By Nate Gnau
Staff Writer
Members of the Cult of Mac, rejoice! A very skinny Steve Jobs revealed the new iPad 2 to much fanfare in a keynote speech delivered March 2. How much fanfare? Even Charlie Sheen himself would say “Duh, WINNING!” I myself have had the chance to test one, and my verdict is simple, there is nothing (I mean nothing) like it. To quote Matt Buchanan of Gizmodo, It is still the only tablet that really matters. The Xoom & Playbook are neat, and so is the Galaxy Tab, but the iPad slaughters them.
The new A5 processor that Apple has supplied the iPad 2 with is wickedly fast, I noticed no lag at all while running any app, and I used quite a few of the more graphically intense apps available. Anything you touch on the iPad’s huge 9.7” screen pops into action immediately, any finger swipe changes pages instantly with absolutely no lag of any kind. And for those of you wondering, YouTube works beautifully.
Being the second generation of the iPad, the design has gotten rid of the 1/8-inch flat edge on each side, with the whole thing being completely rounded on the back side. Apple’s also shaved .17 pounds off the original’s 1.5 pounds, to 1.33 pounds. This does not really sound like much, but it is noticeable when the original and the new are held in each hand. Back for the second round is the original’s oleophobic glass screen. One new thing for those of you that are into choices, is the new iPad is now available in two colors, Black & White.
One thing that has not changed about the iPad, are the prices. It is still priced at $499 for a 16gb Wi-Fi version, and the prices go up from there.
I really like the iPad 2 compared to the alternatives, that include the Motorola Xoom, the BlackBerry PlayBook, and the bevy of Android Tablets that have flooded the markets. The alternatives just seem crude when compared to the iPad 2. The Xoom & PlayBook are the only ones that even come close.
Would I buy an iPad 2? Absolutely and unabashedly even if I already had an original iPad, because it really is that good.
As a member of the “Cult of Mac”, I appreciate this review of the iPad 2, even though I will probably never get around to buying one. I have looked at the original iPad though and it is pretty cool.
If you like the web and spend a lot of time on it you will love the ipad or ipad 2. I was very happy with the first ipad and just had to go buy the 2nd. Somehow it just makes everything on-line more enjoyable. Granted its not a replacement for your laptop or desktop but for the few hours you’ll use it in the evening, on weekends, or on trips its well worth the investment. If you have kids you might need to buy two unless you are really patient and willing to share 🙂