Official iPad Thread

[Quicksilver]

I saw a lot of the video but heres some information from an article that caught my attention.

I’m especially intrigued by GarageBand. This iPad-only app (apparently both for iPad 1 and iPad 2) is not just a touch-screen-based port of the Mac version of GarageBand. It offers new touch instrument and smart instrument features. These promise to make playing music on an iPad incredibly easy, even for those with little or no musical background. Of course, you can also use GarageBand as a multi-track recording studio. Do a quick search of YouTube and you’ll find a wealth of videos showcasing the iPad as an impressive musical instrument. With GarageBand, it just gets better.

There are dozens of third-party music-playing and music-recording apps currently in the App Store. GarageBand will probably mean the end of many of these apps. Overall, this may prove to be a good thing. I prefer one app that does most or all of what I need for a specific task — rather than having to acquire a dozen apps and shifting among them.

As for connecting external instruments to GarageBand, Apple’s video on the iPad 2 shows an adapter for connecting a guitar. It’s not from Apple. It’s apparently the new Apogee JAM adapter, available March 31. JAM only works to connect electric guitars. While it’s made specifically for GarageBand, Apogee says it will work with “other iOS compatible music and guitar applications” including ones that run on an iPhone or iPod touch.

Can we expect other adapters for connecting other instruments, such as digital pianos, to the iPad? I would guess yes, but have seen no announcements as yet.

My choice so far has me leaning for the WiFi model, no 3G

The iPad (2) Scores Again | Ted Landau's User Friendly View | The Mac Observer

[Weasel]

Looking at the chart posted above it looks like the Motorola is on similar grounds as the iPad2, and both are above the other three... But the motorola is actually more expensive than the apple.

Anyone want to start a pool on when google jumps up and makes the android system full scale and makes their own PC?

[mach330]

Originally Posted by Weasel

Looking at the chart posted above it looks like the Motorola is on similar grounds as the iPad2, and both are above the other three... But the motorola is actually more expensive than the apple.

Anyone want to start a pool on when google jumps up and makes the android system full scale and makes their own PC?

you're not comparing apples to apples. there's no wifi only xoom yet. there will be. also, xoom has 32G. The 32G iPad is $599. so price was it'll be pretty close. xoom blows the ipad 2 on specs. of course that doesn't mean anything. i'll wait for the pricing on the wifi xoom and make my decision. i do like the facetime which i can use with my macbook air.

[LeMansX5]

this article goes with the chart above.

Judged on specs alone, the Apple iPad 2 doesn't do much more than keep pace with its tablet rivals. It's a bit thinner that its major rivals--the Motorola Xoom, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, the HP TouchPad, and the RIM BlackBerry PlayBook--and it's lighter than most. But its processor appears to be on a par with those of other tablets, and its cameras' resolutions seem to be lower.

Of course, people don't buy tablets based on specs alone. The iPad 2 will carry a base price ($499) that no major competitor has managed to match; it will come with a new version of iOS, a mobile operating system that many people prefer; and owners will have access to vastly more apps than are available for any other tablet. Plus, Steve Jobs promised that the iPad 2 would ship on March 11. Of the competing tablets we looked at, only the Xoom is already shipping. There are no hard availability dates for the other competitors.

Apple has shaved off a third of the thickness of the original iPad in the iPad 2, making it the thinnest tablet in this comparison.

At 1.35 pounds, the iPad 2 is also lighter, on a par with Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet as the lightest of the roughly 10-inch-screen tablets. Motorola's Xoom and HP's TouchPad are slightly heavier at 1.6 pounds.

Apple didn't change the display of the iPad 2: As on the original iPad, it has a 1024-by-768-pixel resolution and a 9.7-inch size (same as the TouchPad). The Android tablets from Motorola and Samsung have 10.1-inch screens with 1280-by-800-pixel resolution.

The iPad 2 will have the largest available built-in storage (64GB), but the Xoom probably trumps that advantage by providing 32GB of internal storage plus expandable storage via an SD Card in a future software update.

The iPad 2 is also stronger under the hood. It packs an Apple A5 dual-core 1GHz processor, putting it on the same level with all of the other tablets in the comparison except the TouchPad, which will have a 1.2GHz dual-core processor (the fastest pure clock speed of this comparison). Of course, clock speed and number of cores don't in themselves determine how fast a tablet is or how well it manages power. That determination will require side-by-side testing.

Apple isn't saying how much RAM the iPad 2 contains (the original had 256MB, some are speculating that the new version has at least 512MB), but the Xoom, the TouchPad, and the BlackBerry PlayBook have 1GB of RAM inside.

The iPad needed front- and rear-facing cameras to keep pace with the competition, so Apple added a front-facing camera for video calling and a second camera on the back. Apple didn't specify the megapixel count of the back-facing camera, beyond saying that it records 720p HD video. Nevertheless, even with the new additions, Apple appears to trail in megapixel count, especially when matched against the Galaxy Tab 10.1's 2-megapixel and 8-megapixel cameras.

Apple has improved the speaker on the iPad 2, introducing a larger, wider grill. But all of its rivals have stereo speakers.

The iPad 2 will come in two separate 3G models--one for Verizon and the other for AT&T--alongside the Wi-Fi-only model. Both the Xoom and the Galaxy Tab will come only in a 3G version initially, with Wi-Fi only versions to follow. For its part, the TouchPad will come only with Wi-Fi support at the beginning, with 3G versions to follow.

