Apple Announces iPad 2: A5 Dual Core, 2 Cameras, Thinner

[marksman]

Youre in love with it because it's white? You really need to get a clue.

Are you racialist or something?

So what if they like it because it is white? I was happy when I got my white 3g iPhone.

It is just a valid reason to like a device among the thousands of other reasons people give, including having hardware in a device that actually makes no difference in usage, it is essentially the same thing... just cheaper.

 

[nvcplus]

The white color I can understand, but why is everyone so hyped up about it being 8.8 mm?

Technically, it's going to look thicker during use than the original iPad. The tapered back on the first one made it look like it was only as thick as the sides were tall. It was a visual illusion, and a damn good one.

Many people won't notice that though and will only concentrate on the numbers.

It STILL looks thinner than the thickest part of the frame of the iPad1 though. And I bet you anything that it will FEEL thinner to the touch. Kinda like an iPhone 3G compared to an iPod Touch.

 

[jealousguy86]

so i just talked to one of those apple chat people on apple's website. asked where the ipad 2 will ship from on march 11 after you order, and the person (or bot) said it ships from one of "apple's fulfillment centers."

has anyone heard of these? if so, where are they how many are in the U.S.? i live in illinois, near chicago, so wondering if they'll have a warehouse or somethin like that thing close to me so i don't gotta wait til it ships from china. the apple chatter wouldn't answer any more questions after that..

 

[Bubba Satori]

VGA camera?
Old QuickTake parts?

Great for taking blury portraits of reality distortion fields.
Don't get any vaseline on the lens.
Magic.

 

[Benjamins]

"apple's fulfillment centers."

I think that means Fedex lol

 

[eidimon]

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If you're really not interested in the cameras (after all if I want to use face time I can always use my iPhone), do you think it's worth getting the new model in case you can buy the previous one for $150-200?
(brand new, unused, from a friend of mine that won one at a conference, but is not interested in it)

 

[Greddy]

LOL AT&T would never sell a capped unlimited data plan.

No, Verizon will cut your bandwith in half if you go over capped amount and

still charge the same.... that blows.

We all know the Verizon CDMA is way faster the At&t's

3G......<insertlolhere> ....not


If you are going to push(spill) over the cap should'nt you allowed to to be just as fast as before?

 

[E.Lizardo]

So to sum up most of the posts on this thread:
"My completely unrealistic fantasy expectations were not met and the new model doesn't print money and dispense bacon so it sucks."

The moral:
Unrealistic expectations lead inexorably to bitter disappointment.

 

[jealousguy86]

the person just said fedex is who they ship the ipad 2s with, but that they have their own apple warehouses in the u.s. not fedex.

 

[nvcplus]

Youre in love with it because it's white? You really need to get a clue.

Imagine that. Someone is happy about something. They need to get a clue! They should be all upset and grumpy and put things down. Only then, will they have a "clue".

 

[mrsir2009]

SUCKS!

I just snapped a photo of my keyboard with my iPod touch. The characters of the keyboard are unreadable on the photo. That's how bad the back camera on the iPod touch is.

And these geniuses decided to take the iPod touch cameras and slap them on the iPad, which has a 10 inch screen?! That has to be a joke! And they have no freaking LED-flash. Unless you're shooting on a beach in mid-summer, most photos and videos shot with it, will be utterly useless.

If they couldn't do cameras right, they shouldn't have done them at all. Even at the 3inch ipod-touch screen your head hurts on how bad the photo you just snapped looks.

On a 10 inch screen the photos this camera produces will make your eyes bleed.

And facetime! Give me a break. With the VGA camera, if you facetime with someone, their face will literally appear as a bunch of blobs.

This is why they only spoke of the cameras and facetime, and didn't demonstrate them. They would have seriously embarassed themselves.

How many mega pixels does the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad 2 cameras actually have?

 

[GregoryHarbin]

I noticed something strange - it's mentioned that you can hook the iPad 2 up to your TV via an HDMI adapter, and it's specified as 1080p. However, if you look in the tech specs section, you'll see:

- Video mirroring and video out support: Up to 1080p with Apple Digital AV Adapter or Apple VGA Adapter (cables sold separately)
- Video out support at 576p and 480p with Apple Component AV Cable; 576i and 480i with Apple Composite AV Cable
- Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format

In other words, it can output 1080p but I don't see any format delivering it..?

Video won't be 1080p, but content like presentations, books, your home screen, etc will be.

This can easily explain the addition of 'retina'-resolution graphics in iOS 4.3.

 

[DrJohnnyN]

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Lol. +1.

 

[BuddyTronic]

No retina display......... wtf.

Not going to buy this ipad. Basicly ipad 1 with 2 cameras.

wow....

Life is too short - get the latest and enjoy the latest.

