Apple announces iPad 2 with new design, faster A5 processor

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  • Reply 181 of 417
    rabbit_coachrabbit_coach Posts: 1,114member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post


    .



    File under: Gotta' Love 'em





    Apple?s iPad 2 Is About to Enter a Crowded Field



    http://www.eweek.com/



    This guy is so out of the. real world. How can this happen? He claims to own an iPad but probably forgot to unbox it.
  • Reply 182 of 417
    lorrelorre Posts: 396member
    Cool incremental update. Nice jump in processor speed, looks promising for iPhone 5!



    Other than that, nothing really revolutionary (not that that was necessary), but I guess this does leave room for a new iPad 3 before the holiday season... Not saying it will, but it could. If Apple releases iOS5 before the holiday season that could be enough of a sales boost as well.



    Then again, I think this iPad 2 is just meant to meet or exceed the coming competitors spec wise. Then, by the end of the year, Apple is going to blow them out of the water again using their sweet little component contracts Tim Cook is arranging as we speak.
  • Reply 183 of 417
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DecoderRing View Post


    I'm on the fence, too. Ultimately, though, I never even use the data up to my limit on my iPhone, and I use it liberally when not in a Wi-Fi network or I just don't feel like typing in a password. And most of what I would do outside of a Wi-Fi network I can just do on my iPhone for the rare times that I need to. I already pay for data that I don't use; I guess I don't think it's a good idea to pay for yet more data that I likely won't use. That way, it helps me justify getting a higher-capacity iPad (32GB) for almost the same amount of money for the 16GB model with 3G.



    You'll have to pay for that 3G one way or the other. If you use your iPhone, AT&T will charge an extra fee to let you use the Personal Hotspot. If you buy an iPad with 3G you'll have to pay for data, again through AT&T (or Verizon). The carriers are going to get their money one way or another.



    If you already own an iPhone, and you carry it around with you at all times, as I do, it seems smart to just buy the WiFi iPad -- at least you save a few bucks at the beginning.
  • Reply 184 of 417
    The *moment* someone posts Plants vs Zombies HD running smoothly on their TV, I'm sold.
  • Reply 185 of 417
    dick applebaumdick applebaum Posts: 12,527member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by minderbinder View Post


    Actually none of those are functional in the current version of the Xoom. They claim that the last two will be enabled later on with software updates and the first added somehow (?) but I have to be skeptical of any device that ships with things like that not working.



    Yes, especially when they are advertised as features that differentiate the Xoom and make it superior to the iPad.



    Maybe the mfgrs need another column in their specs for "Phantom Pheatures"
  • Reply 186 of 417
    haggarhaggar Posts: 1,568member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by island hermit View Post


    Let the bitching begin...



    Let the Mac apologist backtracking begin...



    IPads will not have built in cameras. Nobody cares about cameras on an iPad.
  • Reply 187 of 417
    jonamacjonamac Posts: 388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AIaddict View Post


    Yikes. I sure hope iOS 5 has some major improvements to keep people happy until iPad 3 comes out.



    Also, HDMI with a special $39 connector? How is that slick, convenient, or a good user experience. I hate carrying bags of connectors cables and dongles, and even more so with an ultra-portable.



    You have an ultra-portable 50" HD Tele?
  • Reply 188 of 417
    palegolaspalegolas Posts: 1,361member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    The new iPad also has a new A5 dual-core processor which offers up to 9 times faster graphics processing.



    iPad2 is saying: -Retina display! I'm ready for you now! See you next time!
  • Reply 189 of 417
    prof. peabodyprof. peabody Posts: 2,860member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Curmudgeon View Post


    Why is the RAM size important to you? Are there programs today that you can't run in the current iPad's RAM space?



    I can't speak for the poster, but for me this is the most crucial aspect of the upgrade and it's a bit annoying not to know what memory it has until iFixit tears it down.



    It has a great effect on multitasking. If I'm writing in Pages and I switch to another app I can come back to Pages and there is a bit of a pause before it's available to me because it has to switch the document back into memory. If I instead switch out and then to a third app and then back to Pages, Pages has not only flushed the cache, it's saved the document and returned me to the beginning. Since I work on 50,000 to 60,000 word documents, this is very very annoying and almost a deal breaker.



    One of Pages great weaknesses (on the iPad), is it's very cumbersome to scroll through long documents and the magnifier shortcut tool doesn't work very well for this purpose either. So if you're writing a long document and your two thirds of the way through it takes a full minutes of screwing around to get back to where you were when it dumps you to the beginning.



