Here is a great Ipad review from Daniel in Chicago:
From the first announcement of this device, I was prepared to dislike the iPad, on paper it has way too many flaws. With one in hand and actually using the device, I can honestly say it is an excellent, gorgeous, piece of hardware. The biggest flaw, it weighs a ton. The weight doesn't sound like a bad thing, but after I held this device in both hands while laying down, my arms got sore. It's a small thing, but you should be aware that it is heavy.
Set up was super simple. Connect the unit to your computer, run iTunes, follow the wizard. About 5 minutes later the iPad is set up and activated. The wizard does call it an iPhone for some strange reason. If you have an iPhone already, the set up is a bit easier. It will inherit most of your settings.
Once activated, you have to unplug the unit and then go through the settings application to set up your wireless network and a variety of other settings. All pretty obvious, top to bottom, essentially all the same as the iPhone.
Do note that the charger is a 10W charger - much larger and different from the iPhone's 5W charger. So you'll have to use that charger. There is a big negative, you'll have to cart around that charger, most USB ports will not charge this device. My beast of a PC has plently of power on all the USB ports, and it will not charge my iPad. External battery packs will work with no trouble charging, or extending the use.
Battery life - I ran video, downloaded a ton of apps, and played with this thing for a solid 2 hours - 10% of the battery life was used. I would guess that reported battery life is right accurate.
Typing is easier than on an iPhone, but still not keyboard easy. There's a big problem with how to hold the device and type at the same time. I was a master at Blackberry typing with my thumbs. I can't seem to get it with the iPad. The other problem, the device has a rounded back, so if you place it on a table and try to type, the thing rocks back and forth annoyingly. I don't think I will spend a lot of time typing long emails on this device.
Apps that are built for or converted to the iPad format are simply gorgeous. They are full of detail and easy to read. Old iPhone apps that have not been upgraded are all blocky and not so great (useable but not great). You have the option to click the app back to native size if the jaggies bother you.
Safari works really well on this device. The browser is a real live browser that displays WebPages beautifully. Bookmarks snap up in an instant. Pages load at almost lightning speed, actually faster than on my desktop computer (quad core 3GHz, gigabit wired connection). There is almost no need to have multiple pages open, since load times are so fast and the favorites menu is so easy to access. There is just no comparison to the iPhone's horrible display of WebPages.
Email takes on a whole new look. Embedded pictures display beautifully. There is a pop up ribbon to select email from your inbox. Navigation is just a pleasure. Account switching is a little different from the iPhone, but still very intuitive. Apple seems to have figured out how to make the email experience more intuitive and remove the unnecessary from view.
Video is stunning. Netflix over high speed WiFi (my connection is 22Mbps) delivers full screen, highly detailed, smooth video with good sound. Any video created for the iPhone plays, but they are significantly pixilated or blocky, basically you've blown up a video designed for a three inch screen to three times that size. Those videos are viewable, but I will be reconverting my source video to the larger size.
Some of the free apps I've tried. ABC is simple and stunning for watching video, but lacks a lot of programs. Craigslist adds the ability to view pictures in the preview of a listing, something not available on any other computer - very handy feature. USA Today has done an awful job, the interface is horribly confusing and pretty well useless. Weatherbug is incredible, simple and to the point, but with a ton of forecast information (including webcams for different weatherbug stations). NASA is silly, an enlarged version of their iPhone app. Pandora works perfectly as expected.
The iPod / music side plays like I expected. Nothing really new there. The oddity though, iPod / music is on the home base menu, but video is a separate application. Everyone would expect that Apple got the music player right.
I've had an iPhone 3G for almost two years and have disliked almost every minute of use. I got it for work email and it sort of delivers on that promise. The iPad is what the iPhone should have been all along - fast, simple to use, and a gorgeous screen. I also own a netbook. The iPad is a much better device.
I love this device. Is it a revolution in computing? Only time will tell. For the moment, this is the best video, audio, email, web browsing device I've ever seen.
Go try it at a store. I think you will fall in love.
April 11 Update - Kindle versus iPad - I own them both. The Kindle is the better e-reader by a long long margin for avid readers. e-Ink is easy on the eyes, it looks just like a book. Where ever you can read a book, you can read a Kindle. The Kindle is light weight, about on par with a real book, maybe a bit lighter. And the plastic has a really fine satin feel. After about ten minutes reading on a Kindle, I don't think of the device anymore. The iPad - pages look gorgeous. Winnie the Pooh is absolutely stunning, with the color images, the perfect page layout, sharp beautiful type, fun page turning animation, and a kind of 3D look that mimics a book. But, it weighs a lot more than a book, more like a big old heavy text book. The hand feel - aluminum and glass - not as wonderful as the Kindle. I keep thinking, this is such a cool device that I don't lose myself in the reading.
