So it looks like today is the day that everyone’s got their iPad 2 reviews up today. I’ve read through most of them and consensus appears to be that its easier to hold in your hands as it is thinner and lighter then the original. Its also faster, it does have a dual core processor but not just that the web browsing experience is much faster thanks to iOS 4.3 which has a much faster JavaScript engine. It also rocks 10 hours of battery life which blows the other tablets out of the water!
The negatives appear to be the cameras. Which are a lower resolution then the display and are just good enough to do video calling but not much else. A little disappointing as this was one of the big features that was added to differential it from the first generation.
Before you get into the conclusions, I’ll share mine with you. Am I planning on buying one? Yes. If I was only planning on buying 1 tablet which would it be? I prefer the smaller tablets so we’ll see about the 8.9″ Samsung that is coming out and I’m going to see how it stacks up against the HTC Flyer. If it came down to owning just one I like smaller devices! But having said that its hard to argue against the reviews that clearly indicate that the iPad is currently king of the tablets.
I’ve pulled a few reviews that will give you a good breath of opinion from total fanboy to a little more grounded. But if you want to jump to the articles here is a quick list:
Engadget
NewYorkTimes
WallStreetJournal – All Things D
TechCrunch
MacWorld
PCMag
Now that my opinions out of the way! The Apple iPad 2 Round Up:
SlashGear
Price and Value
Despite all the changes, Apple has frozen pricing for the iPad 2. The range starts off at $499, as before, for the 16GB iPad 2 WiFi, climbing to $599 for the 32GB and $699 for the 64GB. As for the WiFi + 3G models, both the AT&T and Verizon variants are priced at $629 for the 16GB iPad 2, $729 for the 32GB and $829 for the 64GB.
Data packages for the 3G-enabled iPad 2 vary by carrier. AT&T has just two on offer, a $15 per month plan for a mere 250MB (with $15 per 250MB overage) and a $25 per month plan for 2GB ($10 per 1GB overage). Verizon has four plans, starting at $20 for 1GB ($20/GB overage), $35 for 3GB ($10/GB overage), $50 for 5GB ($10/GB overage) and finally $80 for 10GB ($10/GB overage). Both sets of plans offer month-to-month agreements, so you can sign-up, cancel and then sign-up again as you see fit, and each iPad 2 WiFi + 3G allows you to register and activate service on the tablet itself, rather than having to contact customer services.
Pit it against the competition, and the iPad 2 holds its own. The Android-based Motorola Xoom is the obvious comparison, available from $599.99 on Verizon but only if you agree to a two-year data plan. In off-contract form, it’s $799.99 for the 32GB XOOM (and the same data packages as Verizon offer for the iPad 2) which makes it $70 more than the equivalent Apple model. For that extra money you get higher-resolution cameras, a higher resolution screen and the promise of 4G further down the road, but at the cost of a less developed OS, fewer tablet-specific apps, shorter battery life under general use and a generally less polished experience overall.
There’s a lot of promise in Honeycomb, yes, but today – and likely for the first six months or so – it falls well short of the consistency, ease of use and stability iOS and the iPad 2 offer. Value is always subjective, but right now the general tablet audience will likely find the iPad 2 more approachable, more straightforward and easier to get the best out of from day one.
iPad vs iPad 2 media playback
Laptop Mag
Pros
Thinner and lighter design
Speedy dual-core processor
Makes FaceTime calls
Innovative Smart Covers
More than 11 hours of battery life
Cons
Camera quality could be better
No 4G connectivity
Doesn’t support personal hotspot
Bottom Line
With its Ultra-slim design, faster dual-core performance, FaceTime camera, and gobs of compelling apps, the iPad 2 is the tablet to beat.
Verdict
Apple didn’t need to do a lot to stay in the tablet lead, but it has certainly done enough to create more distance between itself and the rest of the field. The thinner, lighter iPad 2 raises the bar for design. And while the new dual-core processor didn’t blow us away, it provides a noticeable performance boost while making resource-hungry apps such as iMovie feel buttery smooth. Then there’s the Smart Case, which demonstrates Apple’s uncanny hardware and software integration.
The camera quality isn’t great, and there’s no 4G data or mobile hotspot feature. At the same time, Android 3.0 tablets such as the Motorola Xoom do a better job with multitasking and notifications. But when you look at the whole package–hardware, software, apps, battery life, accessories, and price–the iPad 2 is the king of tablets.
Laptop Mag iPad 2 Design Overview
Engadget was by far the most pro iPad and was unapologetic about it in their wrap up.
It might frustrate the competition to hear this, but it needs to be said: the iPad 2 isn’t just the best tablet on the market, it feels like the only tablet on the market. As much as we’d like to say that something like the Xoom has threatened Apple’s presence in this space, it’s difficult (if not impossible) to do that. Is the iPad 2 a perfect product? Absolutely not. The cameras are severely lacking, the screen — while extremely high quality — is touting last year’s spec, and its operating system still has significant annoyances, like the aggravating pop-up notifications. At a price point of $499, and lots of options after that (like more storage and models that work on both Verizon’s and AT&T’s 3G networks), there’s little to argue about in the way of price, and in terms of usability, apps like GarageBand prove that we haven’t even scratched the surface of what the iPad can do.
For owners of the previous generation, we don’t think Apple’s put a fire under you to upgrade. Unless you absolutely need cameras on your tablet, you’ve still got a solid piece of gear that reaps plenty of the benefits of the latest OS and apps. For those of you who haven’t yet made the leap, feel free to take a deep breath and dive in — the iPad 2 is as good as it gets right now. And it’s really quite good.
