[Ben]

So here it is; iPad 2 has come to pass and, fortunately, it met the higher end of expectations rather than simply being an iPad "S".

http://www.apple.com/uk/ipad/

Here's the highlights:
- New case, 33% thinner, 15% lighter.
- New "A5" processor, dual core 1GHz.
- 9x improved graphics.
- Basic cameras (front and back) designed for FaceTime.

There's also a new case: http://www.apple.com/uk/ipad/smart-cover/

This "Smart Cover" is a bit of an odd one. It attaches to the iPad magnetically, with a 'hinge' down one side. The biggest drawback of the original iPad case is that it detracts massively from the look and feel of the iPad. Smart Cover appears to have resolved this issue... though now it protects the screen and that's it! At least the original case would help you out in a drop situation - good luck if that should happen with the new one fitted.

Oh, and last but not least... iPad 2 is available in white. Really available, not like iPhone 4 ;)

[Hands0n]

I must say that I am somewhat underwhelmed, even for Apple this is a rather lacklustre update to the original iPad. One of my Twitter friends best described it as iPad 1.5. I am inclined to agree. As I suspect Apple would be too, if the speculation of a later-in-the-year release brings us iPad 3. Two iPads in one year? That kind of says it all.

Meanwhile, pressed up against Apple's back, rather than hot on its heels, are the early raft of Android tablets. Even in their first outing the new Honeycomb tablets look good. And of course we should not completely discount HP with their family of WebOS devices about to hit the streets. What these newcomers face is the sheer lack of apps that the iPad has. Apple's great strength is that it got in first, nay it defined the market that everyone said would be an abject failure. People really should learn not to do that while Steve Jobs is in charge. The man is a visionary, a rare beast at any century.

So is this nothing but blatant heresy from me? No, I would contend that the whole game is about to change. Apple have got in ahead of the 2011 crowd, but never again is it going to have the tablet market all to itself.

Me? I am not partaking of the experiment. I will happily plod along with my iPad and am looking forward to getting a Motorola Xoom to sample the Android Honeycomb on its first outing. The OS has come on leaps and bounds over the past two years or so from its Donut and Eclair days. I fully expect Android to continue to develop and enrich as time goes on.

If Apple do something radical in response with the iPad 3 then I will likely be back again for a technology refresh.

[Ben]

I think the thickness of iPad 2 is going to be a real surprise... it's thinner than the iPhone 4 now! It's going to be a delight to hold, and carry.

I'm not sure what else they could've done on a hardware level. All I'm waiting on is the magic RAM number and I'll be pushing the buy button.

The 'exciting' stuff will come in future iOS versions. I'd argue that it's 4.3 that's rather a non-event. v3 to v4 was a massive improvement on my iPad, but what I want now is more functionality in big-screen iOS.

In other news, the original iPad can now be had for £100 less. That should shift remaining stock no trouble!

[Hands0n]

Some more thoughts recorded on AudioBoo http://audioboo.fm/boos/292328-hands0n-s-take-on-the-ipad-2 :) Part 1

And the rest of it here http://audioboo.fm/boos/292341-handson-s-ipad-2-thoughs-part-2 - Part 2

[solo12002]

See this is were i must be odd one one.

I think apple is great cant fault it apart from its over priced for the ord type wage guy. If they had prices like PCs , Ill be in there like a shot.

Android I have to say is a bllessing after so many years of Nokia phones, I never understond how crap the OS was untill I used Android.

The odd part of me is I cant get used to touch screen and despite having had one in past thinking ot getting another now, currently using a nokia, I cant for the life of me put my blackberry down and cant wait to see what they offer and at what price never mind when.

I think the sad think with Nokia, Microsoft and indedd Blackberry and some others is they talk about something then take nearly a year to 2 years to get it out there by which stage we have all gone and brought something else or the device we were going to buy is outdated before take off.

