The day has come, and Apple did indeed announce the second-generation of the iPad – iPad 2. The announcement was today; it will be available to buy from March 11.
In terms of specifications:
– The cameras have been added – one on the front for video conferencing via FaceTime, and one on the back for taking pictures.
– It’s thinner (33%) and lighter (15%).
– There is a dual-core chip, so it’s apparently faster, but the 10 hour battery life hasn’t been compromised.
For me personally? There’s not a big enough delta to warrant giving up my current iPad 1. I’m skipping this – I already have a laptop and iPad too.
But:
– for those that haven’t purchased an iPad 1 – go for the iPad 2.
– for those that could benefit from mobile video conferencing, it’s worth checking out. I wonder if this, plus the RIM PlayBook, will be enough for Cisco to kill the Cius. Apart from the integration with Cisco TelePresence, you can already do WebEx on the iPad.
Interesting times …
Categories: Tools & Technologies
Michael Sampson 
Agreed, I think iPad 1.x is a good description. The fact that it has teh A5 2-core chip makes it a new device for me. The new iOS must obviously be tweaked for that and it means iPhone (next) will also be a beast of processing power.
The big thing for me is how Apple is just leaving the competition behind in this market. Where are the promised iPad killers? Version one of those are not even properly out of the gate yet. Apple has a brilliant business model with App Store and it is generating cash in heaps to spend on innovation. For now, I think Apple is the fittest on the park.