Poll: IPAD2 on sale day has come. What will you do?

[TheForce]

Today, the second generation of the ipad goes on sale. It's thinner, same screen size, lighter ( not much) faster and more powerful, has 2 cameras, and offers more robust content creation for music and video editing. Battery power has not been compromised and price for each model remains the same.

But, nipping at the heels of iPAD2 are two very popular competitors. The Galaxy Tab and the Motorola XOOM. Galaxy Tab quickly ate into ipad sales late last year offering those who wanted something different than what ipad offered. IT was a 2 camera with video conferencing, and a 7" screen size plus an Android OS placing it apart from the lockdown of the Apple environment. Galaxy Tab continues to sell well although a distant second at this time to ipad. Released a few weeks ago was the far more robust Motorola Xoom. More expensive unless you buy with a plan and get it with the subsidy which actually makes it lower cost than the equivalent ipad2 by a couple $, the Xoom is new yet and compared to the Galaxy, is expected to be the Galaxy Tab killer.

Then we have several other tablets from Manufacturers like Dell, HP, Blackberry, Viewsonic, expecting to release copycats later this summer.

No one is yet saying they will be the ipad killer. Most are hoping to get a piece of the ipad market which in the beginning of ipad era, had competition only from the e-readers and many people mistook the ipad as just another e-reader. Today we know that it is far more than that and has become a market share in communications of its own. Today, the main advantage for ipad owners IS the Apple eco system which many prefer and quickly retired their laptops, replacing with the ipad when on the go. Portability users saw an advantage in the 7" model which was more easily carried while not sacrificing the easy to surf larger than smartphone screen size. Today the market is zeroing in on 7" and 10" tablets. Depending on how you use them, one will dictate a clear advantage over the other for you.

So, what will you be doing> Please select one option:

 

[mperdue]

I'll probably be picking up an iPad 2 today so I can compare its performance to my Tegra 2 dev system. If the graphics are as fast as Apple has been hinting, I'll be able to add some iPad 2 specific effects to a game I'm working on.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I plan on waiting for the iPad 3.

I did however order the HDMI converter today.

 

[bhelms]

Status quo here. At least for the moment my original 'Pad is meeting all my "needs" and has plenty of capability I haven't even tapped yet. I'll cruise by my local BB in the near future and test drive a "2", but I still don't think that will make me convert now. Maybe in another generation. (Hard for me to justify another $800+ investment!)

I'm anxious to learn how Scott makes out with the HDMI adapter. I was very interested in that option hoping it would facilitate full screen transfer for all aps to an HDTV, but it sounds now like that's only available in iPad2.

Has anyone here upgraded their original 'Pad to iOS4.3 yet? What are the differences?

It will be interesting to see if early iPad2 sales equal or exceed the original model, which I believe was around 300K on day 1...

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Ah, Don created a response category just for me.

I actually might get an ipad2, if my boss will buy one. I have some travel money I was not able to use, so she might be willing to use it on an ipad. I wouldn't mind having it if I didn't have to pay for it. I like that it is 20% lighter, and for reading PDFs, I can see some benefits.

 

[TheForce]

Rocky- there has to be more G T owners here isn't there? Heck I almost bought one myself, giving my wife my ipad but when the deal with Verizon opened, I couldn't resist getting the ipad with the 5Spot for just the price of the ipad alone. I still envy your 7" pocket size tablet. Getting the pdf into the ipad is still a bit awkward but once you know the trick, the work flow to get there isn't too bad. My biggest learning curve is itunes. I'm still not comfortable with it. I upgraded my ipad to 4.3 and accidentally erased my ipad version of Avatar. Not sure why that happened as the other movies recovered fine.

 

[DodgerKing]

I already have an iPad and there is really no reason for me to get the iPad2. It is fast enough, big enough, and does everything I need. How often to people plan on taking pictures on their tablet?

 

[bhelms]

...Getting the pdf into the ipad is still a bit awkward but once you know the trick, the work flow to get there isn't too bad...

Don - Not sure what your trick is, but I simply attach the pdf to an e-mail to my 'Pad address. When it appears, I simply tap on the pdf icon in the body of the e-mail and it opens to a full document that can be saved in iBooks (elsewhere?), or sent to a printer...

 

[Frank Jr.]

I am happy with my current iPad. No need for another one, unless Apple has a good upgrade option. Even then I think I will just keep mine. I like Scott's idea about waiting for #3.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Rocky- there has to be more G T owners here isn't there? Heck I almost bought one myself, giving my wife my ipad but when the deal with Verizon opened, I couldn't resist getting the ipad with the 5Spot for just the price of the ipad alone. I still envy your 7" pocket size tablet. Getting the pdf into the ipad is still a bit awkward but once you know the trick, the work flow to get there isn't too bad. My biggest learning curve is itunes. I'm still not comfortable with it. I upgraded my ipad to 4.3 and accidentally erased my ipad version of Avatar. Not sure why that happened as the other movies recovered fine.

I'd be using dropbox to get the file, but I really am quite happy with the GTab, the 7" tablet is very functional for me. I'd only get an ipad if I can get one without having to pay for it And even then I suspect I'd still use my GTab for a lot.

 

[bhelms]

I too was wondering if Apple would offer some kind of trade-in, but on second thought why would they want or need to do that? I won't make a decision either way until I get to play with one and figure out what the added capabilities mean to me. Being able to transfer the screen image to a TV via HDMI for all aps is quite attractive to me but I'm not uncertain if the other upgrades have any value for me now. Perhaps the next gen might have something that's simply irresistible...

