"Battle of the Tablets"

Judged on specs alone, the Apple iPad 2 doesn't do much more than keep pace with its tablet rivals. It's a bit thinner that its major rivals--the Motorola Xoom, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, the HP TouchPad , and the RIM BlackBerry Playbook--and it's lighter than most. But its processor appears to be on a par with those of other tablets, and its cameras' resolutions seem to be lower.

Of course, people don't buy tablets based on specs alone. The iPad 2 will carry a base price ($499) that no major competitor has managed to match; it will come with a new version of iOS, a mobile operating system that many people prefer; and owners will have access to vastly more apps than are available for any other tablet. Plus, Steve Jobs promised that the iPad 2 would ship on March 11. Of the competing tablets we looked at, only the Xoom is already shipping. There are no hard availability dates for the other competitors.

Apple has shaved off a third of the thickness of the original iPad in the iPad 2, making it the thinnest tablet in this comparison. At 1.35 pounds, the iPad 2 is also lighter, on a par with Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet as the lightest of the roughly 10-inch-screen tablets. Motorola's Xoom and HP's TouchPad are slightly heavier at 1.6 pounds.

Apple didn't change the display of the iPad 2: As on the original iPad, it has a 1024-by-768-pixel resolution and a 9.7-inch size (same as the TouchPad). The Android tablets from Motorola and Samsung have 10.1-inch screens with 1280-by-800-pixel resolution.

The iPad 2 will have the largest available built-in storage (64GB), but the Xoom probably trumps that advantage by providing 32GB of internal storage plus expandable storage via an SD Card in a future software update.

The iPad 2 is also stronger under the hood. It packs an Apple A5 dual-core 1GHz processor, putting it on the same level with all of the other tablets in the comparison except the TouchPad, which will have a 1.2GHz dual-core processor (the fastest pure clock speed of this comparison). Of course, clock speed and number of cores don't in themselves determine how fast a tablet is or how well it manages power. That determination will require side-by-side testing.

Apple isn't saying how much RAM the iPad 2 contains (the original had 256MB, some are speculating that the new version has at least 512MB), but the Xoom, the TouchPad, and the BlackBerry PlayBook have 1GB of RAM inside.

The iPad needed front- and rear-facing cameras to keep pace with the competition, so Apple added a front-facing camera for video calling and a second camera on the back. Apple didn't specify the megapixel count of the back-facing camera, beyond saying that it records 720p HD video. Nevertheless, even with the new additions, Apple appears to trail in megapixel count, especially when matched against the Galaxy Tab 10.1's 2-megapixel and 8-megapixel cameras.

Apple has improved the speaker on the iPad 2, introducing a larger, wider grill. But all of its rivals have stereo speakers.

The iPad 2 will come in two separate 3G models--one for Verizon and the other for AT&T--alongside the Wi-Fi-only model. Both the Xoom and the Galaxy Tab will come only in a 3G version initially, with Wi-Fi only versions to follow. For its part, the TouchPad will come only with Wi-Fi support at the beginning, with 3G versions to follow.

The Xoom will soon be the only 4G tablet, however. Motorola has said that the Xoom can receive a free 4G radio update soon......

Don't get your hopes up too high for iPad 2, iPad 3 is the tablet to watch

Yesterday's highly anticipated iPad 2 announcement showcased a faster, sleeker tablet with many expected upgrades... but none of the big surprises that constitute a "wow factor.". A new report suggests the upcoming iPad2 will be a minor upgrade. However, its future replacement--let's call it the iPad 3 --will be a super-duper slate that rocks the tablet world. This latest gossip arrives courtesy the Cult of Mac blog, which reportedly got the inside dirt on the upcoming iPads from an anonymous Apple staffer. The source didn't divulge details on the iPad 2 or 3, but did provide this insight:

"For the iPad 2 don't get your hopes up too high. That's all I'm going to say. They've had a number of problems along the way, and the third-generation iPad is the one to make a song and a dance about."

The remarks about "problems along the way" may explain why Apple has waited until March to announce the iPad 2. The company usually adheres to an annual refresh cycle for its products-a new iPhone in the summer, for instance, and new iPods in the fall-a schedule that suggests the iPad 2 launch is a month or so overdue. (The original iPad debuted in January 2010 and shipped in April.)

The Apple staffer's lack of enthusiasm for the iPad 2 and praise for the iPad 3, which recent reports say will ship later this year, are in line with what IDC analyst Tom Mainelli.

At the time, Taiwanese trade publication Digitimes was reporting that the iPad 2 would have a screen resolution of 2048 by 1536 pixels--four times that of the current 1024-by-768 pixels.

Mainelli, however, believed the 2048-by-1536 pixels prediction was premature: "Our sources say Apple has requested that manufacturers begin work on displays with that resolution for the iPad 3," said Mainelli, who didn't predict when Apple's third-gen tablet might ship.

So if the iPad 3 is the tablet to watch, what can we expect from the less-magical iPad 2? Apple will reveal all, of course, but the expected upgrades include a thinner and lighter design; front- and rear-facing cameras; a larger speaker; a faster processor; more RAM; and possibly a dual-mode wireless chip for CDMA and GSM networks.

New Apple iPad 2.....Less in your Hands More At Your Finger Tips

CEO of the Apple incorporation Mr. Steve Jobs has launched the 2nd generation of the iPads at San Francisco. Apple was the first company to introduce iPads. At the beginning it almost ruled the iPad market. But during the past few years it had a tough competition from its rivals like HP, Samsung, HTC etc. which is mainly due to the GOOGLE’s open source Android system. So in order to have its discrete position in market Apple comes up with the 2nd generation of iPads.

 

 

According to the officials this 2nd generation is thin, lighter and has faster processing, more improved graphics,improved software and front and rear end cameras with 10 hour lasting battery. These iPads are integrated with the Apple’s latest core A5 processor which provides it double processing power than the previous iPads.

 

This iPad2 will be available in 27 countries of the world till March 25 this year. It will have the initial price between $499 and $826.