Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi Review

Price
Euro200
Pak RupeeRs.9,499

Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi Review

Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi Review

Introduction

Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi is a tablet PC having a wonderful slimmer design which is eye catching for the users. It has 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology, Photo and video geotagging over Wi-Fi, Built-in 25-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery, Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music. It has video mirroring and video out support which is up to 1080p with Apple Digital AV Adapter or Apple VGA Adapter and mail attachment support too. The Apple iPad 2 brings a slimmer design, faster processing, dual cameras, and FaceTime video chat to a tablet which gives competition to other devices in the market. If user wants a tablet that is easy to use, has the best battery life, lots of apps, and the smoothest operating system, then this is the tablet for user.

Design

The aluminum body of Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi is just 8.8mm deep, which makes it slimmer than most smartphones, and sits comfortably in users hand and user can easily handle it. The capacitive touch-screen measures 9.7 inches and is surrounded by a bezel that is either white or black. The virtual keyboard is very comfortable to use in both landscape and portrait mode.

Advantages

  • The virtual keyboard is very comfortable to use in both landscape and portrait mode.
  • This time, the iPad's back is completely flat so it doesn't wobble when you place it on its back.
  • It is 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter, so it feels even more comfortable in users hands. And it makes surfing the web, checking email, watching movies, and reading books so natural, user might forget there's incredible technology under his fingers.
  • LED backlighting makes everything you see remarkably crisp, vivid, and bright. Even in places with low light, like an airplane.
  • Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi is one big, beautiful display which has 9.7 inches of high-resolution photos, movies, web pages, books, and more.

Keys And Controls

There's a home button at the bottom, and at the top is a camera suitable for video calls. There is a Home key on the front, the power/screen lock key on top, plus a volume rocker on the right. Just above the volume rocker is the screen rotation lock, which doubles as a mute button. The top of the iPad 2 features the 3.5mm audio jack, the Power/Lock key and the microphone.

Performance

Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi performance is speedy, smooth and natural, the iPad 2 does a great job when it comes to email, web and gaming. It is the device for the new-media generation, but the lack of Flash video is a drawback. The guts of the iPad have been stepped up to include 512MB of RAM (twice the RAM of the original iPad), a 200-MHz bus, and the new dual-core A5 chip. The RAM on the iPad 2 is half that on the Android models, but whether this will truly impact usability or is merely a reflection of Apple's home-team advantage as both hardware and operating system manufacturer remains to be seen.

Advantages

  • Performance tests showed that Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi completed the Sunspider 0.9.1 Javascript test in 2.1 seconds. That result is full 1.2 seconds faster than the iPad 1, and was twice as fast as the iPhone 4.
  • Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi matched the Android 3.0, dual-core Tegra 2-based Motorola Xoom, and it was three times as fast as Samsung's single-core Galaxy Tab.
  • Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi hammered the Motorola Xoom in startup time, it was 43 percent faster, requiring just 26 seconds to the Xoom's 46 seconds.

Disadvantages

  • Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi lacks in Flash video.

Cameras and FaceTime

There are two cameras on Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi. One on the front and one is on the back.. They are designed for FaceTime video calling, and they work together so user can talk to his favorite people. The front camera puts user and his friend face-to-face. It can switch to the back camera during users video call to share where he is, who he is with, or what is going on around him. When user is not using FaceTime, let the back camera roll if he sees something movie worthy.

The FaceTime video-calls became quite popular among Apple fans. The FaceTime on iPad 2 is done the same way as on the last-gen iPod Touch and Mac OS X. User need to be signed with his verified Apple ID. Then he must have the phone number if user is calling someone with an iPhone 4 or the email for iPod Touch, iPad 2 or Mac OS X users saved into his contact list. This is necessary because there is no dialer app here, just the FaceTime one.

Advantages

  • The FaceTime calls works fine, you just need enough friends with FaceTime-capable iGadget and a good Wi-Fi connection.
  • FaceTime calls, and as long as the room is well lit, the front-facing camera does exactly what it's supposed to and does that one thing very well.
  • Photo Booth is something Mac users will be very familiar with and is meant solely to take fun effects-laden shots with the front facing camera and it also shows the power of Apple's new tablet as it can render nine unique photo effects in real time.

Disadvantages

  • There is no zoom option for the video camera.
  • User should not expect great pictures in low-light scenarios
  • There is still no Flash video support.
  • The rear camera turned out to be a major disappointment. Despite shooting decent 720p video, it's basically unusable for truly high quality still shots.
  • It can handle some low-light conditions, but it's still noisy and crops the shots to a low 960x720 image.

Multimedia

Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi is a fantastic media player. Its screen is clear and bright. Its speakers also offer clear and full sound. The new operating system Safari works faster and pages are loaded over Wi-Fi in about few seconds. However there is one big problem, it has no support for flash encoded web video. This is even more of a problem on a tablet where the big screen is just made for watching video.

Advantages

  • Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi screen is clear and bright.
  • Its speakers also offer clear and full sound.
  • The new operating system Safari works faster and pages are loaded over Wi-Fi in about few seconds.

Disadvantages

  • There is one big problem, it has no support for flash encoded web video. This is even more of a problem on a tablet where the big screen is just made for watching video.
  • Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi also highlights the failings of iTunes as a media manager. User can drag and drop photos from the iPad to a computer, but not the other way round and user has to use iTunes to move music and movies.
  • Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi has made it easy to move media library through its software, but many will find the fact that not all high-quality file formats are supported which makes it very frustrating.
  • There is no support for DivX, which is rapidly becoming the format of choice for compressed online video.
  • No USB port or external memory slot that would at least allow to upload video without having to go through iTunes. It all adds up to Apple wanting to send its users down a single path into its operating system.
  • The entry-level iPad 2 offers 16GB, which is useless for movies or music, if user wants to watch and listen to music without any issues than he has to get a decent 32GB model which means he has to pay amount, which makes it costly.

Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi Smart Cover

The iPad Smart Cover falls perfectly into place and stays put to protect users Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi screen and it does not add bulk to its thin, light design. When user opens the Smart Cover and iPad wakes up instantly and when user close, iPad goes to sleep automatically. There is one more smart part which transforms into the perfect movie-watching, game-playing, web-surfing stand. It comes in 10 bright colors including five in rich, aniline-dyed Italian leather. User can choose his favorite colors, and his iPad will look smart all around.

Advantages

  • Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi Smart Cover falls perfectly into place and stays put to protect users iPad screen and it doesn't add bulk to its thin, light design.
  • When user opens the Smart Cover and iPad wakes up instantly and when user close, iPad goes to sleep automatically.
  • Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi has one more smart part which transforms into the perfect movie-watching, game-playing, web-surfing stand. It comes in 10 bright colors including five in rich, aniline-dyed Italian leather. User can choose his favorite colors, and iPad will give a smart look all around.

iOS 4

iOS 4 is the operating system for iPad along with iPhone and iPod touch. User can easily browse, read, and see everything just by touching the screen. It includes all the powerful, innovative, and fun built-in apps which are used in daily lives, in fact many times a day. And it is the platform on which more than 65,000 other amazing apps have been created for iPad. It is highly secure, stable, and responsive, and it is made to work seamlessly with the iPad hardware. iOS 4 is the reason no other device has yet come close to iPad.

Advantages

  • User can easily browse, read, and see everything just by touching the screen.
  • It includes all the powerful, innovative, and fun built-in apps which are used in daily lives, in fact many times a day.
  • It is the platform on which more than 65,000 other amazing apps have been created for iPad.
  • It is highly secure, stable, and responsive, and it is made to work seamlessly with the iPad hardware.

Disadvantages

  • The incremental updates in iOS 4.3 has the switch on iPad's side is a mute button or a rotation lock which is frustrating. They do nothing to refresh or improve upon iOS, and that's something that feels necessary in the face of the pressure coming from competing operating systems on current and forthcoming tablets like for instance Google's Android 3.0, HP's WebOS, and RIM's PlayBook OS.
  • Apple's reliance on iTunes to facilitate all data transfers and backups is getting increasingly tiresome. On Windows, iTunes is irritating and more limiting than it is on Macs, and ultimately, it is wrong to require consumers to connect a tablet to a PC for basics like data backup and software updates, especially if the tablet is supposed to replace the computer.

Email

Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi email is a highlight of the iPad. It is possible to set up Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo and Microsoft Exchange, as well as webmail to feed into your device. However, if user has any technical leanings he can get round this by setting up his main account as an Exchange one. User will find the settings if he does a Google search. It will also sync contacts to users iPad.

Games and apps

Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi is best for people who are very much interested in games. One of the big benefits of the iPad 2 is the number of apps user can choose from the App Store. The touch screen make the iPad the ideal device if users want to play games such as Cut the Rope, big screen makes it far easier as well as getting into the action of highly detailed RPG, racing and shoots games such as Asphalt HD. And the new graphics card makes the games look far better, while that dual-core processor helps them to run really smoothly.

Advantages

  • Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi is an ideal device for users if they are game lovers.
  • Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi big screen makes it far easier as well as getting into the action of highly detailed RPG, racing and shoots games such as Asphalt HD.
  • The new graphics card makes the games look far better, while that dual-core processor helps them to run really smoothly.

Battery power

Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi battery life is amazingly good. Despite its slim body and increase in power, user will still get at least 10 hours out of a full battery, as he gets on the original. If user is not using it all day, user will easily get two days out of a full charge.

Advantages

  • The power-efficient A5 chip and iOS keep battery life from fading away, so you can get carried away.
  • User will still get at least 10 hours out of a full battery.
  • If user is not using it all day, user will easily get two days out of a full charge.

Should I Buy an Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi or not?

"Should I buy Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi or not?" This question arises in every user mind when spending amount to get a good PC tablet. There is no point to say that the iPad 2 lacks some elements that would make it a complete package. It has drawbacks like there is no USB support because there is no USB port, there is no built in SD card reader, user is unable to multitask as it can be done on a regular computer, camera is weak, flash enabled videos cannot be uploaded because flash is not supported, user cannot use the typical drag and drop management most people are used to and it is not completely able to support GPS.

But on the same hand if user is considering upgrading from the iPad 1, he will see that the lighter weight and tapered body make the iPad 2 more comfortable to hold and even better looking than the original. Its better performance and improved graphics are welcoming, and because of improved graphics user will have tremendous fun while playing games. This is not the end there are lots of other benefits too like The iPad has an extraordinary ten hour battery life before it needs recharging, If user has Wi-Fi in your home, you can use your iPad there. It has a built in microphone and speaker, It supports many third party applications without modification, user can find an fantastic amount of apps for the iPad at the iTunes store-many for free or for low cost, it is highly efficient in reading eBooks, magazines and newspapers on it. Browsing the web, playing games and emailing is a joy thanks to the wonderfully tactile touch-screen and virtual built in keyboard.

Overall, the Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi is the best tablet you can buy right now. The iPad 2 Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi simply provides a better user experience and operates more gracefully media than Android devices. If you're in the market for a tablet today, though, iPad 2 remains the class act to beat. Yes, it has limitations and omissions in its hardware, but on balance, it is the tablet that is best prepared, right now, for the mass-market consumer. Hopefully it will show more improvements in future too.