The Apple iPad 2 was the follow up for the first extremely popular and successful Apple iPad that came out in 2010.
This new version is 9.5×7.31 inches in size and it weighs around 1.33 lbs. It has a storage capacity of 16GB. It connects to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as well as EDR technology.
The display screen is 9.7 inches diagonally, it has a LED black light widescreen and multi touch display that uses IPS technology. The pixel resolution is 1024×768 with 132 pixels per inch. The screen is fingerprint resistant and can display multiple languages at the same time.
It has a video recording system in HD and takes up to 30 frames per second including audio. The camera has 5x digital zoom. The front camera also takes 30 frames per minute and has VGA camera quality.
The iPad 2 has a built in 25 watt rechargeable battery that allows for 100 hours of websurfing, video watching or listening to music. It is charged with a USB to a computer. It has an 1/8 stereo headphone minijack and a built in microphone and speakers, with audio playback frequency response.
The Mac System Requirements are, a Mac computer with USB 2.0 port. iTunes 10.2 or later is recommended, it can be downloaded for free. It needs an Tunes Store account and Internet access.
The Windows System Requirement are a PC with USB 2.0 port. The Windows 7; Windows Vista; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later. You’ll need iTunes 10.2 or later. You also need an iTunes store account and internet access.
In the box you will find the iPad 2. (obviously) A Dock Connector to a USB cable. A 10W USB power adapter. And the documentation.
The iPad two is even more sleek and sexy than the first one that Apple brought out. It’s much thinner than the first one and it feels great to hold. It’s even thinner than the iPhone 4 which was already unbelievable thin. This device has a barely noticeable camera which works extremely well. It has the same smooth and sleek aluminum cover with a 3G antenna on the top back.
The volume buttons are located on the left side on the back, with the Micro SIM slot located on the right back. It has the standard 30-pin connector dock along th bottom edge with a 3.5 mm headphone jack on the left side. It’s pretty similar to the first one, but since this one is so small and thin, it’s quite impressive how it all fits together.
It’s available in either a black or white covering. The CPU and the graphics are very good with the iPad 2. It performs very well with any project, and even the latest high tech games.
The layout is very thoughtfully doen and easy to use. It’s not just a slightly different version of the desktop, it is like a whole new device in itself.
Reviews
The reviews were mostly positive, although people were not sure if it was a huge step up from the first Apple iPad.
On the positive side many consumers said that they enjoyed the huge storage capacity of the iPad 2. Other people mentioned that it was very easy to type on. A lot of people really loved the smaller size of the iPad 2 version, saying it was sleeker and much easier to take everywhere. They also said that it was very sturdy and durable. They were all in agreement that the speakers and microphone performed extremely well.
One person was happy with the itunes features and said “The iPad 2 will sync up whatever Apps, music, Podcasts, movies, etc., connected/ associated with your iTunes account and currently on your iTunes desktop. I was able to sync the iPad 2 to iTunes and like magic everything that was on my iPad 1 showed up on my iPad 2, sans the folders I had set up to group Apps in.” Another person said “So far the iPad 2 has more than lived up to my expectations and I have fun testing the limits of its ability to operate effectively in the enterprise and personal environments.”
On the less positive side many people said that it wasn’t very much different from the first Apple iPad. Many people mentioned that the battery life was not any longer than the first one. The camera’s according to a few people are not very good and that the USB ports wre not very usable. They felt that it was too expensive for what it actually offered in terms of new features and functions. One person who commented said “Granted, the increased graphics capabilities do make a noticeable difference in the handful of games that take advantage of the increased speed, but most of the apps I use most frequently – e.g. CNN for iPad, Netflix, ABC Player, iTunes Video, iBooks, Pandora, SiriusXM, Apple Remote – don’t feel like the user experience changed much beyond the increased volume coming from the speaker.” The new iPad also appears to have inferior speaker sound quality. With headphones this is not noticeable though.
What one reviewer said really summed up what everyone else was saying, “There’s nothing in the iPad 2 that’s going to make the original model obsolete. The only current iPad owners who should be seriously considering an upgrade are ones who really want to do video conferencing.”
Conclusion
The Apple iPad 2 is sleek pretty, has a long battery life as well as a huge storage capacity. It is also sleeker and more modern looking. It also has two camera’s while the previous version had none at all, however it must be noted that tablet cameras are not the best quality, because they don’t fit very well. The itunes features also seem to be superior to the first iPad model.
But all in all it might not be a whole lot more superior to the previous Apple iPad, in terms of big improvements.
