iPad 2 v iPad – what are the main differences?

The way the computer community has been hyperventilating over the new Apple iPad 2, you would think that nobody in their right mind would buy a different tablet in 2011 – or even buy a regular iPad. So what makes the iPad 2 so different to its predecessor, and will it really make the good old (well, not that old) iPad superfluous?

Among the few things that haven’t been changed is the screen resolution, which remains the same as the old iPad -  1024 x 768. Then there is the screen size (9.7 inch), the storage options (16, 32 or 64Gb) and connectivity specs. Apart from that, the iPad 2 has been vamped up in pretty much every department.

The most obvious improvement is the inclusion of not one, but two cameras – one at the back, one at the front. A pretty glaring omission, the lack of a camera now has been fixed – although the photo quality isn’t great. Making videos with the iPad 2 is slightly cumbersome (the iMovie app isn’t as intricate as the full software version), but, for a tablet, the results are very good.

The Apple iPad 2 is also lighter (601g as opposed to 680g) and 5mm slimmer than the 13.3mm-thick iPad, while boasting a beefier processing power, thanks to its dual-core Apple A5 processor. Apps, as a result, will load and run much quicker.

The back of the iPad 2 is flat, where the iPad tended to wobble on tables because of its rounded surface. This is a simple but effective tweak, and the updated version looks slightly better, too.
The iPad 2 is cheaper to buy than the iPad when it first came out, so users will definitely get more value for money.

Since the iPad 2 has sold out in the UK within 24 hours of its launch, however, people will have to wait for up to a month until they can upgrade to the newer model.

Until then, the iPad will do fine –but only if you already have one.