Ipad 2 lament

How do people feel about the Ipad 2? Worthy upgrade from the first version, or not really worth the effort?

 

1.) You should get a wireless keyboard. It will become a fairly efficient producivity tool for most general applications.

2.) You should read through the stickied iPad thread for app recommendations. If you're only using your iPad for reading blogs and newspapers, you're doing it wrong. I can certainly make some recommendations, if you're interested.

As for upgrading...no, I don't see any reason for you to update at this point. I use my iPad every day without fail, so it makes some sense for me...but there are no features that will make you want to suddenly use it all the time. It's just a spec bump.

 

1. I have a wireless keyboard and a keyboard dock (both Apple, maybe I should look into other brands), but the applications don't seem to keep up with what I want to do (e.g. Pages is rather slow). There's a slight delay between when I type and when the characters appearing. In fact, I've noticed a general sort of sluggishness across all my apps regardless of how many i manually close or whether I reboot. Maybe the new one will be faster?

2. I can't even use the IPad for newspapers and blogs. Many of my newspaper subscriptions are not accessible through the Ipad unfortunately.

I've seen the uses suggested in the sticky and they just don't apply. I use dedicated gadgets for some of them (e.g. kindle for ebooks, consoles/PC for gaming, etc.), and others simply don't really fit my lifestyle (and no..I will not carry a purse _). Maybe I'm simply too old-fashioned and wedded to my laptop.

I had a use for the ipad when I was traveling overseas extensively, but these days I don't do that as much.

I still want one for some unknown reason, but my rationale side is screaming at me to get over it :/

 

I gotcha. Yea...for me stuff like Air Video are what make the device so enjoyable. For me, remotely connecting to my home desktop computer 2,000 miles away and streaming any of the 800 movies I've ripped over the years to my HDDs is darn near worth the price of admission alone. (I was doing so earlier today, as a matter of fact). If not for some of those apps, I wouldn't find much use in one either...and if I didn't have use for those kinds of apps, the device becomes somewhat lame.

It just doesn't sound like the iPad is for you...and the new version of it is just more of the same.

 

But it looks so nice!

And it'll be lighter!

And thinner!

And...

...

 

actually,the performance has increased about 6 fold, while keeping the same battery life AND getting thinner.

in the notebook and desktop space, we're happy with a 20% power increase year over year. iPad just got a 600x power increase, yet it's hardly changed? c'mon, son.

as with anything, it's going to be all about how the software leverages the hardware. and whether said software will be of use to you.

 

The iPad 1 had some very underwhelming hardware, something that was masked by the very polished operating system. Yes, the functionality was limited, but that turned iPad owners into MacBook owners.

The real issue is the lack of serious competition.

The iPad 2 is a tremendous letdown after all of the months of false rumors, but there again, Apple doesn't have any serious competitor, at least not yet. Android 3.0 is still halfbaked, MeeGo looks set to disappear, WebOS is hard to take seriously outside of Palm/HP circles and the Windows brand is unloved in the touchscreen market. So what does that leave. You guess it: Apple.

 

I have an iPad that I picked up on launch day last year and I am not going to buy the iPad 2. I have a rule of waiting at least 2 years before upgrading my iDevices. The iPad 2 has many improvements over the first iPad but I just purchased a MacBook Pro. Even if I didn't buy a MBP, I still wouldn't get the iPad 2 simply because I don't think the improvements warrant spending another $600. The iPad 3 should have a quad-core processor, at least a 720p front facing camera, some type of built-in video output (even if it is mini-display port), and something higher than 64GB in capacity. I would then likely buy the iPad 3 but get a LTE/4G+wi-fi version.

Until then, my iPad is more than powerful enough to run apps for the next year and I will continue to use it on a daily basis.

 

Apple will control the tablet market for at least the next decade. They were first with a full fledged product. Everything pretty much worked as advertised out of the gate. That left an indelible impression on the minds of consumers. Much like the Sony Walkman did back in the day.

iPad 2 is a worthy first tablet for those who didn't get the first. It's a worthy upgrade if one finds Facetime to be a useful addition. Worthy an upgrade? Not really. Though it may prove to be when apps can take advantage of the dual core processor.

 

I doubt they will control it for the next 10 years... technology is moving at an astronomical rate, and one company alone will not stand in the fore-front forever. Droids have already surprised much of the iphone market (even though I am not saying they are better or worse)

I will have the iPad 2 in my store when its released... but TBH... it was the next logical step, not an innovation.

