iPad 2

SAN FRANCISCO

SO, THE iPad 2 is thinner, lighter and faster, but is it as revolutionary as the hype over it suggests?

Put it this way: Critics are saying that the iPad 2 is predictable. Mr Daniel Ionescu, editor of PC World’s blogs, said that “judged on specifications alone, the Apple iPad 2 doesn’t do much more than keep pace with its tablet rivals”.

He noted that it is a bit thinner (at 8mm thick, it is thinner than the iPhone 4) than its major rivals, and is lighter (it weighs 603g) than most.

“But its processor appears to be on a par with those of other tablets, and its cameras’ resolution seems to be lower,” he said.

Others said that the iPad 2 has not lived up to its hype. Mr Rik Myslewski, editor of The Register, commented: “Let’s be kind and call it iPad 1.5.”

He added that the iPad 2 is really a “refinement” of the original iPad.

He noted that the new gadget is twice as fast as the original, with its Apple-designed A5 chip. Its slimmer form is “sexier” but, with its weight, it still remains “a handful”, he said.

The original iPad’s Wi-Fi version weighs 680g, while its Wi-Fi and 3G model weighs
730g.

CNet felt that the iPad 2 is not a radical departure from the original, as it retains many of the original’s features, such as the 9.7-inch screen. But it still labelled the new tablet as “awesome” and said that “the iPad 2 has plenty to brag about”.

Pricing for the gadget held steady. In the United States, the iPad 2 starts at US$499 (S$633) for a 16GB Wi-Fi-only model, and costs US$829 for the 64GB version with 3G.

The tablet, revealed by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs in a surprise appearance, hits shelves here next Friday.

An Apple spokesman in Singapore said that no launch date has been announced for the island but, tantalisingly, the gadget is slated to hit 26 countries on March 25.

Still, despite naysayers, the iPad 2 got mostly accolades.

Said Mr A. M. Sacconaghi Jr, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Company: “It is an incremental step forward. But it certainly makes Apple very competitive in the market today.”

In January, the company said it sold nearly 15 million iPads last year, generating about US$9.5 billion.

Source: www.mypaper.com.sg