Buying books with the Kindle is a super snap, under a minute and I've got my book. Buying them with the iPad? Sorry I'll never buy a book through iTunes, just like I've never bought a song at iTunes. Amazon has the review world covered and they know how to sell books.
But, and here's the big but, the majority of the public is going to love the iPad reader software. They will marvel at the color pages and love the book buying experience, just like they love buying music through iTunes. It will be a success. The avid reader will stick with paper or a Kindle, or a Sony reader, or a Nook. There just is no substitute for e-Ink. And, yes my eyes hurt reading the iPad screen; and no you can't read a book easily in the sun (especially not the beach).
And if you think I'm silly saying the device is heavy - there's three pretty savvy tech people that agree, Patrick Norton (a big strong guy) and Veronica Belmont of Tekzilla (an intense WOW gamer, so she has strong hands), and Molly Wood of CNet. Molly has returned her iPad because it is too heavy among other reasons.
Set up was super simple. Connect the unit to your computer, run iTunes, follow the wizard. About 5 minutes later the iPad is set up and activated. The wizard does call it an iPhone for some strange reason. If you have an iPhone already, the set up is a bit easier. It will inherit most of your settings.
Once activated, you have to unplug the unit and then go through the settings application to set up your wireless network and a variety of other settings. All pretty obvious, top to bottom, essentially all the same as the iPhone.
Do note that the charger is a 10W charger - much larger and different from the iPhone's 5W charger. So you'll have to use that charger. There is a big negative, you'll have to cart around that charger, most USB ports will not charge this device. My beast of a PC has plently of power on all the USB ports, and it will not charge my iPad. External battery packs will work with no trouble charging, or extending the use.
Battery life - I ran video, downloaded a ton of apps, and played with this thing for a solid 2 hours - 10% of the battery life was used. I would guess that reported battery life is right accurate.
Typing is easier than on an iPhone, but still not keyboard easy. There's a big problem with how to hold the device and type at the same time. I was a master at Blackberry typing with my thumbs. I can't seem to get it with the iPad. The other problem, the device has a rounded back, so if you place it on a table and try to type, the thing rocks back and forth annoyingly. I don't think I will spend a lot of time typing long emails on this device.
Apps that are built for or converted to the iPad format are simply gorgeous. They are full of detail and easy to read. Old iPhone apps that have not been upgraded are all blocky and not so great (useable but not great). You have the option to click the app back to native size if the jaggies bother you.
Safari works really well on this device. The browser is a real live browser that displays WebPages beautifully. Bookmarks snap up in an instant. Pages load at almost lightning speed, actually faster than on my desktop computer (quad core 3GHz, gigabit wired connection). There is almost no need to have multiple pages open, since load times are so fast and the favorites menu is so easy to access. There is just no comparison to the iPhone's horrible display of WebPages.
Email takes on a whole new look. Embedded pictures display beautifully. There is a pop up ribbon to select email from your inbox. Navigation is just a pleasure. Account switching is a little different from the iPhone, but still very intuitive. Apple seems to have figured out how to make the email experience more intuitive and remove the unnecessary from view.
Video is stunning. Netflix over high speed WiFi (my connection is 22Mbps) delivers full screen, highly detailed, smooth video with good sound. Any video created for the iPhone plays, but they are significantly pixilated or blocky, basically you've blown up a video designed for a three inch screen to three times that size. Those videos are viewable, but I will be reconverting my source video to the larger size.
Some of the free apps I've tried. ABC is simple and stunning for watching video, but lacks a lot of programs. Craigslist adds the ability to view pictures in the preview of a listing, something not available on any other computer - very handy feature. USA Today has done an awful job, the interface is horribly confusing and pretty well useless. Weatherbug is incredible, simple and to the point, but with a ton of forecast information (including webcams for different weatherbug stations). NASA is silly, an enlarged version of their iPhone app. Pandora works perfectly as expected.
The iPod / music side plays like I expected. Nothing really new there. The oddity though, iPod / music is on the home base menu, but video is a separate application. Everyone would expect that Apple got the music player right.
I've had an iPhone 3G for almost two years and have disliked almost every minute of use. I got it for work email and it sort of delivers on that promise. The iPad is what the iPhone should have been all along - fast, simple to use, and a gorgeous screen. I also own a netbook. The iPad is a much better device.
I love this device. Is it a revolution in computing? Only time will tell. For the moment, this is the best video, audio, email, web browsing device I've ever seen.
Go try it at a store. I think you will fall in love.
