Just kidding. Of course it doesn’t suck. Just the opposite.
The first reviews are in, and they range from enthusiastic to downright giddy. Everyone raves how light and thin it is, and what a big difference that makes in a tablet. Across the board, the reviewers say Apple has made a great device greater, and it’ll be difficult to beat: on design, performance, experience and price.
The only knocks are the screen (last year’s spec) and the cameras, which are functional but not great.
Here are some highlights of the early reviews:
Killer price
David Pogue in the New York Times gives it a pretty rave review, commenting on the thinness, lightness and great battery life. He notes that the camera is fun with such a large screen, and the built-in gyroscope allows you to walk around objects in a game or look behind you by swinging round.
One of the biggest benefits, though, is the price:
“But the shocker here, though, is that the iPad 2 actually costs less than its comparably equipped Android rivals, like the Xoom and the Samsung Galaxy Tab… It means that for the first time, your heart can succumb to the iPad mystique — without having to ignore the more practical input from your brain.”
Garageband is groundbreaking
Joshua Topolsky in Engadget was impressed with Garageband:
“We were immediately impressed with the layout and thoughtfulness that’s obviously gone into this app; it doesn’t feel like a watered down version of the desktop application — it feels like a whole new game.”
However, the iPad 2 cameras “are really pretty bad.”
Looooong battery life
Jason Snell in Macworld was impressed the faster CPU and graphics didn’t kill the battery:
“The iPad’s all-day battery life, perhaps its killer feature, remains intact.”
Crashproof
Walt Mossberg in the Wall Street Journal compared stability to Android tabs:
“It never crashed in my tests, unlike every Android tablet I’ve tested.”
Mossberg concluded the iPad 2 isn’t perfect, but it’s still the best:
“But the iPad 2 moves the goal posts, by being slimmer and lighter, boosting speed and power, and holding its price advantages, available apps and battery life. As of now, I can comfortably recommend it as the best tablet for average consumers.”
Smooth graphics
Ed Baig in USA Today noted the graphics preformance:
“Apple claims the graphics in the new machine have nine times the horsepower of the original. That’s difficult to measure, but Epic Citadel, a stunning, graphics-rich game, played smoothly in my tests.”
