Well i expected more than those updates for the iPad 2 in the Apple Event but still it's enough to conquer over other tablets.

- A front and back Camera have been added.
- 1GHz dual-core Apple A5 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip.
- 33% thinner than the first iPad.
- Same battery life with the dual core, 10 hours.
- Gyro has been added.
Full iPad 2 specs: http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/

The good thing is that they added GarageBand and iMovie.
Ace, glad i waited.
I'm always amazed whenever Apple makes their stuff even thinner than before. That's some pretty awesome hardware design going on in the background and I'm really curious how they manage to do it every time.

I can't justify getting an iPad (or any tablet, I don't have a use for them yet) but this iteration seems to be more useful so I know it'll sell like crazy.
saeidw wroteI can't justify getting an iPad (or any tablet, I don't have a use for them yet) but this iteration seems to be more useful so I know it'll sell like crazy.
I too feel the same way. I can't find a good reason for spending that amount of money on a tablet. Although I really felt like buying one while reading the specs, I just feel like it's going to end up collecting dust on my desk.

So yeah, what do you guys use a tablet for?
saeidw wroteI can't justify getting an iPad (or any tablet, I don't have a use for them yet) but this iteration seems to be more useful so I know it'll sell like crazy.
Kassem wroteSo yeah, what do you guys use a tablet for?
I used to think even smartphones are useless at one time. Heck even when i got my first iphone and then my second, I couldn't bare the thought of using it for anything other than what a phone is meant for. Months after months, things started to change, I found myself using my phone for all purposes throughout the entire day.
Morning, noon or night, I'm always using the browser and mail client or any other internet app.

When I'm having my morning coffee at home, I'm checking my mail and reading my daily blogs.
When I come home at night, I'm too tired to hook up my laptop, so I just use my phone.

Then it hit me, All i want is my iPhone except with a bigger screen.

Thus I need an iPad.
i was hoping for more updates as well, it looks like the iphone 3GS update from the 3G a better screen and it would have been going from 3G to iphone 4. still its a good update!
xterm wrote:
Then it hit me, All i want is my iPhone except with a bigger screen.

Thus I need an iPad.
if you have an iphone i dont see the point of buying an ipad, you can buy another tablet other than the ipad ie the motorola xoom its a honeycomb tablet and you will get the best of both worlds android and ios and it offers great features as well.
haidcar wroteif you have an iphone i dont see the point of buying an ipad, you can buy another tablet other than the ipad ie the motorola xoom its a honeycomb tablet and you will get the best of both worlds android and ios and it offers great features as well.
I was under the impression that honeycomb is still in its early stages. As much as i enjoyed the honeycomb presentation I've seen, I'd stick with a well established device for now.
m0ei wrotebut still it's enough to conquer over other tablets..
please explain ...
xterm wrote:

I was under the impression that honeycomb is still in its early stages. As much as i enjoyed the honeycomb presentation I've seen, I'd stick with a well established device for now.
the software has just been released but from improvement android had done over the pas two years i would say its only matter of few months before you get an amazing open source tablet os with great devs support. the full honeycomb sdk was only released week ago and there are over 100 honeycomb tablets apps!
unforgiven wroteplease explain ...
Well by Apple owning 90% of the tablets market and huge sizable chunk of the Smartphone markets, i think Apple will stay the same by selling more than the other companies.
For me Apple is on one side, and the other companies on another side. It's like comparing Windows to Mac, ofc i'll go with the mac. Apple started with the Tablets and i think they will keep up with the Tablets, Apple started with the best Smartphones and i think they will keep up with the best Smartphones.
The best thing is: "You wanna get laid ? don't worry there's an application for that."

"Yesterday the price of the Motorola XOOM Wifi version cost £449.99, and £499.99 today. Apple announces their new iPad to be costing the same $499 USD and a release date after a week that i guess no company has done."
It was nothing unexpected at all. They did bump up the processor and RAM (most probably). They added the cameras and gyroscope. All typical stuff. We didn't see the rumored Retina Display or any of the built-in ports (HDMI out, SD card slot, mini-USB ports). But kudos for them for keeping the new iPads at the same price as the old ones (although as soon as they arrive to the Lebanese shores, they're gonna cost 3 times their original price). All in all, its a "meh" update. Its more an iPad S than an iPad 2 as one of the posters said.

