iPad 2 - page 15

Like we said, the iPad 2 is one slim sexy slab of computing awesomeness. Most of the tech press has yawned at the iPad 2 because it doesn’t seem like there’s a ton of new features. But it’s the small changes — the thinness, the speed, the cameras – -that make all the difference. The iPad 2 is the tablet done right — finally.

For regular consumers, the iPad 2 is irresistible. Look around: the whole world is going iPad bonkers. Did you see the lines at the stores yesterday? There was nowhere near enough stock. A lot of people went home disappointed. And that was just the early adopters. There’s a lot of mainstream consumers lusting for the iPad 2. For weeks, I’ve been taking calls from friends and family of all ages and walks of life, from kids to grandparents. There’s a ton of non-nerds planning to get an iPad in coming months.

Are they right? Is this the iPad to get? What about the rumored iPad 3 in the fall? Should you wait?

Heck no! Take the plunge with the iPad 2. Read on for the details:

If you weren’t fortunate enough to order your iPad 2 through the Apple online store yesterday, you may want to try third-party suppliers and Apple specialists if you want one anytime soon, as shipping time for the second-generation tablet has today increased to 3-4 weeks through Apple.

When the iPad 2 launched yesterday, shipping times started at 3-4 days. They then increased to 5-7 days shortly afterwards, before rising again to 2-3 weeks. Now you could face a month-long wait for that skinny new Apple tablet, while the company seems to be struggling with demand once again.

It hasn’t yet been revealed by Apple how many iPad 2s it sold on launch day, however, industry analysts have predicted that a staggering 600,000 of the devices will be sold during its first weekend. Supply shortages across Apple retails stores, third-party resellers, and now the Apple online store, certainly strengthen these predictions.

[via 9to5 Mac]

Remember when logicboards were one of the biggest components of a computer? Not any more.

An iFixit teardown of the iPad 2 reveals a logicboard the size of a couple of matchbooks. By contrast, the three batteries consume almost all the interior space.

The teardown is being published live on the iFixit site.

The iPad 2 isn’t easy to open, iFixit says: it’s sealed with a ton of glue.

Here’s a couple more shots of the internals:

College student Amanda Foote sold her place at the head of the iPad line at Apple’s 5th Ave. store for $900.

Who did she sell it to? The guy right next to her apparently. Why? No one knows.

She camped out for two nights for the $900. She plans to buy tickets to Lady Gaga.

More at Mashable.

“line is around the block” — Paul Arrington in Charlestown, SC.

“Hmmm, I wonder what these could be?!?” — Joey Egan at Apple Flagship Store in San Francisco.

“Its crazy how many ppl r standing in line 4 the new iPad,” tweets Tracie Cooke-Wilkes from the Oxmoor Mall in Louisville, Kentucky.

Here are some more pictures from around the U.S.:

Send your own to news@cultofmac.com and we’ll post them up.

The only way to ensure that you have an iPad 2 today is to buy one from one of the many retail outlets. However, all retailers are not treated equally, so I’ll be giving you the run down on the best places to purchase your iPad 2 from.

Your best, hassle-free bet is to pick one up from an Apple Specialist. Here’s why:

Writer’s notes: this handy dandy guide was made with love to help you with your purchase of the iPad 2. If you’re looking to buy “the new iPad” which will be released on March 16th, 2012, click this pretty link for our updated guide.

We’ve been getting a lot of questions from readers and friends over which iPad 2 you should buy. Should you go with WiFi only, or the 3G version for when you’re not around a hotspot? How much storage do you need? And most importantly, how do you choose between black or white?

The answer is that you should get the 16GB WiFi-only model in black. Here’s why:

iMovie and GarageBand — two of the most exciting new applications for the iPad — went live in the App Store yesterday, and although GarageBand is supported on the first-generation iPad, iMovie unfortunately isn’t. There is a workaround, however, and you don’t need to jailbreak!

An astonishing 82% of consumers plan to buy an iPad despite the dozens of competing tablets due this year, a ChangeWave survey found.

There’s a caveat: that’s 82% of consumers who plan to buy a tablet in the next 90 days, which is only 5% of the 3,091 consumers surveyed in February – before Apple showed off the iPad 2.

Still, it’s a huge percentage. Only 4% plan to buy the Motorola Xoom; and 3% plan to buy RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.

Further out, almost 30% said they will be buying a tablet in the future — also an amazingly high number. Not surprisingly, these tablets will cannibalize sales of netbooks, eReaders and even traditional notebooks.

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:

Every so often, a new Apple product comes along with a breakthrough form factor that Jonathan Ive’s design team will riff on for years to come. As a result, there are many recurring motifs that provide clues to where Apple’s industrial design is heading.

Four days before the iPad 2 goes on sale, the first line is already forming.

Apple fan Justin Wagoner has set up camp outside an Apple Store in Dallas, Texas. Here’s a snap of his tent taken by a MacCast reader.

Wagoner appears to be the first person lining up for the iPad 2, which goes on sale on Friday at 5PM. Apple isn’t taking preorders, so its first come, first served.

Wagoner also camped out to be first in line for the iPhone 4 last year. He has set up a site to document his camping trip: iJustinOfficial.com.

A new Apple HDMI adapter announced at the iPad 2 keynote earlier today was accompanied by a slide of the accessory hooked up to the second-generation device, however, Steve forgot to mention that it would also be compatible with the iPhone 4, the fourth-generation iPod touch, and the original iPad.

