As promised we examine the new features of the iPad 2 and who should buy and who should pass. Just in case you missed it, the iPad 2 was released in March and already Apple claims to have shipped more than 2 Million units in March. Shortages of screens and other components are delaying shipments for up to 4 weeks right now. The iPad 2 sports a slimmer footprint, better screen, 2 cameras, faster processor, and video calling which was curiously missing from the original iPad much to everyone's surprise/disappointment. But the question is should you buy one? Certainly no one does a better job than Jobs at building hype and subsequent demand, that is a primary reason for Apple's success and soaring stock price, but even with the new iPad 2 not everyone who thinks they need or want the new iPad 2 should actually buy it.
So who should buy and who should pass? Check out our list below to see whether you should buy or pass.
Buy it if you...
Are one of those who’ve waited and not yet purchased an iPad - People who have already determined the iPad is a good fit for their light computing and media consumption needs but have not yet purchased one or any of the competing tablets should take the plunge. The iPad 2 benefits from a plethora of apps and great battery life while doubling the performance, adding video calls, and slimming down the form factor — all while maintaining the same price as the original. If you’ve waited to purchase, congratulations, you now get a lot more your hard earned cash.
Video Callers - If you’re already an iPad owner but need or miss the video calling available on the iPhone and iPod Touch, then you should upgrade. This was one of the major complaints of the original iPad. How could Apple have left this off the original iPad? I guess only Steve Jobs and his bankers can offer a reason for that :) The iPad 2’s cameras are all about video calls. Apple certainly didn’t design this to be a device for taking high quality still photos. The front-facing camera is for face-to-face calling and the back camera is primarily for showing your video callers what you see.
Mobile Multimedia Creators - With the upgrade to a dual core processor and the addition of Apple multimedia apps like iMovie and GarageBand for the iPad 2, the Apple tablet is expanding beyond being primarily a consumption device to becoming more of a creation device — at least for multimedia creation of audio, video, and podcasts. Those of you that want to test the iPad as a mobile creation device with multi-touch should purchase the iPad 2.
Pass if you...
Fans of iPad 1.0 - The worst reason for upgrading — and I’ve heard this a lot more than expected — is “I really like the original iPad so I’m going to get the new one.” If you’re not going to do much video calling and you’re not going to experiment with the iPad for creating videos and podcasts, then there’s really not much reason to upgrade from iPad 1 to iPad 2. You don’t really need the dual core if you’re not doing all the video calling and multimedia creation, and the slightly thinner/lighter form factor of the iPad 2 is nice but far from essential. The original iPad is still a great device and holding on to it for another year until the iPad 3 and the next generation of competitor tablets arrives could be a very wise choice.
Book Readers - If one of the main reasons that you want an iPad is to use it as an e-reader then I wouldn’t recommend the iPad 2. For hard-core readers who read 2+ hours at a time, who read mostly books, or who spend a lot of time reading outside in full sunlight, then I’d recommend an Amazon Kindle instead. If you’re an omnivorous reader who wants a tablet primarily to read Web pages, magazine articles, non-fiction books with lots of maps and graphics, and PDF documents, then I’d simply recommend picking up an iPad 1, which lots of upgraders are currently unloading for as low as $300.
Supporters of Open Standards - Like the iPod before it, the iPad has appealed to a much wider audience than just traditional Mac and Apple fans. However, the thing to keep in mind before buying the iPad — especially if it’s your first Apple device — is that it will start to insidiously rope you into the Apple ecosystem. Sure, you can get content from outside the Apple ecosystem and use it on your iPad, using Amazon music and videos or Netflix or Barnes & Noble Nook, for example, but you’ll quickly find that it’s easier to just use the Apple ecosystem to buy content. Before you know it, you’ll have a small library of content with DRM that only works in iTunes and on Apple devices (this isn’t the case with music any more, but it is still the case with movies and TV shows). So, next time you upgrade you’ll be more likely to buy another Apple product so that you don’t orphan a bunch of your content. If you’re a supporter of open standards and use a lot of different platforms (e.g. Windows, Linux, Android, Xbox 360, etc.), then you’ll have a hard time wrestling with the iPad to make it work with all of your content and open file formats, and you’ll especially have a hard time getting content from the iPad to play nice with other platforms. You’re probably better off waiting for a really good Android tablet to emerge.
The bottom line is the iPad 2 has some compelling features that make it a good buy for some, but not enough things to warrant upgrading if you do not need them.