[solo12002]

Damn, the stoopid website truncated the rest of my Boo at five minutes in ... :([/QUOTE] If only woman were built that way !!:D

[Hands0n]

Damn, the stoopid website truncated the rest of my Boo at five minutes in ... :( If only woman were built that way !!:D

Oooooooooooh ... controversial :) :D

[hecatae]

and the original ipad will be $399, enough to put pressure on those android tablet prices?

£329 for a 16gb ipad

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad?

that's a good price to put pressure on the wifi only xoom, why pay £499 when you can get an wifi ipad for £329

[Ben]

I hope Apple kill the original iPad once the new one ships, though; they shouldn't keep it hanging on. They need a better phone strategy, too.

But yes, right now iPad looks good - I'm on mine now, I'd be hard pushed not to recommend it at that price.

[miffed]

and the original ipad will be $399, enough to put pressure on those android tablet prices?

£329 for a 16gb ipad

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad?

that's a good price to put pressure on the wifi only xoom, why pay £499 when you can get an wifi ipad for £329

The Refurbished shop prices are even better ! (bearing in mind these are just like new for all intents and purposes )

£289 for a 16GB wifi , £389 for a 16GB wifi/3G - £439 for a 32GB Wifi/3G !!

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad?mco=MTkyNTgxNTY

[Ben]

The Refurbished shop prices are even better ! (bearing in mind these are just like new for all intents and purposes )

£289 for a 16GB wifi , £389 for a 16GB wifi/3G - £439 for a 32GB Wifi/3G !!

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad?mco=MTkyNTgxNTY
Now there's something worth opening your wallet for! ;) Of course, for Android users the appeal of an Apple tablet is going to quickly diminish given the advantages of having a handset and tablet in the same ecosystem. But I don't think anything else can touch iPad yet, yet alone iPad 2, so at these sorts of prices going iPad over rivals should be a no brainer.

Actually can't believe how fast I was hammering out the text in the Etihad lounge yesterday. I kept being tempted by the Air in my bag but thinking, nah, I'll try and do that on the iPad - to my amazement I didn't have to reach for my laptop at all.

[paulbds]

Really tempted with a 3G refurbished iPad.

I have a galaxy tab and really love it - have 3g SIM card on 3 and get excellent coverage and signal.
I am in the market for one oft he new Android Honeycomb tablets but the Galaxy tab is an excellent size to take out - I have a leather case and it looks just like a book, not being too obvious to passers by

I was going to get the iPad 2 but very tempted with refurb ** plus you can get prepaid 3g Micro sim cards on ebay for about £7. these give you 3 months of data (1Gig / month).

Simply buy 4 of these sims and you have a years data for £28 quid.
Anyway, I digress, do I wait till 25th March for iPad 2 or get a bargain here

Help

Paul

[Ben]

Hey Paul,

Loving the Tab, eh? Well that's good news; I struggle to find the virtue in it myself! If it fits well for you, what are you after an iPad for, if you don't mind me asking? A very different beast indeed!

[paulbds]

Hi Ban,

Mainly Sofa surfing I guess
I bought my Daughter one for Christmas and she loves it for emails, facebook etc

I subscribe to The Times, BBC Focus and Wired - it would be great to read these on the iPad - especially the Sunday Times without getting out of bed on a Sunday!
Also, could read these whilst on holidays
To be honest, not so easy to read on the Galaxy but I do find the Tab really great for chucking in the briefcase and catching up on emails,twitter etc between patients
Paul

[Ben]

Ahh I see, well sofa-surfing is definitely an iPad strength - as is reading. I can get up a frightful pace when it comes to the latter on my iPad, I'm not entirely sure how my brain is keeping up! My only criticism would be that it has been a little hard to read in bright sunlight, but I've turned the brightness and text size up and I'm getting by.

What you use the Tab for I suppose I use my iPhone for.