    If the memory really is doubled, this effect should be minimised or even eliminated in most situations. If the memory is the same, all the speed improvements in the world won't make any difference to the user experience. Hopefully a (sorely needed) update to Pages for iPad is in the works also and should help things.
  • Reply 190 of 417
    roboduderobodude Posts: 273member
    It looks pretty good, but not enough to make me want to sell my iPad 1.



    iOS 5 will take advantage of the hardware improvements, which is the thing that will make me want to upgrade - depending on what they add. I'm wondering why they haven't moved iOS upgrades from June to March. Surely the iPad will be more significant than the iPhone? Couldn't really expect too much more than the improvements announced. Except a higher-res screen!
  • Reply 191 of 417
    lorrelorre Posts: 396member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    I can't speak for the poster, but for me this is the most crucial aspect of the upgrade and it's a bit annoying not to know what memory it has until iFixit tears it down.



    It has a great effect on multitasking. If I'm writing in Pages and I switch to another app I can come back to Pages and there is a bit of a pause before it's available to me because it has to switch the document back into memory. If I instead switch out and then to a third app and then back to Pages, Pages has not only flushed the cache, it's saved the document and returned me to the beginning. Since I work on 50,000 to 60,000 word documents, this is very very annoying and almost a deal breaker.



    One of Pages great weaknesses (on the iPad), is it's very cumbersome to scroll through long documents and the magnifier shortcut tool doesn't work very well for this purpose either. So if you're writing a long document and your two thirds of the way through it takes a full minutes of screwing around to get back to where you were when it dumps you to the beginning.



    If the memory really is doubled, this effect should be minimised or even eliminated in most situations. If the memory is the same, all the speed improvements in the world won't make any difference to the user experience. Hopefully a (sorely needed) update to Pages for iPad is in the works also and should help things.



    Well iMovie 2 for iOS doesn't run on the original iPad but it is available for iPhone 4 and the latest iPod touch. I guess this is because of RAM... SO it's safe to assume iPad 2 has at least 512MB.



    Unless of course Apple believes that people wouldn't want iMovie on the original iPad because it doesn't have a camera...
  • Reply 192 of 417
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nkhm View Post


    The display is stunning, what needs to be changed about it?



    Have you looked at an iPhone 4? The screen resolution of the iPhone 4 retina display is hands-down amazing. Everyone who looks at mine gasps, even if they don't even know what "resolution" means. The iPad screen, while still a great resolution, is a bit grainy by direct comparison.



    iPhone 4: 326ppi

    iPad 1/2: 132ppi



    Now, the iPad screen still looks amazing-- and if I didn't have my eyes glued to my iPhone so much I would have no complaints. But after seeing laser printer-like text in iBooks on the iPhone 4, I yearn for 300+ ppi on the iPad. The 9x graphics engine in the A5 should be able to handle it!
  • Reply 193 of 417
    svnippsvnipp Posts: 430member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by EverNoticeThat View Post


    They'll have to drop the price on the "old" iPads now.



    What "they" are you referring to exactly? I don't even see the "old" iPads on the Apple Store any longer. They are going to sell out the current stock, most likely at the current price point, and then roll out the iPad 2. If someone is blind enough to buy an iPad in the next week, then that's pretty dumb.
  • Reply 194 of 417
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by asdasd


    buy an iPad with 65k apps or an overpriced xoom



    I fail to see how the Xoom is overpriced. I paid $829 for my iPad. The Xoom costs $799 without contract.



    I also remember the lack of iPad native apps available when I powered up my iPad on day one.



    The bickering back and forth makes me laugh. I love my iPad and wont give it up till Apple makes one with 4G and MORE resolution. Having said that I am considering purchasing a Xoom to play with.
  • Reply 195 of 417
    leesureleesure Posts: 15member
    I'm a huge iPad fan boy. I've had 2 since the 1st month they were out. I love them and use them every day. I gush to friends who ask and defend them against those who mock. That said, I think this is a disappointing update...here's why.



    I've been saying to all those Android proponents that I'm sure they'll love their vaporware when it comes to market as they will all certainly match the original iPad...just in time for iPad 2 to blow them away. Yes, all the new tablest have cameras, but just wait til you see what Apple will do.



    The 3 main 'upgrades' are:



    -processor speed - awesome...love it! Great job!

    -camera - blah...Apple is actually late to this party. Should have been on iPad1. Not really relavent to most as facetime, for all the hype, is a feature little used beyond the novelty stage.

    -Form factor. It's nice...a little slimmer (though like Phone2, the illusion of thinner is there because of the angled edges) and little lighter, but did anyone think the iPad1 was too think or heavy??



    What would have blown the competition away and left them playing catch up once more are:



    -retina display...or even just a better display.

    -built in HDMI out...please no more with the damn nickel and dime adaptor crap.

    -USB out - see above.

    -SD card slot.

    -tether ap that would let iPhone owners tether their iPad via wifi with no additional data plan. This would encourage those with iPhones to buy iPads and vice versa.



