The Apple iPad 2 is official - And it is a World-Beater

Apple iPad 2. The Apple iPad 2 is official, and it is impressive. Where do we start. In my case it would be the size and weight. The new iPad 2 measures in at 241.2 x 185.7 x 8.8 mm and weighs in at 601 grams. That is an impressive 0.34 inches in thickness and a lighter 1.33 pounds. This makes is 33% thinner and more than 10% lighter than the original iPad. The -.34 inch thickness actually makes it thinner than the iPhone.

As expected, the iPad 2 has a more powerful processor, a 1GHz dual core ARM-Cortex A9 based system called the A5. No word on the amount of RAM, but it will be at least 512MB. A three axis gyroscope, like that found on the iPhone 4, has been added and the iPad 2 has front and rear cameras. 

The screen is still the old 9.7-inch 1024 x 768 display. While people seem to want higher and higher resolutions, there is really nothing wrong with the old display. Oh, yes... you get the choice of black or white front bezels.

The new iPad 2, like the original iPad, will come with 3G and WiFi only models, and has storage options of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. It will be selling at the same price points as the old model. And this will really kill its competition.

A new Smart cover has been design to keep the entire package thinner and lighter.

The Apple iPad 2 will be available in the US by March 11, and in 26 more countries by March 26. No word on a Philippine launch date. Given that the original iPad was only officially launched on December 17, 2011, which is less than three months ago, I suspect a long wait.

Lower prices on the original iPad. The original iPad is now available at Php19,900 for the  WiFi only 16GB model and Php23,990 for the WiFi + 3G with 16GB of storage. The other models have similar price reductions. The new Php19,900 entry level price makes the original iPad a world-beater too we think.