IPad 2 in comparison with the iPad: sensations, impressions, and whether or not to change?

Apple feat

I am sure many remember the "tablet buzz" going on for six months prior to the official announcement of the first iPad. What assumptions are not only built, starting from the fact that the device will run the full Mac OS X and Apple will be the answer to netbooks (they were at the peak of popularity at the time) and ending with a fabulous cost between $ 1,000 and higher. The reality turned out to be on the one hand the harsh - Mac OS X in the tablet does not hit, and indeed at first he is seen by many as the «iPod touch on steroids." On the other hand, the company introduced a truly functional, convenient, unique, and, most importantly, it is affordable device. But this is only the tip of the iceberg.

So Apple presented the first tablet to many people - a sort of replacement notebook with a full-fledged Mac OS X

Apple has had a huge impact on the market. Iron or, better to say "aluminum" fist smashed it to smithereens and angular slabofunktsionalnye development competitors, who, in fact, represented a netbook without a hardware keyboard, and moved to the bad for the money within a year or two. They have found their buyers, disappointing those would gradually accumulated a negative response and manufacturers have begun the usual unhurried and development of tablets: We made a little thinner, a little more powerful - here's a new generation that has become slightly better display has appeared shell, sharpened by the fingers - that's another generation, and so on. d. But there was a iPad and competitors were buried before they appear on the market. Apple lifted the bar high and refused to turn the tablet into another like a computer, as it tried to do with the Microsoft Tablet PC. Why repeat the mistakes of others? Instead, it proposed a new concept and a new category of computing devices.

Hero of Our Time - iPad first generation

This idea was picked up by competitors, selecting something special was not, and as a result of a huge amount of research has been curtailed and almost a year, we were content with only one tablet on the market. Although it is worth to pay tribute to Samsung. Let the Galaxy Tab has turned out rather peculiar, but still the existence of alternatives is better than its absence. At the same time I stepped up the iPad third-party applications library. To function internet tablet, media player and video game console he got a lot of extra features. Musical instrumentAssistant in the field of medicine, A training device for children... the iPad applications are now many.

In 2011, there will be many interesting tablet

Thus, instead of the mass of the same type and clumsy devices in 2010. The ball iPad rules. There was virtually no choice - it is a minus, but this year we got a lot of really interesting Gadgets: Motorola Xoom and the crowd tablets based on Android 3.0, HP TouchPad, RIM PlayBook and, of course, iPad 2. whether Apple could once again click on the competitors on the nose, raised whether the bar again has surprised you? Let's try to figure it out together, and simultaneously compare the original iPad with the newcomer.

Even smaller, but not limited to tablet, but packing

After just a week after the launch of the iPad 2 in the US, the new tablet made it to the native land. For some time I was able to be alone with him, to explore, test and determine the order, and if I want to change to a gadget your iPad. But first things first. I'll start with the packaging.

The box became a little thinner and changed the style of design: instead of the tablet in a full size on the photograph it is deployed sideways. Thus Apple indicates that the device has changed in appearance, and quite strongly. Silver apples on the faces and the words «iPad», as well as the model name on the reverse side of the box remained the same.

I want to draw attention to one small detail. Inside iPad box cover 2 is finished with a soft material. In this often packed computer displays and LCD TVs, not to scratch the LCD panel during transport. Trifle, but nice, because in the original iPad there is a simple cardboard.

Inside the box set has not changed since last year: on top of the plate lies under it - the power supply in own department, USB-cable c proprietary dock connector and the usual set of papers, plus a couple Apples-labels.

The power unit similar to that in the first iPad, its power - 10 watts. If desired, the tablet can be charged and from memory the iPhone, but it will last several times charging time device.

And here is the hero of this review

iPad 2 is lighter and its design has changed. About how it affected the experience of using the device, we'll talk later, silent and yet let me describe what offers Apple's new gadget.