April 11 Update - Kindle versus iPad - I own them both. The Kindle is the better e-reader by a long long margin for avid readers. e-Ink is easy on the eyes, it looks just like a book. Where ever you can read a book, you can read a Kindle. The Kindle is light weight, about on par with a real book, maybe a bit lighter. And the plastic has a really fine satin feel. After about ten minutes reading on a Kindle, I don't think of the device anymore. The iPad - pages look gorgeous. Winnie the Pooh is absolutely stunning, with the color images, the perfect page layout, sharp beautiful type, fun page turning animation, and a kind of 3D look that mimics a book. But, it weighs a lot more than a book, more like a big old heavy text book. The hand feel - aluminum and glass - not as wonderful as the Kindle. I keep thinking, this is such a cool device that I don't lose myself in the reading.
Buying books with the Kindle is a super snap, under a minute and I've got my book. Buying them with the iPad? Sorry I'll never buy a book through iTunes, just like I've never bought a song at iTunes. Amazon has the review world covered and they know how to sell books.
But, and here's the big but, the majority of the public is going to love the iPad reader software. They will marvel at the color pages and love the book buying experience, just like they love buying music through iTunes. It will be a success. The avid reader will stick with paper or a Kindle, or a Sony reader, or a Nook. There just is no substitute for e-Ink. And, yes my eyes hurt reading the iPad screen; and no you can't read a book easily in the sun (especially not the beach).
And if you think I'm silly saying the device is heavy - there's three pretty savvy tech people that agree, Patrick Norton (a big strong guy) and Veronica Belmont of Tekzilla (an intense WOW gamer, so she has strong hands), and Molly Wood of CNet. Molly has returned her iPad because it is too heavy among other reasons.
This review is from: Apple iPad 2 MC755LL/A Tablet (16GB, Wifi + Verizon 3G, Black) NEWEST MODEL (Personal Computers)
For anyone out there who is considering whether or not to make the leap and purchase the iPad 2, this review is for you. If you're still debating between the iPad 1 and the iPad 2 check out my review of the first generation iPad right here on Amazon to see a discussion of its strengths and weaknesses with a number of people commenting (both positively and negatively) over the past 11 months. Let me begin by saying this upfront, I don't work for Apple, I don't own Apple Stock, and whether you buy an iPad, Xoom, a laptop or a pad of paper and pencil I don't get anything for writing this. I'm not an Apple "fanboy" although I can give credit where credit is due and lately Apple has deserved a lot of credit for some of their products.
Physical Characteristics
The iPad 2 is absurdly thin. More importantly than it's thinness is its tapered edge which feels more natural in your hand. One of the biggest complaints about the original iPad was it really wasn't tremendously comfortable to hold for long periods at a time. For a tablet device designed to be held, that's a pretty big deal. Apple really has done an amazing job of cramming everything into an even smaller space than before and the difference is really noticeable when you're holding the device. In addition to the tapered edge, Apple managed to reduce the overall weight of the iPad 2. That might not seem like a huge deal to most, especially when you consider the weight difference isn't tremendous when you're already under 2 pounds, but I spend a good part of my day holding the iPad in my hands and the weight difference is surprising by the end of the day. The first generation isn't heavy by any means, but the iPad 2 outshines it.
New and "Improved"
Apple doubled the RAM in the iPad 2 from 256MB to 512MB. What does that mean? For most casual users, probably not a whole lot. There is a performance bump that everyone will see the effects of in things like loading times for webpages that are open in the background, but 256MB was sufficient for most daily use and games. If you're planning to use your device for some of the more graphically intense games the iPad 2 does offer a better method of graphics processing that'll help deliver faster images with fewer jerky movements. If you're just playing Angry birds and reading e-mail you're not going to know the difference.
The screen is the same for all real purposes. It is technically a "new" part in that it isn't identical to the old, it's a bit thinner and more efficient, but it's the same resolution. The Glass is thinner though, and this amounts to a fair bit of the weight loss from one generation to the next. In playing with the device it seems surprising but despite feeling lighter it actually feels more sturdy in your hands. I still wouldn't suggest dropping it, but if it were to fall the iPad 2 certainly feels like it might stand a better chance to survive. Try not to drop it though.
The addition of 2 cameras was expected. Some were a bit surprised to see the first generation released without the cameras. Whether it was for a price point consideration, or a means to get people to upgrade, Apple held off until iPad 2. The cameras do a reasonable job, but they're not going to replace a dedicated digital camera, or really even the camera on your phone for most still images. The cameras do a substantially better job with video, and FaceTime is probably one of the best reasons to get the iPad 2 over the original iPad. For those who might not be familiar, FaceTime is Apple's face to face conferencing system, kind of like Skype, or if you'd rather, kind of like the Jetson's TV/Phone. With the push of a button you can be having a face to face chat with a loved one just about anywhere in the world (provided they're on a wireless network at the time). FaceTime doesn't work over 3G natively (it can be used over a wifi connection created by a 3G device however) so you're not going to be able to use it in your car anytime soon. This is probably a good thing though. It is incredibly easy to use and if you know other people with an iPad 2, iPhone 4, or Mac it's a lot of fun.
