Apple's iPad 2 Review: Tom's Goes Down The Tablet Rabbit Hole

[Guest]

I stopped reading at the phrase "Like many others...". For this to be true then millions of iPads must have been returned and I see no sign of that happening.

Anecdotal evidence is very unreliable, Andrew, and you've immersed yourself in it. Still there does seem to be a lot of content creators using tablets judging from a 12+ months of reports. But then again subjectively they be on the same scale as your "like many others..." remark.

Noone asked you to get an iPad so I wonder why you bothered?

 

[Guest]

This article is oddly timed, you really should either do a follow up with iOS 5 or have waited, so many iPAD2 specific features are coming in iOS5, including wireless mirroring (no need for HDMI) and many, many improvements that change the usage of the tablet considerably.

 

[Guest]

A lot of the innovation you bemoan in the last paragraph *is* coming very soon in the ios5 update, you can run it now as a developer, I'm surprised you guys aren't doing that.
Also, to say that it is only a consumption device ignores the hundred of industries, particularly medical, dental and sales that utilise the iPad as a professional tool.

 

[macewrox]

[citation][nom]topchat[/nom]I stopped reading at the phrase "Like many others...". For this to be true then millions of iPads must have been returned and I see no sign of that happening.Anecdotal evidence is very unreliable, Andrew, and you've immersed yourself in it. Still there does seem to be a lot of content creators using tablets judging from a 12+ months of reports. But then again subjectively they be on the same scale as your "like many others..." remark.Noone asked you to get an iPad so I wonder why you bothered?[/citation]

Posted on a Mac in a Starbucks.

 

[acku]

A lot of the innovation you bemoan in the last paragraph *is* coming very soon in the ios5 update, you can run it now as a developer, I'm surprised you guys aren't doing that.
Also, to say that it is only a consumption device ignores the hundred of industries, particularly medical, dental and sales that utilise the iPad as a professional tool.

I actually acknowledged iOS5. I'm both an Android and iOS developer and I am well acquainted with what's coming down the dev pipeline. If you read the page on display gamut, then you know that I customed coded a LCD benchmark in iOS. At the same time, we're Tom's Hardware not Tom's Software. We're going to have a propensity to focus on hardware, though we'll touch on software as it is necessary.

On your second point, no one is saying that it can't be used as a professional productivity tool, but I think it would be foolish to assume that is what tablets (forget just talking about the iPad) are optimized for. If you read beyond the first paragraph, you'll see that I pointed that out there are people who can not only function on an iPad but actually thrive. Though, data entry and data retrieval (in the case of hospitals) isn't the same thing as pounding out an research paper on a Saturday night.

 

[Guest]

Could not get past the first page. With talking points like.

S X applications don't run on iOS. That means I can't run Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop, the two tools that I need to stay productive.

I bet you were the guy that bought the prius and complained that "it has trouble towing my 5 ton boat" so i was unable to be productive.

Or good ones like "The next time you’re at an airport, watch the professionals in suits. If they’re typing a Word document, editing a spreadsheet, or uploading a file to the corporate VPN, they’re still using a notebook to do it. Meanwhile, tablet users are working on crossword puzzles, writing email, playing Cut the Rope, or browsing the Web. That’s the limitation of a tablet; it’s really more about passing time.

WTF if you wait to do all that stuff the suit does at the airport you are a dumbass.

When an article that starts out this lousy no reason to read the second page.

 

[Guest]

I don't believe the iPad is marketed as a PC replacement. I certainly haven't viewed it as one. I have refused to buy one because I could not justify the cost versus my use. I would only really use it at night on the couch. My partner, on the other hand, spends most of the day in public places with free WiFi, reading email and social networking sites (Facebook as well as some targeted specifically at his work fields). He primarily uses his iPad2 as a replacement for the non-calling functionality of his smart phone. He has a very nice laptop (Windows based), a very nice smart phone (Android based), and the iPad2. He finds the tablet much more convenient than the laptop because of the reduced size. He finds it much more usable than the phone because of the increased size. He tried going the netbook route for about a year, but he found Windows Starter too lacking). Frankly, the tablet is perfect for him, and the consumer market is full of people like him.

 

[Guest]

"You also end up paying for a case, cradle, keyboard, HDMI adapter, and don’t forget the plethora of applications that you’ll feel compelled to buy."

