At last! Apple unveiled the
iPad 2!Altho the redesign was awesome I was kinda disappointed when they did not include a "built-in SD Card reader" as the recent rumors said, specially when they integrated a tablet version of their famous
iMovie and
Garageband softwares that will surely make photographers, videographers and musicians like us jump with joy but will surely feel "bitin" because we still have to use proprietary add-ons like "
Apple Camera Connection Kit" (which I already have heheh).
here it is..
As you can see it has a flatter back now and sharp edges that eliminated the "sides" (you can almost see all physical buttons by solely looking at the back), the speakers was redesigned and realigned to the lower back with a frequency response of
20Hz to 20,000Hz and user configurable maximum volume output -- they redesigned this probably to go by using the built-in Garageband app with or without studio monitor headphones.
The processing power was also upgraded with the now
dual-core Apple A5 chip (still at 1GHZ tho) that also perform tremendously without sipping a lot of juice thats why the iPad 2 retained the same
10-Hour continuous operation as same as its earlier iteration -- with almost a month in standby mode.
Still with the same
1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi) in 9.7 inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display, I was not surprised that they did not pushed-through with the rumored retina-display for it as the original iPad itself performed extremely well resolution-wise so there is no point to re-enhance it as its already "big"
The obvious upgrade is the
dual camera as it is now a standard among other competing tablet devices thus apple introduced it to the iPad 2 to be used specifically on the "facetime" and "photo booth" apps, the front camera is VGA with video recording up to 30 frames per second with audio also VGA-quality still camera photo exposures (same as the iPhone 4), the back camera is in HD when recording videos (720p) up to 30 frames per second with audio with 5x digital zoom. -- altho I dont find it really appropriate to record video and take photographs with a gargantuan tablet.. the front facing camera is more logical for video conferences and meeting thru facetime.
Overall the iPad 2 is a major update of its line and tho without major disappointments in my part as the one I am really looking forward to with it did not materialize.. and for me it is the most important thing that I will use it to.. the built-in SD Card reader, we know apple has reasons for not including it but it would really maximize the use of the iPad 2.
The price they said is still the same, but I dont know here in the Philippines..
release date will be this March (US) and early next month (EU-Asia)
will I buy it? --
definitely!! 