Also for other guys with similarly ridiculous attitudes - don't worry about scratching the back side of your iPad - you'll get another new one next year. (I'm always amazed by people who keep their devices so squeaky clean - for what purpose I don't understand - when you sell the used one the price is going to be only a few bucks less when it's all scratched up - ask me how I know).

And more for those who think they can save money - don't buy the old model for 15% discount - get the latest and enjoy the new speed and new features. You'll be using your time for more fun than the discount for old technology pays you.

 

[grahamnp]

Kinda disappointed at that Apple is falling behind with the screen resolution but I guess there's no halfway point with the scaling, it's either all out 4x res or no upgrade. The tech probably wasn't ready yet.

The rest of the device looks hugely impressive though.

 

[LarryC]

Almost as heavy. Still no real GPS. Same price is doing me a "favor" with all the competition offering thinner, lighter, cheaper, more open OS? I know we all hate flash, but the reality is 25% of the top 100 pages on the net still use it, so we can either have access to it or not have access, they go with #2 to try and make a statement. Comparing your year-old platform to one that hasn't even been released yet? Wow, Apple w\o Jobs is really tanking quick. This is like the 80s where Apple had everything going for it then just gave it all up to be satisfied with 10% forever. It's all just a mess, this is Android's year.

Queue the flamer responses. It's hard to see Apple fall short this year. I was really hoping they'd wow us with something to give all the new Android tablets a run for the money.

I'm not buying, more for the rest of you.

I don't understand. Why do we all hate flash? Now apple is abandoning flash? Why? No interface ports? Does SJ lie in bed at night wondering what he can do to screw users of Apple products? If this is Jobs' idea then maybe he does need to retire. It seems like Apple wants to be so cool and new that we will eventually be unable to use these half-assed ideas of Steve "I am a maniacal anus" Jobs. Jeez. Yes. I said it and I hope he reads it!

 

[mosx]

Something every potential iPad 2 buyer needs to think about is how the first iPad was treated.

Is Apple going to pull the same BS regarding the iOS 5.0 update that they pulled with the iPad iOS 4 update? Meaning, will iPad 2 get it the same time as the other devices or will they have to wait an additional 5 freakin months for it?

What new features will debut with the iPhone 5? iPhone 4 got FaceTime and iPad was left out, despite the fact that Jobs got up on stage and said iPhone 4 took 18 months to develop, so they knew a full year before the iPad announcement (and well before it was "too far into development to add") that the iPhone 4 would get it. iPhone 4 got 512MB of RAM while iPad 1 got 256, again, despite knowing well in advance what was going to happen.

So what will iPhone 5 get? Will it get double the memory again? Or FaceTime "HD" like the new Macs just got? Will it be enough to, again, make the iPad a full generation behind? What about redesigns? Will iPhone 5 and iPod touch 5G get redesigned again? Aside from a faster CPU, iPad 1 was essentially designed after the iPhone 3GS and iPod touch 3G. Now the iPad 2 (aside from CPU and GPU, RAM is TBD) is designed in line with the 4th generation devices.

Basically, Apple talks about how important the iPad is, but will they ever treat it equally compared to the other products or is it going to always be sort of a generation behind the iPhone and iPod?

It sure would be nice for Apple to give iPad at least the same treatment they do the iPhone, even if it means pushing the iPad from a March/April launch window to post-iPhone, so that way it gets all of the new features rather than just some.

Sure, iPad gets to debut new processor/chip, but so what? It did last year too. Doesn't matter if it gets a spiffy new processor if all of the other neat new iOS device features are left out until the next generation then made old again a few months later.

Also, will Apple ever allow us to run "Retina" (960x640) apps at native resolution on the iPad? Theres no reason not to.

Seriously Apple, iPad starts at $499 and you really couldn't put the same camera module in as the iPhone 4? If iSuppli's numbers are right, at $499, how much of a hit to Apple's profit margin could it have been to put $13 worth of camera equipment into the iPad? Is profit margin really that much more important than overall customer satisfaction? The rear camera on the iPod touch 4G is so bad that it borders on useless. Would it really be such a bad thing to take less than 1% off profit margin to put customer satisfaction first?

As a first generation iPad owner since day one, theres no way I would even consider rushing out to buy this. All of the questions I raised above have to be answered before I would consider buying it. After getting my iPhone 4 last year, my iPad essentially became useless thanks to the lack of multi-tasking. Theres no way I'd buy another iPad just to watch all of the other iOS devices get all of the neat new features and have to wait many more months for them.

 

[DrJohnnyN]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

No retina display......... wtf.

Not going to buy this ipad. Basicly ipad 1 with 2 cameras.

wow....

Life is too short - get the latest and enjoy the latest.

Also for other guys with similarly ridiculous attitudes - don't worry about scratching the back side of your iPad - you'll get another new one next year. (I'm always amazed by people who keep their devices so squeaky clean - for what purpose I don't understand - when you sell the used one the price is going to be only a few bucks less when it's all scratched up - ask me how I know).