I'm a happy iPad owner who owns none of those things. It is my Kindle Reader, portable Netflix box, and web browser. My wife uses it to study.

 

[Guest]

This is about the most stilted review possible of the iPad. OK, so freakin' Office won't run on it. But you can VPN in and control that bloatware via the 'net, but you fail to mention that. Also, you can't pay $10 for pages on the iPad because you already have it? No, you have freaking OFFICE. You don't have Pages, and you won't buy it because I suppose you already paid $400 for the MS bloatware. Forget that for some things, Pages might be better. You will never find out.

It's like saying you need to tear up a sidewalk but you can't buy a jackhammer because, well, you already have a hammer. So, have fun using the hammer to break up your sidewalk.

 

[Guest]

I spent three hours in the airport last weekend writing documents, editing spreadsheets, sending e-mails, and flowcharting on ... my iPad. Ya know real work. For those of us who have real jobs. Where is my laptop while I'm doing all this? Sitting on my desk in my office. And I don't have to take the iPad out of my luggage while going through security.

 

[pyrrocc]

I bought a 16GB Wifi-only 10" Viewsonic gTablet for $279, added a 16GB uSD for $35, took 30 minutes to put CM7 on it (I had never rooted or re-ROMed an Android or iOS device before), and I couldn't be happier. It was a heck of a lot cheaper than an iPad (by $285 vs the 32GB iPad2) and has a dual-core Tegra2.

 

[upgrade_1977]

Great articles!!

I thought ipad 2 was supposed to have twice the resolution? Oh well, that would have been great to use splash top so I could remote desktop full resolution to my pc at home.

Love the hdmi adapter, bout time.

Seriously thinking of upgrading from my ipad to the ipad 2. Wish they would add mouse emulation so I could use a bluetooth mouse on it. Would be a great feature for using remote desktop. I can use splashtop to play my pc games on my ipad, only problem is without mouse its very frustrating, just doesn't work right with touch. Try to play STO with it but can't control my ship. Oh well.. Beggers can't be choosers I guess.

It will never replace my pc... Just another toy for me.

On second thought, are there any decent windows 7 tablets out there? Toms could you do a comparison article on windows 7 tablets?

 

[math1337]

There should be an acer w500 review. It can run office/vpn/excel/outlook/photoshop.

 

[alchemy69]

I'm a happy iPad owner who owns none of those things. It is my Kindle Reader, portable Netflix box, and web browser. My wife uses it to study.

It's a Kindle? I'm sure that Jeff Bezos will be delighted to find that 'Kindle' is becoming synonymous with 'e-book reader'.

 

[awtull]

So as an IT professional who was very skeptical a year ago about the whole iPad/Tablet as a platform, I have been converted. I am the IT Director for a small city and a year ago my entire department went to iPad as a replacement for our laptops. Now understand we not only created content, but manage our entire infrastructure and provided remote desktop support with our laptops. The iPad can be a utilitarian device, it just takes the right apps, and this is where Apple has hit a home run. Steve I think has learned that unlike what Bill said to IBM that the money is in the software, or what IBM said to Bill that the money is in the hardware, the success is in the marriage of both. We manage our entire infrastructure with the iPad, support users remotely, access network shares both locally and remotely, and even find time to take on a Word with Friends challenge. Is the platform lacking, sure Flash can still be an issue, no USB thumbdrive capability is inconvenient, but there are work arounds. I for one would not go back to my laptop.

 

[kajabla]

iWork is better and cheaper than Office; that's an unfair reason to bash the iPad.

 

[upgrade_1977]

[citation][nom]awtull[/nom]So as an IT professional who was very skeptical a year ago about the whole iPad/Tablet as a platform, I have been converted. I am the IT Director for a small city and a year ago my entire department went to iPad as a replacement for our laptops. Now understand we not only created content, but manage our entire infrastructure and provided remote desktop support with our laptops. The iPad can be a utilitarian device, it just takes the right apps, and this is where Apple has hit a home run. Steve I think has learned that unlike what Bill said to IBM that the money is in the software, or what IBM said to Bill that the money is in the hardware, the success is in the marriage of both. We manage our entire infrastructure with the iPad, support users remotely, access network shares both locally and remotely, and even find time to take on a Word with Friends challenge. Is the platform lacking, sure Flash can still be an issue, no USB thumbdrive capability is inconvenient, but there are work arounds. I for one would not go back to my laptop.[/citation]

Your an IT for a whole city?!?!? Just curious, what other programs do you run on there that your company use's? Do you create movies or program software on them?
You said you converted your whole department to desktops, but then you said you provide remote desktop which supports your desktops.. So which is it?
Last question, do you feel that typing on your ipads are more productive then on the laptops?
I love my ipad, but I could not in any way replace my desktop for it. And thats just for home use, i'd probably quit my job if they replaced all the computers with ipads. I mean, they are great, but I feel productivity would take a big hit.