It's hard to recommend one iPad over the other, though. Perhaps you can prise your daughters out of her hands for a while and see if it'll suffice? Just as with iPhone 3G to 3GS, the iPad 2 is going to fly and I'm sure that once any of us have used one it would seem difficult to go back. But it's not like the original iPad is slow, and you may well decide that the saving is more attractive than the extra speed.

[DBMandrake]

Something I haven't seen mentioned here about the iPad 2 is that it supports both 900Mhz 3G, and HSUPA, same as the iPhone 4.

The original iPad didn't support 3G on 900Mhz, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it supported HSUPA either ? If any of the networks rolls out 900Mhz 3G support in the next year or so the original iPad 3G is going to be at a serious disadvantage.

[Hands0n]

I'm not sure that I'd consider the lack of 900Mhz a "serious disadvantage" although by some measure that would be the case.

But then again, we're not likely to see much deployment of 900Mhz UMTS in the UK for another 12 months or so, by my reckoning.

The networks may well get a spurt on and do so, but equally they may decide to put the investment into the LTE deployment which will run almost immediately off the back of anything to do with 900Mhz. Its all taking us into 2012 territory which is not that far away now.

Interestingly, I am aware that the mobile networks are desperate to offload the mobile data demands on to WiFi through the likes of BT Openzone an The Cloud, to name but two. I suspect that we'll see a substantial and swift build out of WiFi as an interim relatively low cost techonology until LTE or 4G can be firmly established.

[Ben]

Good spot; worth considering for anyone in the market for a 3G version. My old (current) one is wifi only so I suppose it will endure the passage of time quite well. There's something to be said for the wifi only model - there are a lot of hotspots around these days, to the point that I've finally started to notice them, and for the casual user the overall experience is good. My next iPad will be 3G, though, for as much as I love my mifi it's just one more thing to carry :( I'll start on Three and get a Vodafone microSIM just as soon as they belt out 900MHz.

[Ben]

We're still waiting on solid news of the RAM number in iPad 2.

Rumours are abound that the new tablet contains at most 512MB RAM, with some speculating that the number is unchanged from the minuscule 256MB of the original.

Many of us were hoping for 1GB RAM in the 'second coming' to address some of the performance issues caused by the miserly amount in the first iPad; it's worth remembering that there was no multitasking when this device made its debut, and iOS 4 puts added strain on the limited memory footprint.

512MB will likely be sufficient but if Apple hasn't increased the RAM to this amount then it'll be hard to recommend iPad 2... RAM is the single reason I've given many friends for waiting.

[DBMandrake]

I'd be really surprised if it wasn't 512MB of ram. On the one hand it would be a travesty if it was still 256MB, as 256MB is clearly not enough even on a Phone like the 3GS - it was plenty in iOS 3 but as soon as iOS 4 came out with background app suspension the flawless smoothness and seeming inability to run out of memory of the 3GS (compared to the 3G) went away - now background apps frequently get flushed out of memory and the foreground app stutters while this happens.

My single biggest annoyance of the 256MB iPad (if I had one) would be browser tabs being flushed and constantly reloaded due to memory use - and as I spend a bit of time writing posts on various forums I'd be gutted if that means a long carefully written post was lost just because I switched to another browser tab to look up some information before I submitted the post, but that's what I get now on the 3GS so I imagine its the same on the first iPad.

Any less than 512MB of ram would be enough to make me think twice about the device, for this reason alone.

Besides, the iPhone 4 came out several months after the original iPad will essentially the same A4 processor but with a ram bump, in a smaller more power limited device, so it would be very odd indeed for the following iPad model to go back to 256MB, if 512MB is possible in a device the size of a Phone, and having a tablet with less ram than the current phone is not a good look for Apple...

On the other hand I don't think we'll be seeing 1GB, despite many other tablets including it. I'd be very surprised if Apple jumped that far, especially if they have an off-cycle release planned for September.

