faster than current iPad
Gyroscopic Sensor
CREDIT: Touch Arcade http://toucharcade.com/2011/03/02/apple-launches-ipad-2-with-dual-core-a5-processor-faster-graphics/
Not sure on the specs of the Cameras at the mo. Im sure that will become clearer the closer to launch day.
You can use a SD card camera connection kit to plug SD cards into the iPad using the Dock Connector, but with the new iPad you can use the dock connector for HDMI viewing with an optional HDMI dock connector cable. Some people have pointed out that if you have some videos on SD card and you wish to view these on your HD TV via HDMI its a bit of a pain as the Dock Connector is taken up with either the SD card camera kit or the HDMI connector kit so its either one or the other.
I’m more excited about being able to use GarageBand on the iPad. This is a clever idea from apple and if executed correctly, could be a huge plus for having an iPad.
Hope this helps!
Is this a serious question???????
Why do people buy tablets? I mean I can surf on my Nexus S just fine and I don’t have to carry around some oversized thing, and if I want to watch a movie I sure as hell don’t want to have to hold the damn thing all the time, surely a netbook that can hold its own screen up at any rake is better? Plus they’re about 300 quid cheaper for a better computer. I don’t really get it. Is it just the shiny shiny? That I can understand because they’re certainly aesthetically pleasing devices, but I can’t see a practical reason for me to buy one over the kit I already have.
I have an iPad – I am not inspired enough to get the iPad 2.
If it had Retina Display and a stack of SSD GB and a better camera, then maybe, just maybe.
But as it stands, to me it’s an iPad 1.x
I tend to agree about the Retina Display, more storage, USB connections maybe?,
However, WTF would you want a rear camera that’s capable of HD video and taking photos on a device this large anyway? I’d feel ridiculous holding something like this up to take a video or photo, and others would look ridiculous too. Front Camera I can agree for video calling, but not the rear camera, that’s a still add-on in my opinion.
“still”, doh,I meant “silly”…. doughnut
compare ipad2 to xoom, maybe xoom is a better business tool http://www.toptabletreview.com/apple-ipad-2-vs-motorola-xoom-which-wins-as-a-business-tool.html
Why does everyone see Apple as the one to beat? because they’re the only company with the working innovation (even if it isn’t). I was disappointed with HTCs tablet. Motorolas Zoom is good but its a Motorola and everyone knows the negatives with that brand. If a so called forward looking company like HTC can’t come up with anything other than the Flyer then Apple are virtually untouchable with whatever they put their minds to. I get the iPad now! and like one comment said it just works, for everyone out of the box. I don’t think it’ll replace the serious notebooks but as a luxury to use in front of the TV or on the train its a winner. Now I’ve waited to see what the “competition” can produce I think I’ll get this new reasonably priced iPad- I can afford it.
Well the good news for people who want to grab an iPad is the 1st Gen iPad is instantly £100 cheaper, however if you go to Apples website and goto the Store and scroll to the bottom, refurbished iPad’s with 12 months Apple Guarantee are only £289! Now that seems like a good price to me!
I don’t understand the hype around the iPad 2. I’ve been looking forward to see what Apple was going to do with this update and was disappointed yet again. Basically the improved performance would be unnoticeable I believe as there was never a performance problem on the original iPad. The new cover that everyone keeps raving about only covers the front glass, I would hate to drop it on the ground with such a small amount of protection. I have a full leather case for my iPad and I’ve never had so much as a single scratch after using it for a year. As far as the camera’s are concerned I don’t know enough people who use face time to make it worth while but it Skype would get there act together and create a iPad app that actually fits the iPad screen then and only then will I consider upgrading to an iPad 2. Don’t get me wrong I love my iPad but what I think would have been great to see is the introduction of widgets, I think the icon only approach is going to get boring before too long, apple really needs to seriously consider flash I know they will never do that but it really is crazy to think they can change millions of web sites all over the world just so they can be viewed on an iPad.