Saturday, April 30, 2011
As anyone who has followed technology news this month will know by now, the iPad 2 is thinner and lighter than its predecessor. Although the difference in weight is a mere 100 grams, the slimness of this year’s model creates the illusion that it is lighter still. This further helps with the iPad’s greatest trick: seeming to disappear and become whatever app you’re using.
And there are apps by the thousand. Around 65,000, in fact, which gives Apple an enormous head start over the competition. Those apps will run faster too, thanks to the iPad 2’s A5 dual core processor. The new iPad runs up to twice as fast and graphics performance is nine-times faster. The speed improvements can be seen on almost any app; the original iPad didn’t feel sluggish before but it will after you’ve spent some time with the iPad 2.
The improvement in graphics performance is most noticeable on games such as Infinity Blade, which looks truly stunning on the iPad 2. Real Racing 2 has been upgraded to take advantage of the new graphics capability as well and more and more titles will follow in the coming weeks.
The other significant addition are the cameras: one on front and one on the back of the iPad 2. The rear camera is capable of 720p HD video but, as with the one in the iPod touch, it’s a mediocre stills camera. The front-facing camera, for video conferencing, is VGA - and also works as a stills camera.
Now it has cameras, the iPad 2 joins the iPhone 4 and iPod touch in getting FaceTime, Apple’s video chat app. In tests - calling an iPhone 4 from an iPad 2, it worked very well. While the picture quality was not pin-sharp, the call was smooth and uninterrupted. It’s easy to see this being a boon to people who travel a lot or those whose friends and family are far away.
Are there weaknesses? I suppose so but you have to look quite hard to find them. There are rivals out there with higher specs certainly, but the iPad 2 never feels like it’s struggling. Famously, the iPad doesn’t support Flash but after a year using the first iPad I can honestly say that I scarcely miss it. Finally, there’s the size; some people think the iPad is just too big. For them a 7-inch tablet is probably ideal but I remain unconvinced by those. I want a tablet, not a big smartphone.
The iPad 2 does everything that made the original iPad such a revelation but it does them better. At £399 for the basic model - 16GB and wifi-only - it’s hard to resist, though those with a bit more to spend should consider the 32GB model with wifi and 3G (£579). The extra storage is worth it and cheap 3G plans mean you have the option of using the iPad when wifi is unavailable. Those who travel a lot will want a 64GB model so that they can carry a selection of films but most of us won’t need so much storage.
Whichever model you choose, there’s no reason to wait. Now is the perfect time to join the iPad club.
0 Comments:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