And more for those who think they can save money - don't buy the old model for 15% discount - get the latest and enjoy the new speed and new features. You'll be using your time for more fun than the discount for old technology pays you.

This.

 

[LarryC]

Life is too short - get the latest and enjoy the latest.

Also for other guys with similarly ridiculous attitudes - don't worry about scratching the back side of your iPad - you'll get another new one next year. (I'm always amazed by people who keep their devices so squeaky clean - for what purpose I don't understand - when you sell the used one the price is going to be only a few bucks less when it's all scratched up - ask me how I know).

And more for those who think they can save money - don't buy the old model for 15% discount - get the latest and enjoy the new speed and new features. You'll be using your time for more fun than the discount for old technology pays you.

Come on Steve Jobs, admit it, that's you isn't it? That's the answer, just buy the top of the line Apple product at every new release... hmmm, now where did I place that huge trust fund that mommy and daddy left me?

 

[BuddyTronic]

C'mon, let's be honest here— nobody is buying a Galaxy Tab.

I would buy a Galaxy Tab, but it has no keyboard, and it doesn't come in white color - haha. I'm holding out for "Galaxy Tab 3". Then maybe. lol!

What the heck is a galaxy tab? One of the dozen or so iPad knockoffs I saw at CES this year. haha. So much "better" eh?

How did they even come up with the idea for this so called "Galaxy Tab". I mean especially when I can get a $200.00 netbook that does everything anyone will ever want to do with a computer right? Bwahahahaha.

Real innovative with that "touch screen" idea though.

 

[markelim]

i live in singapore and have relatives who live in the states, if i get a ipad 2 3g+wifi shipped to singapore..will it will work ? i have a existing 3g plan from my ipad 1 from my local service provider

 

[BuddyTronic]

Come on Steve Jobs, admit it, that's you isn't it? That's the answer, just buy the top of the line Apple product at every new release... hmmm, now where did I place that huge trust fund that mommy and daddy left me?

Sorry - no apologies for having some extra pocket money for my tech hobby.

But seriously that's Apple's model and it makes sense.

You can be at the bottom of the food chain or the top.

When your expiry date comes it might not matter much, but maybe you might as well enjoy technology in style if you can possibly afford it. I think you can.

Just have a few less steak dinners, and voila! You get the latest technology instead of last years stuff.

In another couple years, iPhone 4 will be next to free, and people in 3rd world countries will be Facetiming all over the place. Think of it. It's a wonderful world. If you are a computer geek like me and you, (and we obviously both are since we are on this geek forum), we should all have the best. It costs you more to use outdated technology IF you value your own time on this planet for what it's truly worth. This is something I figured out for myself and it has paid off.

I'm easy to please, I'm always satisfied with the best!

 

[LarryC]

That MacBook I bought is looking less and less impressive every day I see the iPad. And now this? I pretty much melted with joy when I saw this. By the way, white looks awesome.

__________________
Don't mind me, just looking at the sky. Someone painted my face blue.

Are you sure that you are not a smurf?

 

[rhett7660]

I like it. I will be upgrading probably in a few months. Just not now. My wife on the other hand wants one now!

 

[shiseiryu1]

I semi agree

I had decided to wait for this update to see what was added, but now I am looking at the alternatives.
The Motorola xoom is going to get a serious look.
In any case, I won't buy the current ipad2 because of all its limitations, and if the others don't convince me, I'll pass on tablets again.
They are really just toys at the moment.

I don't know why anyone would choose a Xoom over an iPad2? It's like buying a Zune instead of an iPod...basically a big waste of money. If you want power and flexibility then stick with a PC/Mac. If you want simplicity, portability, fun, and ease-of-use then get an iPad.

With that said, right now I think that software and integration are key differentiators instead of hardware at this point. I'm glad to see Apple stream iTunes library over Wifi...that helps to negate the need for a ton of space on the device. Next they need to leverage the power of MobileMe to stream from anywhere. Also they need to continue to merge AppleTV and the iPad...Airplay is really cool; I use it a lot more than I thought I would. Why can't you jet share your whole screen via Airplay?!?!? Come-on Apple, throw us a bone here. Why use a HDMI cable to share the screen when you could just do it wirelessly to your AppleTV. Besides, the stinking HDMI connector is like $40...you can get a refurb AppleTV for $85!

Xoom and others are just sad copycats. The real innovation is being done by Apple and as a result the copycats are always going to be a step behind. By the time other real tablets hit the market and actually start to become useful the iPad3 will be coming out making them all look foolish again.

Lastly, let me say that I don't get why people like Android devices. The devices look cheap to me and the interface is clunky. Aside from that it's overly complicated. It seems to me to have borrowed their philosophy from Windows. People that want "something that does everything" will go for Android devices and people that "want devices that just work" will go for Apple.