Smart Covers aren't really "smart" but they're really very useful. Not only do they provide a stylistic enhancement of the device, but they serve a practical and functional purpose of doubling as a screen protector and stand in 2 configurations. You can find them in a variety of colors and from third market suppliers, and it's a safe bet that more will be out soon to capitalize on the magnetic sensors in the iPad 2. It's unfortunate that this same feature can't somehow be retrofitted to the iPad 1, I wouldn't have thought a case would be a compelling reason to consider a product over it's competitor, but these covers are really so useful it's hard to understand why they've not been there since the beginning.
Multitasking Support
One of the biggest knocks against the iPad when first released was the lack of native multi-tasking support. Jailbreakers added the feature quickly and Apple soon realized it would be a requirement for any future device's success and released an OS update that included the feature. The iPad 2 capitalizes on that progress and takes it a step further with the increased RAM enabling more open applications to be suspended at once, and the time to open or close an application has improved as well. That said, even the first generation managed to open and close apps faster than most people would be used to on their computers, so while this is an improvement it's more akin to showing off.
Apps
One thing that Apple has clearly the advantage in for the moment is app availability. The App store has close to 70,000 iPad specific Apps, all of which will work on the iPad 2. The new cameras will undoubtedly see this list expand rapidly, as will the inclusion of a gyroscope for gaming and motion based uses. There are also a substantial number of professional applications ranging from document creation to photo editing and vector drawing. Chances are if you can dream it, there's an App for that (and if not you might want to get started on one to fill in the gap). The Android market is making a strong showing, and ultimately it'll likely be a strong competitor, for now it still has a ways to go, but any potential buyer should consider the strength of the application market before buying a tablet.
Pros:
Weight. Seriously. The minimal weight of this thing is by far the most impressive feature about it in my opinion. It seems to defy physics and logic that so much could be in such a small space working that hard for that long.
Battery Life. From full to dead my iPad 2 went just over 11 hours with the movie Robin Hood showing twice during that time, the screen at half brightness, wifi turned on, an Angry Birds marathon and a good portion of a book in ibook. That's better than a work day and that's constantly on.
Books. This is definitely a Pro, but reading itself could go either way. The great benefit to the iPad is having access to Google Books, ibook, Nook, and Kindle. This allows for some comparison shopping and price competition (although for the most part they're all usually about the same). Reading in the evenings in bed is great as the back light means you don't have to worry about keeping others awake, but the glass screen causes some glare trouble when trying to read outside or near a sunny window. If you're an avid outdoor reader the Kindle might still be your best bet.
Cons:
Still no dedicated USB support. While there is a camera add-on that allows for certain USB devices to be used there is no option for mass storage. Some of the Android Tablets allow for this and if you find yourself wanting to use your tablet as a standalone storage device this might be something to consider. The device can read from certain flash drives though, but is largely limited to photo and video files. Jailbreaks offer solutions to this, but those come with their own issues as well.
Still no dedicated SD card slot. This is troublesome on two fronts. First, if you want to import pictures from your camera you have to have an adapter which is just one more thing to carry around. Second, the lack of expansion means you're limited to what you purchase in terms of storage. I purchased a 32GB iPad last time and never filled it up completely, so for me capacity wasn't an issue. If you want to be able to have your entire movie collection with you though... you may want to consider whether the iPad 2 can meet your space requirements.
HDMI output. Really this is a Pro and a Con. The iPad does allow for HD output over HDMI but again it requires an adapter. All of these adapters are additional purchases for features that some tablets offer built in. This can be a pain, but then again if you're not likely to ever use HDMI Output then you're not paying for something you won't use.
No Flash Support. This is becoming less and less of an issue as the internet and web developers are moving away from Flash for many websites, but there are a lot still out there relying on Adobe's Flash to run properly (including a lot of web based games). Before you pick a tablet consider what kind of websites you frequent and try and determine if they are Flash driven or not. If they are you may really want to consider something from the Android offerings as it is expected that they'll have at least some Flash support.
If you're in the market for a tablet device the iPad 2 should definitely be on your short list. If you're uncertain it is always best to go and play with these things hands on first if you can. Best Buy is a good place for that, so are Verizon Stores since they have the Xoom and 3G iPad. Don't get pulled into the hype and mania that comes with an Apple release. They're exciting and new, and they're impressive enough to warrant some excitement, but it will die down and there will be other products that prove a strong competitor to the iPad 2. If you're looking for right now though, this is probably your best bet. I gave the device 4 stars, as I did the iPad 1. I did this in contemplation of the features offered by competitors that are absent from the iPad, most notably the requirement for adapters for USB/SD/HDMI. While these features are there, they aren't as convenient as in other tablets. With that in mind I firmly believe that the iPad more than makes up for this in usability, reliability, and design and in those areas far exceeds its current competitors.
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