Consumer Reports Gives a Thumbs Up to iPad 2

Consumer Reports has, in a recent multiway test, placed the iPad 2 in the top position. Competing with players like Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab, the iPad seems to won over the hearts of the magazine’s staffers, more so because only recently another of Apple’s products, the iPhone 4 was slammed by the same magazine on grounds of bad reception.

Excellent?!

Judged on several parameters like portability, versatility and ease of use, touch-screen responsiveness, and screen glare; the iPad 2 seems to have floored the judges on all parameters alike - after all, it did receive an ‘excellent’ remark from them. The other participants like the Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab received ‘recommended’ rankings. The Xoom, however, came closest to the iPad 2 as per the same Consumer Reports report. Other tablets that were tested include Archos, Dell, Motorola, Samsung, and ViewSonic, as well as several models from Apple.

The winning edge, however, was lent by the battery-life tests that these tablets were put through. The tests involved playing a video on each of the tablets and then note the number of times it played, until the battery finally died down. Needless to say, the iPad 2 worked for 12.2 hours, but the lowest-rated tablet, the Archos 70 Internet Tablet, $270, lasted just 3.8 hours.

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