What really bothered me is they said nothing about the next gen iOS. iOS has really became stale over the years with pretty same the user interface and the obtrusive notification system. I wished they announced anything in that regard but I guess we would have to wait till a later date to know anything about the matter.
m0ei wrote"Yesterday the price of the Motorola XOOM Wifi version cost £449.99, and £499.99 today. Apple announces their new iPad to be costing the same $499 USD and a release date after a week that i guess no company has done."
the prices in the UK is different then the usa. the 16GB wifi only ipad 2 in the UK will cost 430£, the 32GB xoom wifi only will cost as much as the ipad 32GB wifi only 499£ each! so i dont understand why people complain about the price of xoom!!!

in the US 32GB wifi +3G +4G (LTE) cost 799$ while the ipad 2 32GB +3G will cost 729$, so price differences is 70$ for that extra 70$ you are getting: slightly bigger screen 0.4 bigger and higher resolution, 8mp camera that takes still shots with dual led flash insted of 0.7mp of the ipad 2, a 2mp ff camera instead of the vga , SD card, flash support, built in HDMI... so in my opinion it is 70$ well spent also all xoom models have built in GPS on all models even the wifi. You might say flash is currently not supported but it will be by mid to end of march so by the time ipad 2 comes out flash will be out too.
saeidw wroteI can't justify getting an iPad (or any tablet, I don't have a use for them yet) but this iteration seems to be more useful so I know it'll sell like crazy.
The web is going mobile. It's a fact. It was commonly known in the industry that the first iPad was a market tester for Apple. They wanted to position themselves as the first one on the market. But really, the shift is inevitable. And with the iPad 2 (and obviously HoneyComb) we're entering what will be known as the "first generation of full-fledged mobile devices". Honestly, I wouldn't recommend my dad got a laptop. I'd suggest he got a tablet. Definitely.

I saw a cool conference by the lead engineer of the Chrome project at Google. He said something very interesting:
With the smartphones, it's becoming very obvious that phones are turning more and more into computers. At the same time, the netbook craze has shown that computers are turning more and more into small hand-held devices.

Tablets are aiming to get the perfect balance.

Coupled with the hype around cloud computing (basically, cloud computing means your personal computer needs no power at all, all the processing power will be done remotely on a server. Think Google Docs), I am getting convinced that the PC as we know it (or "computer") is fading away and living its last years. Sure, it will still exist for very specific purposes, but the general mainstream wants to access the web faster and easier.

Intel is aware of that. x86 and x86_64 may be the most widespread architecture, but it's slowly dying. The future lies ahead for light technologies like Atom. And ARM is happy because they know they have a big opportunity to seize. Their time has come.
Cleaned up a few off topic posts. Guys, stick to discussing the iPad 2 and its specifications. This is not the topic to discuss why you think the iPad is useless or why the XOOM is better.
I heard in the radio today that they are exchanging the ipad 1 with the ipad 2, or you can get a refund. Not sure how true is that.
Does anyone know the answers to the following:

- Do I need to have it unlocked or jailbroken or anything to use 3G?
- does it support GPRS/edge
- does the cover/Case sell as a different item?
- Is there any speed difference between the models 16,32...
xterm wrote- Do I need to have it unlocked or jailbroken or anything to use 3G?
very vague ... where do you wanna use 3G? and if you are gonna purchase it full price i don't think you need to unlock or anything
xterm wrote- does it support GPRS/edge
Nope
xterm wrote- does the cover/Case sell as a different item?
Yep
xterm wrote- Is there any speed difference between the models 16,32...
Nope
unforgiven wrote
xterm wrote- Do I need to have it unlocked or jailbroken or anything to use 3G?
very vague ... where do you wanna use 3G? and if you are gonna purchase it full price i don't think you need to unlock or anything
I'm just preparing for the future, if 3G gets released in lebanon.
xterm wrote- Do I need to have it unlocked or jailbroken or anything to use 3G?
Yes it needs to be unlocked, because you will need to insert a SIM Card.
This only applies if you purchased it from a country that locks it with the carrier, like USA.
xterm wrote- does it support GPRS/edge
It seems you can use iPad 3G in Lebanon since MTC touch released micro SIM for iPad and iPhone.
So, if you have a postpaid line, you can subscribe with GPRS and get a separate SIM for the iPad, its called internet SIM.
will we be able to use garageband and imovie on the ipad1? They will be available for the ipad2 on iOS 4.3. Hope iOS 4.3 will work on ipad1