On the other hand I can see myself using the cameras - no, not as a camera, but for video calls. An iPad 2 with the dinky little triangular fold up cover that doubles as a stand would be perfect for Facetime and Skype video chats - just prop it up on it's cover/stand on an table, (in the tall "movie watching" configuration) sit at the table and have a video chat. Perfect for me calling back home, compared to the very cumbersome and heavy windows PC with short battery life and external USB camera.

Although it's not a must have, and will obviously have to wait until I have "disposable income" (which I haven't had for well over a year now...) the new model does tempt me a lot more than the first, and yes, the dinky cover/stand does actually appeal to me, as it solves many of the "how do I prop it up for certain uses" issue that a flat tablet has, it can prop it up tall for video watching and video conferencing, or at a lower angle for typing, but also forms a cover and is very thin and light. Unlike many covers that interfere with sitting it in a dock you literally just pull it off and put it aside, and clip it back on later in just a second or two. Quite elegant in execution.

The iPad 2 is not ground breaking but I think it's still a healthy step forward. I'm more concerned about the software side of things - iOS 4 has some really good refinements and added features, but I'm worrying about Apple stagnating and losing its lead in terms of functionality. Keeping things as simple and uncluttered as possible (and limited) makes more sense for a phone than it does for a large screen tablet, and I worry that iPhone OS design decisions and limitations may be holding back iOS in general, on devices like the iPad.

Two areas of particular concern to me are modal pop-up notifications, which are becoming a HUGE annoyance and usability problem as more and more apps make use of them for alerts, (as if it wasn't enough of a problem when it was just SMS alerts) and the seeming reluctance of Apple to ever allow the home screen to become anything more than a grid of apps to launch.

Again, on a phone it makes some sense, but it just doesn't on a tablet - it looks goofy having those rows and columns of widely spaced app icons on the home screen, and NOTHING else, bar wall paper and the status bar. They really need to allow some more customization here, and maybe widgets of some kind.

I really think alerts and the home screen are areas that Apple should be targeting with iOS 5, even if some of the changes only make it to the iPad and not the iPhone.

[DBMandrake]

A very detailed and insightful review of the iPad 2 by Daring Fireball:

http://daringfireball.net/2011/03/the_ipad_2

Key points: Yes, it has 512MB ram. :)

It benchmarks considerably faster than even the iPhone 4, particularly the graphics performance. More importantly it feels faster than not just the iPad 1 but also the iPhone 4.

The fastest iOS device by a country mile, as the geek bench scores he took show:



Geekbench (Higher Is Better)
Device Overall Integer Floating Pt. Memory Stream
iPhone 4 356 292 361 499 280
iPad 1 453 364 457 676 308
iPad 2 721 648 879 778 311
MacBook Pro 3399 2825 5079 2353 1621


By way of comparison I tested my 3GS and 3G on Geekbench to give some perspective of these scores:

iPhone 3G: (same performance as the original iPhone)

Overall - 137, Integer - 116, Floating Point - 193, Memory - 115, Stream - 67.

iPhone 3GS:

Overall - 271, Integer - 217, Floating Point - 264, Memory - 410, Steam - 214

As you can see, the jump from iPhone 2G/3G to 3GS is quite substantial, (especially flash memory access performance which is 4x faster) the jump from 3GS to iPhone 4 much less so. The jump from iPhone 4 to iPad 2 is quite substantial, and geek bench doesn't even measure graphics performance, which is roughly 7x faster than the iPhone 4 according to other tests he ran.

The full review is well worth a read.

[Ben]

Wow, iPad 2 really is fast! This is great news, as an upgraded it makes it much easier to justify ;)

I wrote reply yo your previous post but lost it, lol, so in brief:

The only reason I can see for lock screen, home screen, and notifications to remain in their current state is that Apple haven't found something that they truly believe is better yet. They probably believe the competition doesn't have it quite right. Like with copy and paste, we'll have to wait until the gods sign off on the 'new ways' of implementing these things.

