iPad 2 Reactions. Smile (if you’re Apple).
It was a big day in cyberland yesterday, of course, with the release of Apple’s iPad 2 and the appearance of chief executive Steve Jobs at the unveling. Here are some pertinent notes that I found while searching around this morning.
Writing for Poynter, Damon Kiesow focuses on the changes in the camera capabilities of the iPad 2. “The rear-facing camera is capable of capturing 720p video at 30 frames-per-second. When used in still image mode it offers a 5x digital zoom. The front camera is of VGA quality, and is intended largely for video chat use.”
He adds that two new tablet apps, iMovie and GarageBand, look to change the iPad to a tool for active creation of content, not simply passive viewing. “The iMovie app includes multi-track audio editing for three primary and one voiceover track. Final projects can be exported in 720p and uploaded directly to YouTube, Vimeo and, interestingly, CNN’s iReport.”
Kiesow had previously written about a class at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism where students did all their reporting with an iPad. Said Professor William Celis: “The iPad’s long battery life and built in 3G allows students to do on-the-spot reporting without worrying about finding Wi-Fi or a power outlet, unlike other portable devices.”
Kieslow adds that size does matter here, as far as taking steady pictures—he envisions someone eventually putting a tripod to the iPad. But overall, “we will see a continued merging of the three computing platforms—desktop, smart phone and tablet—so they work together more seamlessly.”
In his Fast Forward column in The Washington Post, Rob Pegoraro writes that Apple’s ability to keep the price down—a “novel development”—allows them to maintain their advantage over other companies. “Of all the name-brand tablets competing with the iPad, and now the iPad 2, only Barnes & Noble’s NookColor has easily beaten Apple’s tablets on price. And that $249 Android device is essentially an e-book reader with a Web browser, not an all-purpose device such as the iPad.”
Quoted in U.K.’s Telegraph, Sarah Rotman Epps of Forrester Research agrees: “The competing products we’ve seen announced so far from Motorola, RIM, HP, and others, while impressive, have fatally flawed price and distribution strategies. For now, Apple still defines the tablet market, with a product consumers will desire at a price that’s hard to beat.”
Pegoraro also notes that Jobs “cited 65,000 iPad-optimized applications among the 350,000-plus in Apple’s App Store, then suggested that a mere 100 tablet-tuned programs exist for Android.” Quite the bravado.
And at PCWorld, Ian Paul writes that you may have a better chance of getting an iPad 2 at a third-party retailer like Best Buy. He adds: “If you’ve had your eye on the iPad, but were reluctant to fork over $500 for the device, then now’s your chance to get Apple’s first-generation tablet. You can get the original iPad models for $100 off right now in Apple’s clearance section. You can grab the 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad for $400 or the 32GB version for $500, and the 16GB Wi-Fi + 3G iPad is $530.” Might be the ticket for anyone not overly concerned about the camera upgrades.
The iPad 2 will be available on March 11 in the United States at prices ranging from $499 to $829, and in more than two dozen other countries on March 26, Jobs said.
FINALLY…It was interesting to read, also in the Telegraph, that the British designer of the iPad, iPhone and iPod, Jonathan Ive, wants to move away from Silicon Valley back to England and his Somerset Manor House. Apparently, this isn’t sitting well with the Apple board, setting up a bit of a struggle. Feels a little like the American football strike that’s brewing—the rich against the richer. Stay tuned.
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