Externally, the iPad 2 has come to resemble iPod touch fourth generation. And it is not only about the rear, but also on the front too. Glass panel in the first iPad was flush with the aluminum frame in the iPad 2 - it protrudes slightly above it. Plus the actual aluminum frame is much longer in the opener and it looks interesting.

The rear panel has lost the edge sharp and curved toward the center. It is flat, and the line to get a decent slant. This makes visually compact than its predecessor tablet, although it really has become a third thinner (8.8 mm vs. 13.4 mm).

The microphone is moved from the headphone jack to the center of the upper face, and a hole was oval.

Speakers (them, as in the first iPad, two) are not hiding behind a grid on the bottom face, and behind the perforated portion of the housing on the bevel. This element of design is vaguely reminiscent speaker in 15- and 17-inch Macbook Pro. I like it in the opener is not very much, it looks like something cheap in comparison with the metal mesh in predecessor, but it was necessary to compare the sound of the acoustic plate systems and all doubts have disappeared - this later.

Docking port, as well as other controls are located on the same slant. I note that the cable is now connected more complicated, but you get used to it quickly. By the way, I have no problems tablet is synchronized with the iPhone cable. In the web there are mentions about the problems with the cords from other iGadzhetov supposedly only suitable one that the iPad 2, but it seems that in those cases there were problems with the cords themselves, or just blabbed them dock connector.

When looking at the front of the tablet is now impossible to see the hardware controls on the sides, as it was in the first generation iPad. They are on a slant, out of sight - I prefer this design. In addition, as in the iPod touch 4, the buttons become rounded. Their new location does not cause discomfort, use convenient.

In iPad 2 there are two cameras, one on the front panel, the second - on the back. Exactly the same modules are installed in the iPod touch 4. Features front enough for FaceTime, a rear more or less normally writes HD-video (720p) in a good light, but do not expect more from them.

Bull's-eye on the back of the plastic, glossy, it is easy to get dirty and scratched. For this design element is hidden antenna Wi-Fi. I think readers have long guessed that I was at the disposal of the model without 3G-module. Given the availability of features in terms of personal Received iPhone 4 with iOS 4.3 on board, I do not see the point in buying 3G-model iPad owners of such phones. Although each has its own scheme of using the tablet, but it would be enough for Wi-Fi models.

In physical compared to the precursor

Well, the tablet studied externally, it's time to compare it with the iPad. The first thing one notices when you take into the hands of a novice just after its predecessor - a reduced weight. It would seem to have disappeared some 100 grams of weight, but they clearly felt, but at the expense of the new form and reduced thickness there is a feeling that the iPad 2 is easier than 100 grams, and for all 300. A significant reduction in the thickness of the aluminum frame around the front panel (it is almost not) visually thinner makes and black frame, although in fact the element size in the plates is identical.

Home button has not changed, but the press has become softer. Physically tangible cliques remained, although more rigid button in the first iPad I like more.

Sensations by pressing the Power button have not changed, and the fact that it is at the rounded edges, does not create any problems. The course of pressing the volume rocker is smaller, but in the iPad 2, it seemed to me, was pushing it even more convenient than to the iPad. lock lever in the opener clearly better - has clearly changed the mechanism. He switched to sharper and harder to work with this element nicer than in analogue predecessor.

When I studied the first reviews of the iPad 2 foreign colleagues, almost never seen mention of as the new speaker, and where met, it was only a vague description of that work a little louder. But in this case, "a little" - it's not quite the right word. I feel that the speaker system in the iPad 2 percent on 30-50 louder than its predecessor. Moreover, it sounds clearer and cleaner. In direct comparison there is a feeling that the iPad 1 as the dynamics play out of the barrel. At maximum volume speaker does not wheeze and power, it seems, even superior to that in the MacBook Air. It is comparable to the speakers in the MacBook Pro, and definitely better than the first iPad.

The display in the opener a little brighter, and it seemed to me, a little sharper, but in general - the difference is seriously noticeable only in brightness. It is a pity that this is not the Retina, the resolution remains the same - 1024x768 pixels, but at the moment the quality he still has no equal in the tablet world. Even the screens with higher resolution from competitors based on Android 3.0 (1280x800 pixels) are inferior in color reproduction quality. However, I judge about it with foreign counterparts words.