Perhaps iOS 5 will bring big changes. Apple are keeping iOS development close to their chest, but surely they know it's a winner and that it must receive their laser focus henceforth?

[Ben]

A question.

Now iPhone 4 has wifi hotspot capability, does one go iPad 2 3G?

I'm thinking yes. iPad has infinitely more useful battery life than iPhone 4 - the extra £100 is probably worth it provided it gets used. The networks will charge a tethering fee to allow wifi hotspot anyway, surely?

[miffed]

^^^ Exactly my dilemma !

I had all but decided to go for a 3G version this time around , just for the hell of it (not that I've ever been caught without a feed for my iPad , but now the iPhone can share its connection , it almost seems silly get involved with yet another provider !

[DBMandrake]

A nice little video comparison of multi-tabbed browsing on the iPad 2 vs iPad:

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/03/12/browser-comparison-between-original-ipad-and-ipad-2/

512MB of ram seems to be enough to keep all 9 tabs in memory at once and allow instantaneous switching between them without page reloads, while the original iPad has to quite often reload pages.

As a heavy user of tabbed browsing on PC's the ram limitation of the original iPad was probably my main gripe - even in playing with the browser in an Apple store I was easily able to cause tabs to have to reload switching between them, so I'm glad this problem is addressed, making the iPad a much more viable and serious browsing platform :)

The iPad (2) thanks to increased ram, thinner case and smart covers (which double as pretty decent stands) has now moved from my "would be kind of nice to have" list to my "want one when I get the money list" :)

[Ben]

Yes, the video is impressive isn't it? The speed is noticeable, as is the smooth scrolling.

A pleasant surprise is the screens, side by side. The iPad 2 appears to have a brighter display, and user comments appear to back this up. Not that I ever find my current iPad screen wanting, you understand!

If there's one thing I'm a little sad about it's the screen resolution not increasing. Perhaps it does not really need to, but given that the iPad lends itself to much reading it'd be nice for text to be as smooth as possible. But, then again, in terms of interface and room to display web pages I've seen no indication yet that the current resolution is lacking. Indeed, an 'appropriate' resolution may well give optimal battery life and performance at this time. If there's one thing I'd never want to sacrifice in an iPad it's battery life.

[Ben]

Well, for anyone who hasn't ventured onto twitter yet, last night's online launch was a complete disaster. The Apple Store Online didn't manage to process a single order as far as I can tell until maybe 2am, though using 1-Click ordering I was able to place the order and go to bed at least as the actual processing is deferred for 90 minutes.

Order status is still unavailable now, but with an ETA of 3 weeks when units are in retail today that's hardly what anyone wanted to see.

I'll try stormfront in town later and cancel if I manage to get what I want, but I have a feeling it's all in the hands of Apple now. The anticipation for iPad 2 was clearly phenomenal!

[DBMandrake]

For anyone doubting just how much faster the iPad 2 is (especially in the graphics department) compared to any other iOS device, check out the following video:

http://www.tipb.com/2011/03/25/real-racing-2-hd-ipad-2-provide-1080p-full-screen-video-tv/

Edit: a slightly more informative article:

http://www.9to5mac.com/57763/firemints-real-racing-2-hd-to-run-on-your-tv-at-full-1080p-without-upscaling/

Yes, Real racing 2 running on an iPad 2 using full 1080p HDMI video out (native, not up-scaled) at 30 fps and looking fantastic. :)

This is starting to get up into Xbox 360 territory here, I wonder just how close the graphics performance of the iPad 2 is to the Xbox 360 ? The processor performance won't be anything near as good, since the Xbox has 3 dual core 3.2Ghz power PC processors... but the ram is now equal (Xbox 360 has 512MB of shared video/general use ram) and although I haven't seen numbers, the graphics chip must be getting close now...

It really is staggering just how quickly low power mobile processors are catching up to mainstream desktop / console processors of just a few years ago, and yet still maintaining an extremely low power draw and size.