Unfortunately, movies and slideshows will be capped at 720p on these devices as opposed to the 1080p output that the iPad 2 can throw out. We’re assuming this is the difference between Apple’s A4 and A5 chips.

The ‘Apple Digital AV Adapter‘ is priced at $39 and is expected to ship later this month. If you head on over to the Apple Store you’ll notice the full list of supported devices within the product’s description.

It didn’t take long for eBay to become awash with iPad 2 pre-order listings from hundreds of sellers guaranteeing worldwide delivery after launch day, which is good news for those outside the U.S. who need to get their hands on a second-generation iPad when it launches.

Expect to pay over the odds to get it early, however. Many sellers are asking for at least $1000, while I’m yet to find one that’ll take less than $800 as a ‘But It Now’. The dreamer above is asking for a ridiculous $10,000 and couldn’t even be bothered to include a pic. They strangely advertise same-day shipping, though! Smells fishy…

The big news today for me is that Steve Jobs looks as healthy as ever. Yes he’s thin, but he looks good and his voice is strong. See for yourself. Watch the 30-second video below, taken from CNN’s live stream of this morning’s event.

This is NOT a man with six weeks to live. Long live Steve!

The Apple Store just went offline. New goodies coming soon!

Does it mean the iPad 2 will be available to order today?

This one looks a bit fishy, but we’re throwing it out for fun. Amazon.de may have accidentally posted the specs and release date of the iPad 2.

According to the screenshot above, snapped YourAppleDaily.net, the iPad 2 available will have Thunderbolt, a camera and 1.2GHz CPU. And it will be released released on March 17.

Here’s the specs:

9.7-inch screen (same as the current iPad)
1.2GHz CPU
Wi-Fi
Thunderbolt
Camera
Bluetooth
Available 17 March

However, the link to Amazon.de provided by YourAppleDaily.net isn’t working (here’s the link), and a search of Amazon.de pulls up zip.

That just leaves the screenshot above…

We’ve received some tidbits of information about the iPad 2 launch tomorrow from an Apple staffer:

• MobileMe is being revamped with cloud storage features.
• The iPad 2 is a ho-hum update. It’s more of a speed bump than a redesign.
• The iPad 3 is the one to get excited about, and it’s on track for release later this year.

“Is this Apple’s next iPad?” Boy Genius Report asks, then supply their own answer in an update mere hours: no, it jolly well isn’t. At least not technically. But when March 2nd rolls around, it’ll probably end up being something pretty close.

This morning, Boy Genius Report was sent the image of the iPad 2 you see above, featuring a thinner design, flattened back, a visible rear speaker and a rear-mounted web cam. Unfortunately, they were punk’d: it was just a high-quality render of the iPad 2 by the Apple fan.

That said, we’d be willing to put money down that on Wednesday, you’re going to see an iPad 2 very like the above render. The case-manufacturers all agree upon the broad outlines of the iPad 2’s external redesigns. So we probably will see an iPad 2 that looks identical to this come Wednesday, with the only real question mark being that rear-mounted webcam. Everyone agrees the iPad 2 will come with FaceTime, but that only depends upon a forward-looking webcam.

Despite Apple’s struggle with the white iPhone 4, a new iPad digitizer discovered by the iFixYouri iPhone repair shop suggests the company’s second-generation tablet may also be available in white. The part comes from Shenzhen City in China, where many of Apple’s products are assembled.

Closer inspection of the white digitizer above shows a small circular cutout along the top bezel, for what we expect to be the iPad 2’s front-facing camera, and it’s a perfect match for 9to5 Mac’s recently discovered iPad 2 screen protectors from Asia.

Just like all of Apple’s unreleased products, details and specifications regarding the second-generation iPad are under lock and key at Apple HQ until the device is announced on March 2nd, however, reports have suggested the upcoming device will be thinner, lighter, and faster.

It’s official: The iPad 2 launch will be March 2.

Apple is issuing press invites to a special media event on March 2 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, according to Loopinsight.com.

“Come see what 2011 will be all about,” says the invite. Looks like Apple is pretty confident about the iPad 2.

The event starts at 10:00 am. It’s the same venue Apple traditionally uses to introduce products.

Apple is asking its retail employees to sign non-disclosure agreements ahead of a secret, all-hands meeting to be held this Sunday, Apple Insider is reporting. It could foreshadow a major launch, a media event or both.

Given Apple’s history fulfilling a yearly iOS device refresh cycle, we’ve been taking the iPad 2’s debut in late March or early April as read, but if a recent analyst report is to be believed, Cupertino might very well miss that day… delaying the iPad 2 into June.

According to a report by Yuanta analysts Vincent and Alison Chen, the iPad 2 may be delayed until June because of “production bottlenecks” at manufacturer Hon Hai Precision.

“Our checks suggest new issues are being encountered with the new production and it is taking time to resolve them,” said Chen in the report. “As a number of Android 3.0 tablets are being launched in April and May, the delay in iPad 2 shipments may give the Android camp a brief window of opportunity.”

Wireless carriers in the United Kingdom are drastically lowering their subsidized prices on the original iPad, strongly suggesting that they are clearing inventory in anticipation of the imminent launch of the iPad 2.

The Wall Street Journal says the iPad 2 is now in production, according to “people familiar with the matter.”

According to the Journal, the iPad 2 will be:

• Thinner
• Lighter
• Faster processor
• More memory
• Better graphics processor
• Front-facing camera
• No Retina display: screen will be same resolution as original iPad
• Dual-mode wireless: will be available through both Verizon and AT&T
• No Sprint or T-Mobile

WSJ: Apple’s New iPad In Production