The release of the iPad has resulted in a slew of competitors coming to market, but the simple truth is that none of these models have the legacy experience, apps or clout required to truly take on Apple’s latest offering – the iPad 2. Here’s why.

The iPad 2 is a vast improvement on a device that was light years ahead of the competition to begin with. Apple has now managed to shave the iPad 2 down to just 8.6 mm in thickness, which is almost 5 mm thinner than the original. A significant reduction in weight can also be seen as the iPad 2 is only 613 grams at its heaviest, compared to the 730 grams of the iPad 1. The overall result is a far sleeker, more refined unit which packs a significant punch but still manages to beat the competition with regards to size and weight. 

Features

The iPad 2 sports a 9.7" LED-backlit IPS LCD screen with a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels while Apple bumped the processor to a more powerful 1 GHz dual-core Apple A5, which delivers twice the punch. In addition to this, the unit’s graphics engine is nine times stronger than its predecessor, which allows the iPad 2 to easily handle high definition content. All this while maintaining its requisite ten hour battery life.

The Apple App store and third party developer base have had the opportunity to grow to such a significant extent that it far outstrips the competition. The announcement of the iPad 2 brought with it the release of a number of newly developed applications which have been ported from the Apple Macbook and iMac platform for use on the device. Chief among these are GarageBand and iMovie, both of which are extremely affordable and incredibly intuitive.

Conclusion

Although the likes of Google and BlackBerry are going some way to develop respectable offerings based on other platforms, the simple truth is that it will be incredibly difficult to catch up to the head-start Apple has had with the iPad, and now of course the subsequent improvements on the iPad 2. 

The iPad 2 models with Wi-Fi will carry recommended retail price tags starting at R4399 for the 16 GB version, R5399 for the 32 GB model and R6399 for the 64 GB version. Pricing for the Wi-Fi + 3G models kicks off at R5599 for the 16 GB version, R6599 for the 32 GB model and R7599 for the 64 GB variant. All models are available in black or white.