On another note, here is an impressive demonstration of the glass on both the iPad 1 and iPad 2 - the iPad 2 glass is thinner, but can bend far further without breaking...they're both certainly far more flexible than the "normal" glass we're all used to that breaks easily, like windows or drinking glasses... the fact that this stuff can bend so much shows just how different it is from conventional glass... :)

https://www.ifixyouri.com/blog/?p=655

[hecatae]

heard the ipad trade in is live, £150 to trade your ipad wifi in for an ipad 2, £200 if you trade your ipad wifi + 3g for an ipad 2

[Hands0n]

heard the ipad trade in is live, £150 to trade your ipad wifi in for an ipad 2, £200 if you trade your ipad wifi + 3g for an ipad 2

Surely people will pass their iPad down to family and/or friends. I must admit, I'd rather let a friend have my iPad for £150 than some corporation or business. Even if its just on a matter of principle :)

[hecatae]

I agree, now where is someone offering a 64gb ipad I can offer max of £200 for

[Ben]

I can't wait to get my old iPad in the hands of the Crestron developer to get the Crestron iPad App sorted out.

Crestron is a home automation system. All the panels in the house are resistive, as that stuff tends to be, so it'll be amazing to have an iPad running the app for controlling things. Indeed, that's the whole reason I bought the 16GB WiFi model, and it was supposed to go to that purpose a lot earlier. Fortunately it gave me the opportunity to use the iPad and, over time, it has become indispensable!

...to the point where I'm now gutted I have to wait for iPad 2 to ship! :(

[blush]

...to the point where I'm now gutted I have to wait for iPad 2 to ship! :(

I ordered at 2am on the launch night too Ben and boy is the time dragging. I keep checking on the Deliveries App on my iphone but I'm still looking at 28 days. April could be a very long month!

[Ben]

I ordered at 2am on the launch night too Ben and boy is the time dragging. I keep checking on the Deliveries App on my iphone but I'm still looking at 28 days. April could be a very long month!
My shipping date is the 15th, which I don't believe for a second, but the delivery time of 26th is even more bizarre unless they're literally 'shipping' it from China! ;)

Hopefully Apple are just being conservative and we'll get our shipping notices much, much sooner. I had assumed that a certain amount of stock had been allocated for online ordering but as time goes by it seems less and less likely that this was the case. What with the lack of pre-order as well I think we may be looking at a product that Apple has turned around faster than ever... feeling the heat I reckon!

[Hands0n]

Reading in the media that all the iPad 2 stock in the UK sold out during Saturday. If that has happened around the world then it looks like they've significantly under-manufactured or released earlier than optimum for sales. The Japan earthquake and following tsunami will not have helped. I keep reading that the loss of their input into components will impact worldwide.

[blush]

After reading many forums I see quite a few people are having luck getting an Ipad 2 using the retail reservation method. I'm going to try tonight at www.apple.com/uk/retail at 9pm. Someone on a forum did this last night and selected Bluewater and various models were available until about 9.08pm. Got to be prompt by the sound of it. The ongoing 26 day wait for the online store is getting me down.

[Ben]

I had no idea this existed! Thanks blush :) Worth a look, not that I have time to go down to Bluewater but this may be a 'make time' situation lol.

[blush]

Well the theory was good and sure enough there were black 64gb wifi only ipad 2's availalbe but a combination of rubbish laptop and busy website and a lot of swearing came to nothing! The session kept timing out and the laptop was having a major malfunction and I missed out. The ipad showed until about 2112 so I'll have another try tomorrow! Hope you had more luck than I did Ben.