I did not see the effect of exposure on the edges of the matrix, which wrote many foreign resources, and that is usually visible only in the dark and on a black background, but I was not looking for it specifically. Either I got a good copy of the tablet or the problem was simply blown out of proportion, as often occurs during the release of the new Apple products.

Sensations of experience using iPad 2

The tablet is very comfortable to hold in hand and due to the reduced weight is easier to hold in one hand. The collection of new forms and reduced weight gives a striking effect. When you take into the hands of the original iPad - it feels solid, powerful thing. When there is a iPad 2, it causes a feeling of lightness and high processability. As if the user of one of the first resembles a brick cell phone, gave released through Five years after the "brick" the device for which you no longer need a separate bag, because it can easily fit in pocket. It does not compare with the iPad 1, it is simply a description of my feelings. They are pleasant, in both cases, both devices are great, but the cause is different tactile response.

Yet there is a growing high-tech iPad 2 when you start to work with him. Something I was reminded of the transition from the iPhone 3G to the iPhone 3GS. Applications run faster, react more accurately, Safari, and alternative browsers (in my case - iCab Mobile) are much nicer, web pages load quicker and smarter in their scrolling hardly appears checkerboard background (when the page is fully loaded), Safari plus does not reset the page, even if opened, nine windows with large articles.

Actually, in my scheme of iPad use, a greater role assigned to the device as an internet tablet, and newcomer takes its much better than its predecessor. Of course, with the release of iOS 4.3 Web surfing even on first generation iPad has become more pleasant: twice increased speed of execution Java-script, Safari is much less likely to refresh the page if you have multiple windows open, but still noticeable difference between gadgets very much.

I also very much on the plate, I read through the iBooks, not only literary works, but also magazines and books to PDF. With regard to conventional ePub file, the difference is not particularly, except that the page turning animation runs much smoother on the iPad 2, but with the PDF from the beginner all the much better. This is especially true on the scans of magazines. They open more quickly immediately after the opening can be made zoom the page and start reading, and not wait until prokeshiruetsya few pages ahead, and will be displayed with clarity.

But most clearly the full power of the new tablet, of course, is manifested in the games. Speaking of power. Newbie got a dual-core processor, which is on average twice as fast as its predecessor, and much more advanced graphics subsystem. Apple said that it is nine times superior to that of the first iPad, but the real tests, such as those held resource AnandTechIt showed a 7-fold superiority in PowerVR SGX543MP2 iPad 2 over SGX 535 iPad 1. Incidentally vaunted NVIDIA Tegra 2, too, was defeated - the difference in performance was about 300%. That is, as gaming platforms, new tablets based on this SoC-system obviously the loser. Furthermore, in iPad 2512 MB of RAM. It is a pity that not 1 GB, but also twice increased volume too bad.

Another appeared gyroscope. The fully his presence I felt during the game time Rage HD (And the average FPS was clearly much higher, the game runs very smoothly and pleasantly). In addition, it is often used in racing simulators for iOS and allows really comfortable to drive.

I could not run and Infinity Blade. Friends, on the big screen and with the highest quality texture of the game just changed. Previously, this level of graphics may be the last generation has been seen only on iPhone 4 or iPod touch, but there are small little screen. At 9.7 inches, all these shimmering armor characters and detailed environments look to the order interesting. There is already a new tablet iPad drains cleaned.

Twitching and sometimes slow down your game on iPad Puzzle Quest 2 also it got a lot better, plus do not forget to reduce the size and weight. As a casual gaming platform the iPad 2 has no competitors, although releases Dead Space games level gradually awakens unit on a large gaming arena, which Apple is clearly aimed, if we take into account the powerful graphics subsystem.

To change or not to change - that is the question!