 

[Steve Mehs]

Like I said in the past, I will get the first Motorola or HTC 10” tablet running Honeycomb available on Sprint. If more then one gets launched around the same time, I’ll take the best one. I’m really no rush for a tablet and really have no practical use for one but I’ll get one someday. The Xoom is the only tablet I’ve used that impresses me, and I honestly didn’t think it would, too bad it’s only on Verizon.

 

[TheForce]

Trick? It's just a procedure. No real magic. LOL! It depends on which app you use or if you do as bhelms suggested. I wanted all my pdf's in one place so I tried a few apps. The one I use is simple enough and that is to type in the IP of the wifi connected address on the computer's browser where the pdf resides. Then select upload and browse the computer for the pdf to upload. It shows up in the PDF File viewer. You can do this for web addresses as well.

 

[lparsons21]

I already have an iPad and there is really no reason for me to get the iPad2. It is fast enough, big enough, and does everything I need. How often to people plan on taking pictures on their tablet?

+1

For me, there is no reason to buy an iPad2 as the first gen does all I want to do with a ultra-portable tablet.

 

[jrp]

Had to stop by the local Apple store yesterday for a non-iPad related purchase. Made the mistake of showing up about a bit after 4:00. The store was closed, preparing, and they had about 250 people lined up outside. Fortunately, I had some other errands to run. Came back about 7:00. They had just sold out if iPad2s. The store was a zoo, but we were able to take care of what we needed. People were still three deep around the table that had the demo models.

 

[Foxbat]

The Mac boards are abuzz with display backlight leaking issues on the iPad 2. People have theories about why there are leaks, but two points were made: First, this could be like the iPhone 4 "yellow screen" issue that is caused by the adhesive bounding the LCD to the glass, but the yellowing goes away after the bounding agent dries. The backlight leakage issue could be caused by the same thing and go away after the display matures.

Secondly, if you have this problem, return the iPad 2 for an exchange or refund. Apple has been great about making their customers happy.

 

[lparsons21]

The display backlight leaking issue is not a new one for the iOS devices. It has been there on the iPhone/Touch and 1st gen iPad too. Apple has been good about swapping them out, so it really isn't a very big issue.

As for a trade-in program, from all reports I've seen, those that have decided to sell their current iPad to get the 2nd gen are getting around 75% of the price they paid originally. That's pretty darned good, imo.

 

[Foxbat]

Well, I stopped by our local Apple store last night and played with the new iPad 2. I had to kill about two dozen apps that were in the background, but the iPad was just as responsive afterwards, so having a bunch of apps running in the background didn't slow it down.

I fired up the Camera app first and took a picture with the "HD" camera. Blech. Plenty of JPEG artifacts, such that you couldn't read the smaller text on the placard I had used as my test subject. The front camera seemed to take a better picture, but I did not try to capture the same item (it's rather hard to guess what you're aiming at when the screen is facing away from you, plus you can't see where the shutter is.) So, if you were waiting for an iPad you could use to take pictures as part of a insurance documentation collection app, keep on waiting, or pick up an iPad Prime for $100 off and get a good 5 Megapixel point-n-shoot with the money you saved.

I also got to play around with the Smart Cover. While it is pretty trick with the magnets, I noticed that the leather Smart Cover was too heavy for the magnets to keep attached if you turned the iPad 2 screen-side down. It seemed to sag from the center, which then dragged the far edge away from the magnet in the iPad surround, which caused the whole cover to fall open. The cheaper foam cover may be lighter which might help it hold on. Really, Apple should have put another set of weaker magnets in the center of the Smart Cover to help hold it in place no matter how you hold it.

So, long story short, I did not walk out of the store with a new iPad. The store had one 64 GB Black Wi-Fi iPad 2 in stock which made my decision easier, but I did end up buying the Digital AV Adapter for my iPhone 4. I could have used this back in January when the ski chalet we were staying at had a LG LCD with some spare HDMI inputs. If I had this, I could have played back the videos on my iPhone 4 that I had loaded for the trip. I guess I'll be ready for next year. At home, the Digital AV adapter lets me play content back on my Toshiba LCD, but since I already have an Apple TV plugged into it, this is more for the Samsung downstairs. I'll let you know about the 5.1 audio when I get it plugged into my Yamaha's HDMI input.

The Apple store did have some Belkin 1.8m HDMI cables that were the thinest HDMI cables I've seen. They were under $20, too, so that will be the ticket for hooking this into the Yamaha and for trips.

 

[Ramy]

I have no plans to buy a tablet at this time.

 

[TheForce]

Roland- Thanks for your review. I hope to get the AV adapter this week if I can find one in stock. Good to know about the leather cover. My wife likes them but I was equally not impressed. I also was extremely disappointed in the PQ of the cameras. No better than my cell phone. HD my ass! Who are they trying to kid! You have the right idea. I'll also check out the HDMI extension cable you suggested. I look forward to having my ipad feed into my Home theater screen but wish it could do the full ipad display. So far that feature is my only incentive to get an ipad2. I'll pass and look forward to ipad3.

Rocky- Just curious. Would you take some time to compare the ipad2 cameras with your Samsung Galaxy cameras? I'd like to hear how they compare. I will try the same but Best Buy doesn't have a galaxy set up to demo last I saw.