[Ben]

I was impressed to see some stock actually go up, but that model's not the one I'm after unfortunately so I left the site alone since it was clearly struggling! Still, I'll keep looking each night. Thanks for sharing blush :)

[blush]

I am now the proud owner of a 64gb black:D

After being defeated on Wednesday night by the reserve system I had another go on Thursday night. Initially at the 9pm opening of the Bluewater store most models were available in both wifi only and 3G. I was after a 32gb black and at one point had about eight windows open clicking refresh to attempt to get an iPad. At 2140 all the 32gb offerings were gone so I opted for a 64gb black and finally I had luck and got confirmation.

Collecting the iPad was a great experience with a friendly blue shirt helping me set a few things up and have a play. The online order from the Apple store was not moving and I still had a 25 day wait but the smart cover was dispatched yesterday.

This is my first iPad although I have had the iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4. So far I am well impressed with all that I see. The browser is lovely and a welcome relief from the iPhone, not so hard going on the eyes. I have put all my holiday photos on the iPad and although viewing photos on the iPhone is ok it's easier on a bigger screen. I guess I'm trying to say for me the iPad it like a massive iPhone for the hard of seeing:D

My four year old is itching to get his hands on my new toy so I will have to find a good hiding place!

[Ben]

Congratulations! That's brilliant news. I need to get back on the case next week; still no progress with my online order.

[Hands0n]

Congrats on the new gizmo :) Did you go WiFi only or 3G?

[DBMandrake]

So I got to hold an iPad 2 in my hands for the first time yesterday at the Glasgow Apple store... Verdict ? I want one :D The iPad 1 was a "gee that's kinda cool and I wouldn't mind one" but not a must have.

I went out of the store last year after first trying the iPad 1 feeling oddly deflated. Sure, I liked it, and I would have got one if I had plenty of spare money, but I didn't have the money, and I didn't really feel like I was missing out on one. I've never regretted not buying an iPad 1.

I think it was the bulk of the iPad 1 that put me off a bit, as well as the lack of any sort of camera - it seemed like the ideal Video Skype device but lacking a video camera. Possibly the lack of iPad specific apps as well, and lack of Multitasking at the time. It just didn't feel quite ready to me - like the 1st generation iPhone arriving without 3G or Apps.

This time my impression was very different - I'll be honest and say the main difference for me is the reduction in bulk, it now feels like a large ipod touch to hold rather than a big slate. It's not much lighter and it's still a bit heavy as a book reader IMHO but the size and shape makes a difference.

The addition of cameras makes it a useful video chat device - although they're not much use for anything else. They're certainly no good for taking stills, but then who would on a device that size ? It was obvious from the outset for me that the purpose of the cameras in the iPad 2 is for video chat and tele-presence, and they're good enough for that.

More ram, a much more functional OS than iOS 3.2, a wealth of iPad optimized apps, and the device just feels "ready" for prime time to me. Will I buy one ? I don't have the disposable income to justify one right now, but if that changes in the first 6 months of the iPad 2's life cycle I will definitely get one. If it takes longer than that I may hold out until iPad 3.

One thing that worried me a little bit with the hands on though, does anyone think the screen is not as good as the iPad 1 ? From what I remember the iPad 1 had an S-IPS screen very much like the Apple cinema displays, with an extremely wide viewing angle with no change in brightness, colour, or gamma.

When I tilted the iPad 2 it seemed to me there was a definite "hot spot" in the forward direction, with the brightness and contrast falling off a lot at steeper viewing angles. Can someone with both iPad 1 and 2 do a comparison of the shift in visual quality especially brightness with angle to see whether there is a difference or whether I am imagining it ? :)

By the way, the demo units in the Apple store that I tried all had the switch configured to rotation lock rather than mute, a small admission on Apple's part that they got that wrong ? ;)

[blush]

Congrats on the new gizmo :) Did you go WiFi only or 3G?
Thanks Mr Hands0n, I went for the wifi only version but have been carrying round an old Nokia E51 using it as a wireless access point with a 3 payg sim in it. My mobile contract is still with o2 and I havent got round to moving to another network yet so carry the Nokia as the 3g signal is far better with 3 and better for Internet access. I would like to commit to 3 but coverage is still quite limited in some parts of west Kent and East Sussex. When at home I use either the iPad, pc or laptop and when out and about I use the iPhone. Where I go on holiday generally has wifi so I didn't think it was worth spending more for the 3G version.

