Apple iPad 2

“The updated iPad 2 doubles the processing power and gets FaceTime and HD video. The speed boost is tangible but developers are yet to use its full potential. The real benefit of the newly-added cameras is FaceTime. HD video recording is not essential on a tablet really. You know, most of the iPad owners are likely to have a more portable gadget capable of capturing HD video. In portability terms a tablet comes between phones, netbooks, and laptops. Combinations between these gadgets can vary but a tablet always seems to be the least essential. But are people having second thoughts? Do they take long to be convinced? No, sir. And Apple does deserve credit for that. The iPad 2 is virtually competition-free for now. Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets, save for the Motorola XOOM, are still in the works. Motorola rushed the XOOM launch to counter the new iPad and ended up with no Flash and compatible apps. The XOOM is effectively an unsupported tablet for the time being. And to make matters worse, it’s prohibitively expensive. Android Honeycomb is a dedicated tablet platform while iPads use an upscaled smartphone OS. Droid tablets will certainly get an edge from an OS designed from ground up to make better use of screen estate. But it’s Apple that seems to be a step ahead of the competition so far. Like it or not, Apple has done it again.”

“Overall, the Apple iPad 2 is the best tablet you can buy right now, so it's our Editors' Choice. Currently, the Motorola Xoom shows tremendous promise and even edges past the iPad in a few areas (cameras and multitasking to name a couple). But even without the advantage of far more apps, the iPad 2 simply provides a better user experience and operates more gracefully and seamlessly with your media than Android devices. If you live happily outside the iTunes ecosystem, an Android tablet like the Xoom is certainly worth considering. But if you're in the market for a new device now, and have no loyalty to a specific manufacturer or operating system, the iPad 2 is the tablet to get.”

“There are some differences worth noting. Yes, the iPad's battery will last you a bit longer, it’s a better looking piece of kit, it has 3G, a camera and it’s more flexible in terms of what you can do with it. The real story, and where you need to think long and hard, is about what you want to do with it. If a tablet, for you, is about watching movies and TV, and reading an enormous wealth of publications and periodicals, then it’s definitely the Kindle Fire that’s the one for you. If playing games, communicating, working and generally using a tablet as a tool is just as important, then it’s the iPad 2 and that’s where you need to be at. At least until the iPad 3 comes out.”

“Those grumbles shouldn't take away from the fact that the iPad 2 is a great device. A superb tablet that builds on the strengths of the original and packs a heftier punch with a much slimmer waistline. The iPad 2 is the Manny Pacquiao of the tablet game, and the original is the Ricky Hatton. Sure, your iPad 1 looks great on its own, talks the talk and never really lets you down. But when you put it in the ring, up against the new champion, it looks well out of its depth. Our suggestion to iPad 1 owners who cannot afford to, or don't yet want to upgrade from their 2010 machine, would be this: do not play with an iPad 2. Leave it well alone. Because if you even spend 5 minutes with it, you'll realise what an old slugger your tablet is. In much the same way that the iPhone 4 blasted the 3GS out of the water (and the 3GS the 3G), it is only really when compared directly that you notice that your older iDevice isn't as quick as you once thought it was. Don’t go near it and you’ll never notice the difference. And that's the real strength of the iPad 2 - it's just so bloomin' fast. As for the claim that this is best tablet current on the market we would have to agree. The Xoom does challenge somewhat with its Google Honeycomb OS, but can’t match the simplicity or stability of the iPad 2, or the strength of its app ecosystem.Yes, the cameras could have been better on the iPad 2, the screen could have had a higher resolution and we’re desperate to see iOS5 enhancements, but overall, we love the iPad 2. We love it like we loved the original. We just don't love it quite as much as we'd expected that we would.”