 

There are a lot of people who skipped the original iPad for any number of reasons (myself included) and for many of us the iPad 2 appears to be compelling to say the least. For me personally I think the iPad 2 is what I've been waiting for, but if I had the original iPad I might not bother unless I can unload the original with minimal financial loss.

The thing I'm excited about is iOS 4.3 which will bring hotspot functionality to my iPhone 4 so I won't have to get the 3G version of the iPad 2; I'd be able to tether for free. Not that I'd be using 3G much as I have wifi just about everywhere I go, but for the few instances I might need 3G I won't have shell out extra for it. I know in the US AT&T is going to gouge everyone and make them pay for the hotspot function (unless they JB their iP4) but rumour has it that we in Canada won't be paying for it. I guess we'll find out this Friday if that rumour is true.

 

There was a tablet like 10 years ago from HP that has pretty much the same if not better specs than the iPad AND had more functionality, but runs a clumsy OS (Ohhhh Windows). There have been tons of tablets littering the timescape for years, just they lacked the popularity that Apple brought to the market, and an OS that was made for touchscreen.

 

Theres more to controlling the market than technology and its who you are in business with and how you do it. The microsoft +nokia pair is interesting. And there is some major break through on the tablet hardware but software development is key for the future.


Regarding the ipad2, it basically comes down to cost. Theyre nearly identical except a few things. Those few things can be worth it to you or not depending on how much cash you have to spend. Ipad 1 is going for $350+tax = $380 TOTAL (for refurbished mind you) on Apple's website and the brand new in box ones on craigslists are going for around $350 for a good deal. Used ones are had for $300-315. I got my brand new ipad 1 today for $300. it was an excellent deal. (These are all base wifi models)

The ipad2 is $499 + tax which is roughly $560. That's nearly double the cost of a ipad 1 on craigslist. And about $200 difference for a new refurbished one directly from apple with a 1 year warranty. It's REALLY hard to say whether the new dual core processor, new video card (apparently 9X better), the 2 cameras, and reduction in size/weight is worth the $200 until iOS 4.3 is fully released and the ipad 2 is released and people start reviewing them. As far as being "left behind", I doubt that Apple or technology will make the ipad 1 obsolete seeing. But next year with a newer ipad "3", it could be a more drastic change.

It'd be nice to have a faster processor and better graphics card (and possibly more ram, it hasnt been revealed yet) but for $300, I'll keep my ipad 1. It does everything I need it to. But i'd say that if you are planning on buying either brand new only direct from apple (ebay, craigslist, used not an option) then get the ipad 2. The difference is about $100.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Apple controls the tablet market for 10 years as they have done that with the portable DAP market for a decade now. The first iPod was released in 2001 and it sold really well especially considering it worked with Mac OS X only. Each generation continued to outsell the last. Flash forward to 2011. There are still other players on the market but their sales take up around 25% (or less) of the total DAPs sold in the U.S.

So Apple could very well retain that type of control in the tablet market especially if they retain their popularity. I actually don't know if they will or not but it is possible. There was once a time when it looked like Apple was going to hold control over the personal computing market (though big business was still largely IBM) but we all know how well that ended.

 

Just an update to my previous post, with iOS 4.3 now released (2 days early) I just installed it on my iPhone 4 and had a chance to run a few tests with the new HotSpot feature.

I love it. It's so easy to use and works great. Best of all, for us Canadians at least, it's totally free. I would now be able to share my iPhone's 3G data plan (6GB) with an iPad 2 at no cost, also means a savings on a wifi-only model. I've looked through my past 6 months data usage on my iPhone 4 and I've averaged under 1GB of data a month (I have wifi everywhere I go, home, work etc...) which means I'll have 5GB of 3G data free to use for the iPad.

 

Microsoft continues to control the OS market and that's not changing. I believe Apple pretty much controls the portable music player market still.

While technology changes, those that successfully implement it first develop brand recognition and benchmark status making all others appear as "knock offs."

In the tablet market, the Android tablets are too pricey ATM. That will only help to serve to make Apple the go to tablet maker.

 

There's definitely something to be said for first mover advantage if done properly, but over time competitors do catch up (e.g. IPhone making some inroads upon the business community which had previously been dominated by BBs).

I'd rather Apple not dominate the tablet market for the next decade. Even with Apple at the helm, lack of competition will stifle innovation. Just think of all those years we were stuck with the same old walkman models (with minor cosmetic changes) and no decent substitutes....the horror, the horror!

EDIT: do most of the readers on this forum even know what a walkman is...or are we dating ourselves?