I must admit I can't put the iPad down, I thought I wouldn't find many uses for it but I have spent hours messing about with garageband, downloading phonics apps for my son and rediscovering my photos which so much better on a bigger screen. Browsing is such a pleasure without having to zoom in and out and viewing this forum way easier. I am very happy with my purchase I am having to fight off the wife and my son though. I can see my 70 year old father becoming a convert tomorrow too.

I was a little upset having to pay full price as I get discount on the Apple online store and if I order over the phone but reserving online did not qualify for discount. I would rather have the iPad now than have to wait a month so the £15 I would have saved on the iPad and smart cover is nothing.

I am yet to be convinced the smart cover is worth having, I want back and front protection and the demo smart cover a blue shirt had in his pocket was starting to look a bit worn and only after a week or so.

[Hands0n]

I agree with regard to the smart cover. I have one. Is it worth £56? No, I don't think so personally. I kind of got swept up in the moment. But do feel that the iPad 2 does need at least a case to pop it in to for travelling around or that aluminium is going to look quite tatty in a short while. I have to say, however, that is my own preference. I do like to keep my stuff in pristine condition for possible resale later. It makes me cringe to see one of my sell-on's looking really grubby within a few weeks of the new owner! But that is just me :)

Non-technical people really do get the iPad's user interface as you've already seen. I had to LOL at your OAP father taking a shine to the device. But that is where this particular UI is scoring so strongly, people are readily identifying with it. Apple have always had a very keen eye for the human to computer interface, particularly with small portable items.

The older iPad (1) can be had for some remarkable prices these days as the old stock is cleared. One for the Mrs/kid/Pa maybe? :D

[3GScottishUser]

I have to wonder why anyone who is 3G and tech savvy would pay Apple for the 3G option on the iPad.

If you have an iPhone 4 or an Android phone with Froyo (2.2) they have the facility to become Wi-Fi hotspots.

So for the occassional user in a car or in places where Wi-Fi is not available a modern smartphone can provide Wi-Fi and access to a 3G network for Internet access.

I suspect most iPad users will use their tablet at home mostly browsing within range of their home Wireless network anyway.

[Ben]

I see your point 3GSU and no doubt it applies to a lot of people. I, however, am going from a WiFi iPad and awesome Three MiFi to an iPad 2 3G.

Why? Mostly convenience to be honest. The iPad has battery life that outruns every other device you might consider for providing connectivity. iPad is also so portable that having to carry a secondary device rather defeats the object sometimes, and tethering to a mobile may well leave the mobile with significantly less battery remaining than is desirable in exactly the sort of situations where you're likely to be outside of WiFi coverage.

It's a convenience thing to be sure and far from essential. Many places where I use my iPad do have WiFi. But you can't trust WiFi to always have your latest emails pushed in or calendars/contacts/bookmarks sync'd up. iPad 3G is the power users iPad ;)

[Hands0n]

If you have an iPhone 4 or an Android phone with Froyo (2.2) they have the facility to become Wi-Fi hotspots.

So for the occassional user in a car or in places where Wi-Fi is not available a modern smartphone can provide Wi-Fi and access to a 3G network for Internet access.

For the people that fit that profile the combination 3G/WiFi iPad (or any tablet device for that matter, this is not unique to iPad) is something of a complete luxury or extravagance. The additional £100 that represents the cost of the 3G radio, plus the stand-alone contract or PAYG costs represent a cost of ownership that is much higher than substituting some means of tethering.

As Ben says though, there is something of a case to be made for the combined radios device where typical on-line usage is likely to conflict with or compromise the smartphone's battery life.

In the end, the decision of which device to choose has to be made based upon personal usage requirements.