The Xoom will soon be the only 4G tablet, however. Motorola has said that the Xoom can receive a free 4G radio update soon

[SuperGreg]

Originally Posted by LeMansX5

this article goes with the chart above.

Judged on specs alone, the Apple iPad 2 doesn't do much more than keep pace with its tablet rivals. It's a bit thinner that its major rivals--the Motorola Xoom, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, the HP TouchPad, and the RIM BlackBerry PlayBook--and it's lighter than most. But its processor appears to be on a par with those of other tablets, and its cameras' resolutions seem to be lower.

Of course, people don't buy tablets based on specs alone. The iPad 2 will carry a base price ($499) that no major competitor has managed to match; it will come with a new version of iOS, a mobile operating system that many people prefer; and owners will have access to vastly more apps than are available for any other tablet. Plus, Steve Jobs promised that the iPad 2 would ship on March 11. Of the competing tablets we looked at, only the Xoom is already shipping. There are no hard availability dates for the other competitors.

Apple has shaved off a third of the thickness of the original iPad in the iPad 2, making it the thinnest tablet in this comparison.

At 1.35 pounds, the iPad 2 is also lighter, on a par with Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet as the lightest of the roughly 10-inch-screen tablets. Motorola's Xoom and HP's TouchPad are slightly heavier at 1.6 pounds.

Apple didn't change the display of the iPad 2: As on the original iPad, it has a 1024-by-768-pixel resolution and a 9.7-inch size (same as the TouchPad). The Android tablets from Motorola and Samsung have 10.1-inch screens with 1280-by-800-pixel resolution.

The iPad 2 will have the largest available built-in storage (64GB), but the Xoom probably trumps that advantage by providing 32GB of internal storage plus expandable storage via an SD Card in a future software update.

The iPad 2 is also stronger under the hood. It packs an Apple A5 dual-core 1GHz processor, putting it on the same level with all of the other tablets in the comparison except the TouchPad, which will have a 1.2GHz dual-core processor (the fastest pure clock speed of this comparison). Of course, clock speed and number of cores don't in themselves determine how fast a tablet is or how well it manages power. That determination will require side-by-side testing.

Apple isn't saying how much RAM the iPad 2 contains (the original had 256MB, some are speculating that the new version has at least 512MB), but the Xoom, the TouchPad, and the BlackBerry PlayBook have 1GB of RAM inside.

The iPad needed front- and rear-facing cameras to keep pace with the competition, so Apple added a front-facing camera for video calling and a second camera on the back. Apple didn't specify the megapixel count of the back-facing camera, beyond saying that it records 720p HD video. Nevertheless, even with the new additions, Apple appears to trail in megapixel count, especially when matched against the Galaxy Tab 10.1's 2-megapixel and 8-megapixel cameras.

Apple has improved the speaker on the iPad 2, introducing a larger, wider grill. But all of its rivals have stereo speakers.

The iPad 2 will come in two separate 3G models--one for Verizon and the other for AT&T--alongside the Wi-Fi-only model. Both the Xoom and the Galaxy Tab will come only in a 3G version initially, with Wi-Fi only versions to follow. For its part, the TouchPad will come only with Wi-Fi support at the beginning, with 3G versions to follow.

The Xoom will soon be the only 4G tablet, however. Motorola has said that the Xoom can receive a free 4G radio update soon

65,000+ iPad specific Apps, case closed! Oh, just sit that new iPad2 next to any competitor and see which one you want to hold!

[LeMansX5]

Originally Posted by SuperGreg

65,000+ iPad specific Apps, case closed!

That will change in not too distant future. Trust me. iPhone is already loosing market to Androids (Attack of clones). 1 to 5 is the latest stat I believe.

-A longtime iPhone user

[SuperGreg]

Originally Posted by AlexK

It's a good feature for people who want to use it, but Verizon's (or any other provider who will switch to LTE) coverage is still not there yet (Verizon promised a proper coverage by 2013), so I think Apple intentionally didn't include it because of that. I don't think that even the next-gen iPhone 4 refresh (iPhone 5?) due out this summer will have support for LTE.

Agreed

[SuperGreg]

Originally Posted by AlexK

B.t.w, it's funny how almost everyone compares the screen sizes and resolutions and forgets to compare the different technologies that such screens use and which have significant impact on the viewing quality. For example, iPad (both old and new) uses IPS LCD display, which offers excellent viewing angles and a very good color reproduction (up to 16.7 million colors, or 8 bit per color channel, depending on implementation). Motorola Xoom seems to have an inferior screen based on some different technology (probably not a TN, but some type of MVA technology) - the display specs say that it can only display 262k colors (or 6 bit per color channel) and a few reviews (here and here) don't seem to be very favorable about its viewing angles (and other stuff like contract). Which, b.t.w, is interesting considering Xoom costs MORE than comparable iPad 2

Excellent points Alex!

[E61Silver]

It sure seems like they charge a lot for 3G. I think I would rather use my Droid X as a hot spot.

[mach330]

Originally Posted by E61Silver

It sure seems like they charge a lot for 3G. I think I would rather use my Droid X as a hot spot.

and it's free using wifi tether. which is why i would never get a 3g/4g tablet. i already have my phone for internet.