 

HAHA! True. Didn't consider that some are too young to remember a Walkman with cassette. I still have mine in mint condition in my library on display.

 

Haha, old people and your old gizmos.
I had a Walkman, a cassette version and a CD player Walkman.

The cassette one was yellow. :3

 

Point of correction: HP tablets from 10 years ago did not feature an IPS screen, nor did they offer 10 hours of battery life, silent operation, <1.5lbs weight, graphics capabilities that could support 1080p output or high-quality 3D gaming, etc. etc. etc. So no, not all the specs were better. In fact, I don't even know if a Pentium II beats an A4 or A5. So which specs, exactly, are you referring to?

That out of the way, your commentary is just more proof that raw horsepower (ie "specs") are not what make computer electronics great, usable, or appreciable. You missed the mark in only identifying the iOS design or simply lack of popularity for Windows boxes as the reason for their respective success and failure in the tablet market.

It's about how well the software is designed to meet the specs of the hardware provided. Whether we're talking about user input or menu UI, Apple was able to create an ecosystem full of software that was designed explicitly and solely to take advantage of a touch interface with as few resolutions and horsepower variation as possible so as to avoid any real amount of fragmentation. Apple has been able to keep everyone developing for their hardware moving in the same direction on the same boat. Sometimes it's appeared draconian, but it's also why the iPad is so popular. That's why their approach will continue to be the most popular among consumers in these markets. The only way for Microsoft to overtake them in this market is by raw horsepower, lower prices, a focused minimum hardware spec (like they did with netbooks) and a Windows 8 marketplace with tablet-only software that augments standard software. And even that solution isn't bullet-proof, as their competition from Apple and Google will be pursuing their own innovations.

No, having Apple at the helm will not stifle innovation. Having Apple as a near monopoly would, however, stifle innovation. There are no signs of that happening, though. Android-based stuff is coming and will sell quite a bit of hardware. As such, Apple doing their thing will only serve to continue to bring attention to the tablet market in a way that Microsoft could have only dreamed of a few years ago.

 

^1 ghz processor, 512 MB of RAM, tons of ports for all sorts of stuff. As far as I know it was pretty silent, but only people who have used them can really say. You made the assumption that it wasn't though, even if you apparently don't know what tablet I'm talking about.
No, it didn't have an IPS screen or 10 hours of battery life, nor was it as thin, but the point was that it was still a good device for something 10 years older than the iPad.
You have to remember the tech that they had 10 years ago is nothing compared to today. The batteries, storage, everything was different. And even with the shortfalls of having to use a physical harddrive, they still did a good job with the specs. It also lacked multitouch and a capacitive screen. Pretty sure there were no consumer devices at the time that had either.

I really only consider what's under the hood as specs (I'm not used to talking about touch devices, so screens are semi-irrelevant to me), but you're right, it took 10 years, but Apple made a better tablet than HP.

 

I don't think you can directly compare the two. Early tablets were actually notebooks with convertible displays, they weren't the same as the slate tablet devices we see today. I still have a Toshiba Satellite with a 1.5GHz Pentium M processor, 40GB hard drive, and 1GB of RAM that runs Windows XP Tablet edition just fine. However, due to modern advancements in technology, I wouldn't consider it an actual tablet.

I think there is a clear distinction between having a notebook with stylus input running a full blown desktop OS and having a slim slate tablet style device built completely around touch input (and now multi-touch input). These old notebook convertibles were good devices especially considering how long ago they were released but I don't think you can compare them to today's tablets.

On a side note, it goes to show you that others (including Microsoft) had the notion of tablets long ago. They just didn't perfect the design and went in the wrong direction.

 

as a very proud HP Elitebook Tablet owner, I agree with you, kornchild.

they were on the right track, but they went wrong trying to shoe-horn a full OS into tablets without pushing developers to create software best designed for touch/pen input.

To this day, the only app that I feel were really made for my tablet are OneNote.

One program. After nearly a decade of these devices being on the market. Had Microsoft been a little more heavy-handed with those developing software for their system as Apple was, perhaps we would have seen a serious effort from major developers...and maybe the tablet world would be different today. Alas, Apple was first to understand that a full OS on a tablet was the wrong way to go. I remember when the iPad was going to be announced, people were hoping for Snow Leopard on a tablet. Maybe one day when the power is there, a more robust OS (or just more robust software) will come to the table. I'd love to see a fully-capable version of MS Word and Excel on an iPad. For now, though, Apple and Google are doing it right.

And it's a shame that MS won't have a competitor on the market until 2012 at the earliest.