Unfortunately, iPad 2 I had to use a short time, but allowed to decide on the further upgrade of the first iPad. Apple did not make the next revolution in the market, it has improved and refined the fact that so perfectly fulfills its role. But the company, at least for a year overtook the competitors, who relied on the original iPad and on paper (Commercially available from competitors until only Motorola Xoom and then only in the US) were able to catch up with its technical and overtake. iPad 2 was better, more compact and it has retained its excellent level of autonomy in significantly increased productivity. That is, moving from the iPad to the iPad 2, the user will not have to make compromises, as, for example, it was during the iPhone 3G (plastic housing disappointing). It's good, but if necessary all the innovation that enables innovation, for the money that will have to pay - is dependent on the usage pattern of the device.

If the gadget is used for business purposes to surf the web and email - iPad is enough. If it's mostly E-Reader - similarly, except when consumed a lot of content in PDF, although it can be a little bit and wait for uploading files, not to rush to zuming etc... - everything fits. Gamers should look at the new product in the long term, as long as substantially all works well on iPad.

Couple paragraphs above - is the voice of reasonWhich actively promoted described truth as long as I did not take the iPad 2 in hand. After that, the mind has given way to violent emotions and a wild delight.

He is cool, it is light, thin it and at the same time so powerful! Hold in your hands and baldeesh, you use and you get even more fun than on the iPad. I want the iPad 2, and I'm going to change my plate, but not immediately. Wait for a reasonable price and the best deals. Still, the voice of reason was not completely crushed by emotions, as happened with the original iPad, get me quite expensive. But then the world got a unique gadget and a unique experience, and now, as I wrote above, it is the predecessor can still do a good job.

Whether to change your iPad at the beginner - to you, dear readers. It depends on many factors, ranging from financial and finishing circuit using the device. Only advise not to rush to make a decision is momentary, as soon as the product has been in your hands. Still, the level of prices on the iPad 2 is now mad and what will behave smarter buyers, the faster the price of the gadget gray supply drops to an acceptable level.

For those who do not have any tablet, but the desire to buy an iPad was, and the budget is limited - there is a good chance to get a first-generation device at a very attractive price. Many users sell their tablets, aiming for a novelty. If the budget is not too constrained, and you are planning to buy their first tablet, wait a month or two and definitely take the iPad 2. From the combination of the characteristics of his competitors, I do not see. Yes, HP TouchPad has a cool operating system with design licked, RIM PlayBook - attracts and compact dimensions its platform created by experts in real-time working OS, Android 3.0 tablets to their interest openness. But the main thing - it is not "iron" and not the operating system and third-party software, which is the heart and soul of any device, without which it is a fun toy not more.

So with the third-party software from competitors until all bad, but Apple has in assets, tens of thousands of applications, tailored specifically for the iPad. This is a huge trump card for the company and it is a significant advantage for the buyer. By purchasing iPad, you get a ready-to-use tool (even specialized) or game console, or E-Reader, or a device for presentations adapted to the software... but whatever. Acquiring competing gadgets (as they appear on the shelves), you get all the same, but in the long term. And who knows whether they will be as promising after a year and a half, when typed library necessary software or manufacturers and developers will focus on promoting new already tablets. Why go far for examples? Take a look at Android and smartphones based on this OS. Samsung Galaxy S is still very powerful and promising tool, but it is already forgotten. There are promising Bole Galaxy S II, but whether a software update released for him with Android 3.0, or by the time bungled Samsung Galaxy S III?

As a result, it may happen that you will pay the money only for the future, which is so and will not be implemented in the current generation of devices on the secondary market, they will have no interest can not be said about the product Apple. The same iPad for at least another year will remain relevant and clearly get an upgrade to iOS 5 and the iPad 2, this period is two years. After all, similar to the iPhone 3GS is still excellent and very productive solution. As long as Apple maintains its products and software, and it's worth it. Whether you want the freedom and experimentation, or even now get a complete solution - it's up to you, dear readers, and I made my choice long ago.

iPad 2 review given store "America"