    Butu hey, there's a cool case
  • Reply 196 of 417
    dick applebaumdick applebaum Posts: 12,527member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SSquirrel View Post


    Yeah there's some serious delusions in this article. The market of comparable products is certainly not very crowded, their sales are not even approaching 1 million and the rest of the "crowded market" are announced and maybe demoed devices. He seems to be counting tablets that have been showN OFF AT CES that won't be out for months yet. It was a funny read tho, thx



    Yeah, I didn't even bother reading the article -- the headline caught my eye (and I don't like the way that site chops articles in multiple pages just to get hits).



    The crowded field the iPad 2 is entering consists of:



    -- 15 million plus little brother iPad 1s

    -- 2,000 ? plus Galaxy Tabs

    -- 1,000 ? plus Xooms

    -- 0 PlayBooks

    -- 0 TouchPads

    -- 0 ? HP Slates



    Did I miss anybody.



    Seems like the crowd is mostly just family!



    .
  • Reply 197 of 417
    nikon133nikon133 Posts: 2,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NasserAE View Post


    Apple just killed RIMs Playbook and all other copycats



    Not sure about Playbook, but compared to Honeycomb tablets, iPad 2 doesn't really seem to be much different. Will be interesting to see benchmarks for CPU and graphics on both iPad 2 and Honeycombs, but on paper, Honeycombs still have a bit higher res screen, more standard ports (USB, SD card...), full Flash support (OK, we'll have to see this one to believe it)...



    Plus, you can bet that Android tablets will be refreshing faster than iPad is. At the end of the day, I'm expecting same scenario to repeat as in iPhone vs. Android phones. Which is not bad scenario for Apple, to be honest - they will remain biggest individual tablet manufacturer, but I'm not expecting them to remain dominant tablet platform for much more than a year.







    Quote:

    We won't know about the RAM until iFixit gets one but I believe it must be at least 512MB. The display is the same resolution as the iPad.



    Someone at Anandtech "confirmed" it has 512MB of RAM. Of course one always take such confirmations conditionally until confirmed by official source.
  • Reply 198 of 417
    chronsterchronster Posts: 1,894member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by emacs72 View Post


    HDCP is supported by the HDMI specification (versions 1.0 and above). if the media mandates the use of HDCP, then whatever is connected to the iPad 2 via HDMI will have to accept and properly handle the handshake to permit video and audio transfer.



    So I could play a drm protected movie, so long as the cable is hooked up to hdcp monitor or tv. What about regular movie files? Like pirated avi files?
  • Reply 199 of 417
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by peteo View Post


    I think that might be a good idea, the only thing you will really be missing is GPS. The wifi version does not come with GPS, so if you are hiking (i do this allot with my iPad 1) or out with your iPad you will not see your location. Now the wifi version can use Wifi geo-location to find where your iPad is but I'm not sure if this will work with the personal hot spot feature and if you have no wifi connection then you will have no location info



    There is a blue tooth gps product that does work with the iPad & ipod though. its $100



    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004M3BICU



    Um, there's GPS in the iPhone you are tethering to if you are using the personal hot-spot feature. That said, I thought I read that some myfi devices can pass their GPS coordinates to a device connected to them. I wonder if the personal hotspot feature does that if you wanted to see the location on the bigger screen of the iPad? For the $100 price of the external device, you might want to simply pay a little extra for the 3G iPad, even if you don't get a 3G contract I beleive the GPS still works, right?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by emacs72 View Post


    i'm curious why Apple made the following distinction:







    the iPad 2 will be able to bitstream multi-channel audio and yet MP4 container support seems to suggest only stereo. hopefully a clarification is forthcoming. i may actually purchase the iPad 2 within the next few weeks.



    I think the container support only lists the format it can decode and play back internally (ie, on the iPad's own speaker). Apple's iTunes movies include the 5.1 audio, so the container can hold it, but the iPad itself would play back the stereo track instead of the 5.1 audio. But with the HDMI out, it will pass the 5.1 audio data and let the TV or receiver decode it.



    Another HDMI question I have is about the 1080p support. iPad video playback is limited to 720p, and the screen resolution is not much higher than that. So is the HDMI output truly 1080p (like for displaying photos) or is it a scaled 720p resolution? I assume they'd have a tough time getting away with calling it 1080p output if it was scaled 720p, but you never know. Full 1080p for photo display would be nice. And if the screen resolution and UI elements on the iPad are one size, how are they rendered with the screen mirroring at 1080p?
  • Reply 200 of 417
    camroidv27camroidv27 Posts: 523member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TalkingNewMedia View Post


    Here is the best part: the HDMI cable works with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad 1, as well as the new iPad. With iOS 4.3 I am assuming that those that don't want to buy iPad 2 can still get to take advantage of this new capability simply by upgrading their OS and buying the cable.



    Am I right about this?



    No. The HDMI Mirroring will only work with iPad2. All others, it will only work with certain apps, like the VGA adapter. Sad, I wish it would mirror on the iPod Touch 4.
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