 

I'd like to know if I will be able to listen to music while surfing the web or writing in the word processing program?

I remembered that this was an issue in the original Ipad.

 

They have multitasking now so you should be able to.

 

Apple has a pretty strong hold on the MP3 and Tablet market. I can't remember the last time I heard someone say "Hey, do you have <insert song here> on your MP3 player?" because everyone has an ipod. Even my technologically retarded girlfriend has one. Apple knows how to market their product, who to market to, and how to bring in the dough at the end of the day. I don't own an iPad yet, but the iPad 2 is really pulling on my heartstrings.

 

So I wake up about 4 hours after the iPad sales open up online, and the ship date is already 2-3 weeks in

 

Not too late to take the day off and camp out in line at your local Apple store!

I never bought the original, despite serious considerations, and hours of playing with them in the stores. I figured I'd wait until the revision came out. Now that it is out, I think I'm going to be frugal and buy a friend's iPad 1 from him, since he's planning on upgrading. $300 is hard to pass up. Granted, the specs are less, but most apps will continue to run on the original without much issue, and will definitely satisfy my needs. I suppose I'll stay on the "tic" side of the schedule, skip the iPad 2 (the "toc") and be in line for the iPad 3 next year.

 

I never wanted the original either--thought it was redundant and a waste of space--until I happened to pass through the Apple store for some other reason and tried it out just out of curiosity. What a mistake that was for my wallet

 

Im actually sitting in line.... Hell yeah!

You meet so many people and the experience seems to be great!

 

Just went to the Best Buy around the corner from my job and there's already about 10 people out there waiting in line...I had to laugh

 

lol. I forgot this thing even came out.

 

The ipads a device you have to force yourself to make a use for, and remind yourself to keep useing as its a solution to a non existant need if you own either a smartphone or laptop. I don't pay money to have to adapt to use something like so many ipad users seem to have to do, so obviously the ipads not for me. Maybe im just spoiled by an adequate smartphone? Whatever the reason the ipad 2 still can't do as much things and as well as my phone can, so nothings changed.

 

I certainly didn't have to force myself to use my iPad and I didn't pay money to adapt. It was a natural progression allowing me to have a single device where I could enjoy media and actually complete most tasks needed for work (which revolves around the use of Pages and Numbers) all on something that takes up less space than my 10" netbook which takes over 90 seconds to fully boot.

Even now, with my 13" MBP, I take my iPad everywhere. I throw it in a 10" netbook bag along with my digital camera, Droid X, iPod touch, charger for the iPad, and charger for my Droid with the whole thing weighing less than my 13" MBP. I only take my MBP with me when I need to do something that requires a full computer (mainly Matlab).

I admit that the iPad (just with ANY other slate tablet device) is not for everyone just as a MBP is not for everyone just as there are many people who don't want a smartphone. However, I don't think it is fair to assume that "so many" iPad consumers had to pay money to adapt to something when there are clearly many people who didn't have to "adapt" and instead used the iPad as a natural progression.

 

nope. there are things I use it for that are better on the iPad than anything else in my house. ymmv, but I'm definitely not lost on ways to use it.

 

iPad 2 is an incredible device, no regrets uo upgrading my wife and I's first Gen one... And I had to drive 8 hours each way to get it plus 5 hours in a lineup!

Great for portability and will be great on my business trips to the U.S. this year!

My only issue is the multi gestures were not released for iOS 4.3 but fortunately I was able to enable them through Xcode making the product flawless!!!

 

congrats!

must have just wanted to get the "launch day experience"? Because 16 hours of driving for an iPad...I think I would have simply had Apple mail me one next week.

 

The issue is that Apple is not shipping online orders out until 3-4 weeks now, I guess they had more orders than they were expecting. So people ordering now won't get their iPad 2's for a month if they order them through Apple. I am surprised that so many units are being sold especially considering the amount of iPad's they sold as the differences between the old and new (at least based on what I have seen and read in numerous reviews) don't warrant an upgrade for most people.

If I had wanted an iPad 2, I think I would have braved the lines as I would not have felt like waiting a month. Actually, I take that back. I would have woken up early at 4:00 AM EST and just ordered one online.

 

I normally wake up that time anyway. My Ipad 2 is due in by Thursday and no waiting in line.

 

So does ipad 2 have a usb port now or Apple still wants to force us to use their own port or buy a usb adapter?

 

It doesn't have a built-in USB port, they want you to buy their camera connector accessory.

 

All the mighty raw power doesn't mean didly squat if the software can't take advantage of it.

Good thing for Apple that it's got a strong developer's base.