Not so long ago we did an early review of the iPad 2 on Technoholik,. However this was a grey market piece we got our hands on, and as of now it’s been around half a month since the device has been officially launched, and it has been a sellout success. This time around, also got the smart cover and HDMI out to play around with. While most of our views still stay the same as the early review, and we reccomend steering clear of overpriced grey market maal, especially after the price reveal in India. Looking beyond the price tag and all the other tablets, is the iPad 2 really worth it?
The Hardware
A quick recap on the hardware front, the iPad 2 is packed with tech that blows all the current generation tablets out of the water. Bringing Apple’s contender out in the front again ready for the next generation. Whats new is a blazing fast dual core A5 processor, front and back cameras, a dual core PowerVR SGX543MP2 powering the graphics and 1 GB of RAM all of that without taking a hit to its legendary battery life. The IPS display remains the same as the iPad 2, there isn't any USB or external drive support this time around. Those looking for the equivalent of the iPhone 4’s retina display will have to wait.
A quick recap on the hardware front, the iPad 2 is packed with tech that blows all the current generation tablets out of the water. Bringing Apple’s contender out in the front again ready for the next generation. Whats new is a blazing fast dual core A5 processor, front and back cameras, a dual core PowerVR SGX543MP2 powering the graphics and 1 GB of RAM all of that without taking a hit to its legendary battery life. The IPS display remains the same as the iPad 2, there isn't any USB or external drive support this time around. Those looking for the equivalent of the iPhone 4’s retina display will have to wait.
The Design
The iPad 2 still retains the same style and form factor, simplicity and minimalism as the original. Except that its a lot slimmer at 8.8mm, and a lot lighter weighing in at just 601 grams compared to the iPad’s original 13mm and 730gms. The edges have been rounded off nicely, curving into the nice unibody rear, with a granular aluminum surface. The bezel on the edges is reduced a lot, looking less like a giant iPhone and taking on more of a personality of its own. The buttons on the edges are nicely fitted in.
The iPad 2 comes in two flavours, white and black. Both look stunning. The white looks a lot regal though, and shows a lot less fingerprints.
The iPad 2 still retains the same style and form factor, simplicity and minimalism as the original. Except that its a lot slimmer at 8.8mm, and a lot lighter weighing in at just 601 grams compared to the iPad’s original 13mm and 730gms. The edges have been rounded off nicely, curving into the nice unibody rear, with a granular aluminum surface. The bezel on the edges is reduced a lot, looking less like a giant iPhone and taking on more of a personality of its own. The buttons on the edges are nicely fitted in.
The iPad 2 comes in two flavours, white and black. Both look stunning. The white looks a lot regal though, and shows a lot less fingerprints.
The Software
iOS is no slouch as an operating system. The performance is superb, and we experienced no slowdown, even after opening and closing a bunch of apps in rapid succession. We did encounter a few memory warnings asking us to restart. However, nothing big. iPad apps ran flawlessly and beautifully on the system, however the iPhone apps look hideous and pixellated in 2X mode, a few even crashed. Call of Duty Zombies refused to start. However that was nothing wrong with the system, using the iPad native apps is recommended, if something is not out yet on the iPad, it will be in the near future.
3D games like Mirrors Edge, Asphalt HD and Dead Space ran flawlessly. Dead Space was a stunner with immense detail in the character skins and beautiful claustrophobic environments, showing the true power of the iPad 2 as a gaming platform.
The Camera
We covered a lot with the camera in the early review. Just to recap, the cameras on the iPad are mediocre at best. Not like some of the super shooters that come on most tablets today. There’s a VGA out front for facetime and a rear camera capable of shooting video at 720p. There’s an iPad version of Photobooth for your zany pictures. Sadly the camera is subpar, which is shocking considering the legions of lomography nuts out there with tonnes of apps to replicate holga like effects. However, it does the job and Photobooth is tonnes of fun and a great showcase of what the iPad 2’s graphics unit is capable of, in terms of real time image processing.
The Smart Cover
The innovative smart cover introduced with the iPad 2 is an extremely useful invention. It looks smarter in person than on pictures. Available in a host of colours and in Polyurethane and in Leather, the cover has a nice industrial no-nonsense feel to it. The magnets stick on tight on the side of the iPad 2, and it always more or less falls accurately in the right places with a satisfying clack. The segmented portions can be folded in different ways depending how you want to use your iPad 2, upright for watching movies, or slanted for those long chat sessions. It feels a lot like a book, you can also conveniently just move one segment to quickly take a pic with the camera.
The innovative smart cover introduced with the iPad 2 is an extremely useful invention. It looks smarter in person than on pictures. Available in a host of colours and in Polyurethane and in Leather, the cover has a nice industrial no-nonsense feel to it. The magnets stick on tight on the side of the iPad 2, and it always more or less falls accurately in the right places with a satisfying clack. The segmented portions can be folded in different ways depending how you want to use your iPad 2, upright for watching movies, or slanted for those long chat sessions. It feels a lot like a book, you can also conveniently just move one segment to quickly take a pic with the camera.
HDMI Out
With an HDMI connector cable, Apple has gone that extra step, by not only mirroring the desktop, but some apps can also control the displays independently. So presentation software can have the controls on the iPad 2 while you strut your stuff on the big screen TV. There are even games out there that let you use your iPad 2 as a controller while you play the game on the large screen. Watch movies on your HDTV in full HD while you control the settings from the iPad. The only drawback is the 4:3 aspect ratio. Though movies run at full 16:9 if encoded right or bought from the iTunes store.
Pros:
Light and easy to hold
Smart cover is an extremely handy invention
Lots and Lots of excellent apps
Smart cover is an extremely handy invention
Lots and Lots of excellent apps
Cons:
Bad Cameras
Same screen as iPad 1
Same screen as iPad 1
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