iPad 2 - The Apple 2nd Generation Tablet

So Steve Jobs announced on 2nd March at a media event in San Francisco that the 2nd generation iPad called, following the company trend, iPad 2 will ship in the US from 11th March, and from 25th March all over the world.

The obvious question that comes to mind is: "Is it really worthy?" The first generation iPad came out less than year ago (it was April 2010), and it was a huge success, much bigger that everybody expected. Since then, all the big companies have been working hard to catch up with Apple, trying to come up with some better tablet solution. We've seen the Samsung Galaxy Pad, the Motorola Xoom, the HP TouchPad, the BlackBerry PlayBook and many many more, each one with its own pros and cons. The competition got fierce, the prices are aggressive and the performances grew. So Apple was forced to anticipate their next generation tablet to avoid losing precious market shares, and here we have it, the iPad 2, according to Jobs, faster, thinner and lighter than its predecessor.

It has a dual core processor, the old one had only a single core; the graphics performance are 9 times better than the old one; it comes with two cameras, one in the rear at 720p resolution, and one in the front at VGA resolution, where the original iPad had none; it has a gyroscope just like the iPhone 4. Those are pretty much the new features, everything else is the same, like the screen size and resolution (9,7" 1024x768), the storage sizes (16/32/64GB) and the connections. So yes, it still lacks a USB port, for some reason Apple doesn't think it's a good idea to put one, and they're right, as nobody really seems to care. The prices are the same as the old generation, the basic model, 16GB and no 3G, sells at $499, while the more accessorized one, 64GB and 3g connection, ships at $829.

No matter what the competition offers, more power, more connections, more resolution, more battery life, no tablet can come close to the Apple product, no other tablet has the same appeal as the iPad 2, and that is due to the incredible marketing work that Steve Jobs has done. All Apple products have become a status symbol, because they do exactly what they're supposed to, and they do it better than the rest. And not to mention, they're beautiful piece of hardware, and this 2nd generation iPad is no different.

How the Tablet Makers Should Thank Their Users Now

The tablet is growing to be the next big thing in the world of communication devices, and while many are buying the tablet on mere face value, there is still the market that believes in cheap communication, where the tablets are not so popular. While the tablet is extremely useful and has a number of applications and services that make life easier for the user, not many are comfortable with the amount of money that they would need to pay each month for using these applications, or being online. Here are three ways how the tablet manufacturers can thank buyers right now.

Offer Free GPRS:

The best thing about the tablet is that it offers a never before chance to browse the Internet on a mobile platform. With a large screen, better keyboards and support to newer features, the Tablet may be the best mobile internet device right now. However, for the casual mobile internet user, the price of the GPRS connection per month might be a bit expensive.

Therefore, tablet users should look at offering free GPRS services for a few weeks or months, before the users can get hooked up to the idea of mobile internet on their Tablet.

Offer Free Apps:

While most tablet making companies offer many apps, not all of them are useful and even worthy of making a list of apps. If the tablet makers would offer some of the more popular apps for free for a while, the popularity of apps and that particular app would certainly rise, and add to the already burgeoning market of tablets and palmtops. Apart from apps, the tablet makers can even put in some free games that would be worthy of play - that will definitely get the younger generation interested in tablets.

Lower the Prices:

The price of a tablet is high, but not exorbitant. However, for a new gadget in the market, the price is not something that anyone would pay for, so the tablet makers should work towards lowering the prices of the gadget, and make it all the more viable for the people who intend to buy them. With the lowered prices, there will be a lot of buzz in the market, and it will herald an opportunity for the lesser budget tablets to make an entry into the market.

These are the three ways in which the tablet makers can thank their users right now.

Apple iPad 2 Vs Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 - Tablet Wars

The second iteration of the Apple's tablet PC, the iPad 2 faces a different set of competition than its older brother. The success enjoyed by iPad 1 has led competitors to develop their own tablets all with the hopes of taking a chunk out of the growing tablet market. Let's review and take a look at one of the iPad 2's formidable competitor Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Initially introduced with a 7-inch display, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is more than just a size upgrade. It also features several improvements as well. Below is a head to head comparison between Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 vs Apple Ipad 2.

1. Processor

The iPad 2 is equipped with Apple's dual-core 1GHz A5 processor, a major improvement over the previous iPad's A4. The A5 chip boasts a graphical performance that is reported at ten times over the older tablet. As of this review, there is no report yet on the iPad 2's RAM size but 512MB is expected.

The Samsung Galaxy 10.1 is packed with the 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor. Just like the iPad 2 no figures are released yet as to the Galaxy Tab 10.1's available RAM making a comparison difficult.

For this category, we give a tie.
Advantage: Tie

2. Display

The display on iPad 2 is a carryover of the original iPad. This is not a bad thing because we still rate 9.7-inch backlit-LED IPS screen considered to be the best on it's class.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 pixel screen. This is about half an inch larger than the iPad 2.

Still, we give the iPad 2 an edge in this category.
Advantage: Apple iPad 2

3. Build and Design

The build quality and design of apple are quite exquisite. The iPad 2 is a perfect representation of the company's commitment to those ideals.

The iPad 2 is slimmer and lighter than its older brother but we did not feel a sacrifice in build quality and use of materials. It's more comfortable to carry now because the it feels solid.

The Samsung Galaxy 10.1 sports a 246.2 x 170.4 x 10.9mm, 599g size and weight dimensions. The Tab looks longer and the iPad 2 looks shorter and slimmer. Weight difference is negligible.

No doubt that iPad is winning this category.
Advantage: Apple iPad 2

4. Operating System

The iPad 2 operates with iOS 4.3. While it has improvements over the previous OS in terms of web browsing and application, the improvements seem like a minor tune-up.

On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1's Android 3.0 feels like it has been developed to take multi-tasking chores to another level. This "Honeycomb" OS also feels more user-friendly.

Advantage: Samsung Galaxy 10.1

5. Camera

The iPad 2's cameras are a 0.7-megapixel main camera with 720P HD capture capability. It also features and a secondary VGA camera for video-conferencing purposes.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has an impressive 8 megapixel dual LED flash, 1080p Full HD video, 24fps camera at the rear and a 2 megapixel camera in front.

Advantage: Samsung Galaxy 10.1

6. Connectivity

EDR and A2DP capable and Bluetooth 2.1 are built in iPad 2. It also has Wi-Fi a,b,g & n, and an HDMI-output. However, it lacks a MicroSD slot, a USB port and a card reader. Its 3G connectivity is data only.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G connectivity. But, it has no SD card slot as well. So I guess a tie score would be fair for this category.

Advantage: Tie

Samsung have not released how much the Galaxy Tab 10.1 are going to be. Until that is announced, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a slight edge over the Apple iPad 2.