 

[leegan]

If you're missing the point of the tablet, then you won't be reached for a few years. Tablets ARE the future. In case you haven't noticed, the world of print as we know it rapidly disappearing. Eventually items in print will be collectible only, or cheaply produced at best. Mass consumption information will live in the tablet. The tablet will eventually take over places like the sales industry.. no matter the product/service... the tablet will be an extension of every sales pitch. Typing on a tablet is a last resort. It's all about touch, go, consume.
The publications industry will be fully committed to selling their magazines, newspapers, catalogs, books, whatever on the tablet. Like someone said earlier, it sucks typing on a tablet. No kidding. You need to keep your laptop so you can type stuff for the guy who's reading your text on his tablet!!!

 

[slartibartphast]

[citation][nom]VVV850[/nom]What about light bleeding? I mean, the number of Ipads 2 that have this issue is staggering and has to be included in a review[/citation]
I second that, I have my second ipad2 and have to return this one also. Hard to believe it was not addressed or they got a perfect one.

 

[Guest]

Why measure gamut against AdobeRGB? This device is not meant for publishing. Matching sRGB gamut is much more important, IMHO. I would rather have an accurate sRGB device than an AdobeRGB device with apps that don't really support CM. I have a 93% ARGB monitor at home and it's sometimes painful to play games with (eg. Mirrors Edge) because of the overly saturated colors. Besides, because of the 8-bit per channel limitation, the CM'ed monitor has some mild but visible color banding in grayscale.

 

[ta152h]

That description of in-order vis-a-vis OoP processing is the worst I have ever seen.

It's not only inaccurate in how it works, it's inaccurate in that out of order is higher performing. It's not, it generally does add to IPC, but the extra complexity can limit performance overall. Look at IBM and their POWER 6. They went in-order because it improved performance within their design goals and parameters. Then they went with OoP in their POWER 7. Itanium is also in order, but it has higher IPC than x86 processors (especially in the newest incarnation). So, even IPC isn't guaranteed to be improved if the instruction set is vastly different. But, it's probably reasonable to say that you will generally get better IPC with OoP, not necessarily better performance, however. All those extra transistors have a cost.

More important, and this relates to Atom as well, in order processors, in general, benefit more from technologies like hyperthreading. Suffice it to say, the Atom is much higher performing, given its transistor budget, and hyperthreading, being in order than out of order. That's why Intel chose it. With the next iteration, with more transistors, that may change (even the Itanium is getting a very limited form of dynamic scheduling).

The point is, it's not as simple as saying one performs worse than the other. It's situational, and that's why both still exist.

 

[rykh]

Toshiba Thrive, is the first tablet to offer all the features i would want. The transformer came close, but no usb on the actual tablet made a clear it a clear no.

 

[kkiddu]

Thanks for the very well-balanced and unbiased, if a bit toooooooo late, review.

 

[jecastej]

I think I will consider a tablet after two more iterations if so. I like then and appreciate the concept but I can't justify one for myself right now. On the other hand it is good to keep my knowledge base real and I thank Tom's for a serious initiative reviewing actual tablets performance, screen (thanks for this in particular), functionality and use. I still believe Apple has the best choice in the market today for the reasons Tom's exposed, relative OS maturity, but this device has to offer me serious laptop replacement capabilities to, well replace my laptop or to add an ultraportable I can justify. And I know this is not the main goal right now for tablet design because it is not possible. Right now you have an expansion to your computing arsenal or a very first friendly light computer experience. At this point I still prefer ultraportable laptops including the MacBook Air and I have to see what Lion really adds to the iOS like experience.

 

[shompa]

Fun that Andrew Ku thinks that Office and Photoshop are free.