A Hands-On Look At The iPad2: Is it Worth Buying Now or Waiting

Many of you who are interested in buying a tablet computer or already those who own the original iPad may be wondering if you should upgrade to the latest generation or not.

There are only a few differences between the original iPad and iPad2 so the question comes down to whether or not any one of them are compelling enough to necessitate an upgrade. Where comparisons are concerned between the iPad and iPad2, the screen is the same size along with the resolution: 9.7-inch 1024×768, storage options 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB, battery life will both iPads remain the same. The iOS 4.3, as well on both will be alike through an iOS upgrade.

This feature article would make it easier for you to decide if an upgrade is appropriate or not.

FaceTime and Dual Cameras
The iPad2 has two cameras being a front facing VGA and a rear facing 720p HD one. This means that the iPad2 can use Apple’s video calling software FaceTime. This was not possible on the original iPad as it was not fitted with a single camera.

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FaceTime, One of the better features

These features may be great for people to video chat with their friends who also own a FaceTime supported device like the iPod Touch Fourth generation, iPhone 4 or a Mac. With the camera option available, users can also take still pictures and with Apple’s built in Photo Booth App on the iPad 2, 9 camera effects are manipulatable with multitouch.

2x Faster, 9x Better Graphics and a Gyroscope
The iPad2 comes with an Apple A5 processor the company states that the CPU is twice as powerful and the GPU up to nine times as powerful as its predecessor, the Apple A4 which was fitted on the original iPad.

A new powerful A5 processor

They have thrown a gyroscope into the iPad2, which will give developers and gamers alike an advantage over the smoother, more beautiful, better controlled games for iPad 2.Next generation gaming requires latest generation of hardware, so if that tempts you, you might want to upgrade.

512 MB RAM
Along with A5 processor, Apple has fitted a 512 MB DDR2 RAM clocked at 1066 MHz which is much more than the 256MB on the original iPad. This certainly would warrant an upgrade if you have been annoyed with the lack of RAM available on the first one.

Weight
The new iPad is significantly thinner and lighter as compared to its predecessor. It is 33% thinner, and 80 – 100 grams lighter depending on iPad2 version whether it is 3G+ Wi-Fi or just Wi-Fi. Whether its gaming, watching movies or just carrying it around, if you have found the original iPad heavy, this may be an important reason to buy the new one.

Choice Of Color
We have all been waiting for the launch of the elusive white iPhone4 for quite some time. Apple took that into consideration at the onset and launched the iPad2 in both options; black as well as white.

Now in another colour - white

The iPad did not come with these colour options and if black is not for you, well there is always the white one.

Now here are a few reasons why you should not be ready to jump on the iPad2 bandwagon:

Cost Factors
While the iPad2 has launched at the same price as its predecessors in the US and cheaper in other parts of the world; here in India the iPad2 hasn’t been launched yet officially. So the only way to get it is through a grey market retailer but at the sum of Rs20, 000, or more. That is a lot of money for most people looking to get their hands on this device no matter how great it may be.

HDMI Out only via aditional adapter cable

Apps Are The Same
All apps built for the original iPad work just as fine on the iPad 2. As per surveys available online the improvements in performance is very minimal and cannot be actually made out. So there is no need to rush to your local grey marketer to procure the new one.

No Retina Display
The iPhone4 launched with the Retina Display feature and it was touted that the iPad 2 would also have the same. Apple skipped on it and went with the same screen as the original. This is another reason why it would be better to wait a while for the next generation iPads than purchase this one.

Four Axis Gyro for better gaming

No External Memory Support and Compulsory iTunes Support.
As in the case with all Apple products, there is no option yet for an external memory slot. This is a major let down because of Apple’s closed interface and each and every bit of data that goes on either of the iPads have to go through iTunes. The only way around this is to jailbreak your iPad which Apple does not look too brightly upon.

Competition From Other Manufacturers
While the iPad 2 may be the best tablet in the market right now, a host of other companies are entering the tablet scene and providing equal or better features at possibly lower prices. Notable examples of this are the Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the BlackBerry PlayBook. The aforementioned products have higher camera quality and equally good operating systems.

Competition on the horizon

So above are the reasons as to why and why not to pick up an iPad2. I personally was fortunate enough to get one already and after using it for a week, I am still sitting on the fence whether it is worth all the hype, or not. Sure, it is a great device, it looks and feels much better than the original iPad, the cameras though of not very great quality are a very welcome feature but then again that is just about it nothing more

As of right now there is no official word is out yet on the launch of the iPad2 in India, though hopefully it will not take as long as the original iPad to launch.