By: Aseem Gaurav, March 5, 2011 (New Delhi)
Apple Inc has not disappointed with the launch of its next generation iPad. The verdict by the army of bloggers and technology addicts is out and the iPad 2, which was unveiled by Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs, has managed to draw enough admiration that is sure to keep it ahead of its competitors. I must mention here that the iPad 2 is evolutionary, not as revolutionary as the first iPad. The cosmetic makeover done by the company to its best selling computer tablet is a next step forward as it tries to catch up with what other competitors have been already offering for some time now.
With much better hardware yet keeping the same prices as the last generation iPad, I think Apple should continue to dominate the tablet space.
iPad 2 is thinner, lighter, faster and incorporates a lot of new features. In terms of looks, the iPad 2 is almost similar to its predecessor, with a few important tweaks, like front- and rear-facing cameras. It measures 9.5 x 7.31 x 0.34 inches in dimension and weighs 1.33-1.35 pounds and runs with the new A5 processor, powered by Qualcomm dual-mode GSM/CDMA chip. It is armed with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth connectivity, equipped with Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, 3-axis gyro Sensors with a battery life of Up to 10 hours.
Despite all such additions, I think Apple could have gone a little step further and should have added, features meant to improve the user experience. Here is a list of five such important features that are missing in the Apple iPad2.
Retina Display:
Apple’s “Retina Display” technology first appeared on the iPhone 4 and later made it into the latest version of the iPod Touch. But that’s missing in the new iPad2. Retina Display is essentially a high-end screen with four times as many pixels in the same screen real estate. Earlier it was rumoured that the Apple was planning to add a Retina Display to the tablet, but the company has later said that Apple was saving it for the third generation of the device.
No USB port, No SD card slot:
This was one such upgrade that everyone was looking forward to which was rumoured earlier also. The reason behind this is Apple’s former resistance to anything that could enable the transfer of non-Apple content.
Thunderbolt connectivity:
Thunderbolt is Intel’s super fast port and so far, it’s only available on Apple’s MacBook Pro line. Thunderbolt supports high-resolution displays and high-speed data transfer in an all-in one port. Its use promises to bring speeds in excess of USB 3.0, meaning the iPad sync go faster when plugging in the device to a computer. Thunderbolt would have been a welcome addition to the iPad 2, as would a USB port for connecting external storage.
Near Field Communications technology:
Predictably, there were plenty of consumer comments on the iPad 2 having Near Field Communications technology. So far, Google is the only player with a NFC-enabled device with its Android 2.3-powered Nexus S. NFC refers to a short-range high frequency wireless communication technology. It is used in payment systems such as London Transport’s Oyster card.
NFC (Near Field Communications) is completely absent from the iPad Version 2.0.
4G:
Last but not the least, the one of the major things that could have made it to the iPad 2 is the 4g technology, the latest version of the 3G. The device not supporting 4G network speeds has drawn criticism from everyone as Motorola’s Zoom tablet will soon have their Xoom tablet fully equipped with 4G LTE support.
Apple sold over 15 million iPads in 9 months in 2010 and claims 2011 is “clearly the year of iPad 2.″
