Here’s the simple truth about the iPad 2: There is nothing else like it. Maybe it won’t make you feel the way it makes me feel. Maybe it won’t replace your laptop. Maybe it could be even thinner and lighter and faster. But there is nothing else like it. More »
With sell outs, long lines, and repeatedly pushed-back shipping times, it’s perhaps not surprising that the scalpers are getting into the iPad 2 business in a big way. The tablets are currently selling for exorbitant amounts online, through sites like eBay. Resellers also have plans to sell the things in China.
Need an iPad 2 and need it now? Good news: there are a bunch up for sale on eBay right now. Actually, you can get one right this second for the low, low Buy It Now price of $1,699. That’s the high end, or course. There’s also one for $1,299 and another for $1,200. Heck, it all makes the 64GB Wi-Fi version going for $950 seem downright reasonable.
The old saying goes “the early bird catches the worm,” and it certainly appears to be holding true for the insomniacs who stayed up for iPad 2 pre-orders to go live online. We’ve received our own orders that were placed as soon as the switch was flipped, as have several MacRumors forum contributors (as pictured above). With shipping estimates slipping longer and longer, maybe waiting on a real line isn’t the most unattractive option any more.
iPad 2 online orders start arriving on doorsteps originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 01:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Clik Clok lets you wear an iPad 2 around the neck
Clik Clok, the Worst iPad 2 Accessory I’ve Ever Seen
Clik Clok is an iPad 2 accessory only Flava Flav—and diehard fans—could love. It is a big gold (or silver or red) chain necklace that attaches to the new iPad through its magnetic points. As soon as it’s clicked in, the clock app automatically launches, so you can… look like Flava Flav. Except with a $500 tablet around your neck instead of a large plastic clock. With all of the potential, practical uses for a high quality tablet, this is what you come up with?
Samsung Reveals Series 2, 4, 6, and 9 Laptops
The 13.3-inch Core i5 Series 9 laptop will be available tomorrow for $1,649, providing some competition for the MacBook Air in the ultra portable market. A 128GB SSD and 4GB of RAM come standard, and a scaled down 11-inch model will be available in April. If you’re on a tighter budget, the Series 2 could be up your alley, with 12.5 and 14-inch screen models and a Sandy Bridge Core i3 CPU. The Series 4 and Series 6 notebooks feature additional security features (such as a fingerprint sensor) aimed at business and IT managers and options of Core i3, i5, or i7 processors.
Samsung Series 2, Series 4, and Series 6 Laptops and Samsung Series 9 Laptop [Engadget]
iPad 2 Gets… Blended
While many are still waiting to get a hold of the new iPad 2, the folks at Blendtec got their destructive little hands on one and videoed the response to their eternal question: “Will it blend?” Yes, yes it does. Le sigh.
Video: iPad 2 Gets “Will It Blend” Treatment [Tom’s Guide]
iPhone 5 Cases Pop Up Online, Adding Heft to Larger Display Rumors
iPhone 5 cases have started showing up on online marketplace Alibaba, which previously listed accurate iPad 2 cases prior to its reveal. The cases show the iPhone 5 following the same form factor as the iPhone 4 (as the engineer drawings seen last week also showed), but with edge-to-edge glass and a larger screen.
Purported iPhone 5 Cases Point to iPhone 4 Design, Possibly Larger Screen [9to5 Mac]
“Tweener” Tablet Hinted At By Nokia Executive
Nokia EVP Tero Ojanperä believes in a smaller form factor for tablets, an in-between smartphone/tablet size, that will be “a big driver in mobile games.” The company recently received a patent for a 10-inch tablet design, but may be rethinking their strategy after getting a generally negative response from European carriers.
Nokia to create new form factor tablet [My Nokia Blog via Slashgear]
Apple's new iPad 2 is thinner, lighter and faster than its predecessor. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
The iPad 2 doesn’t pack a higher-resolution “retina” display yet, but the quality of the screen is just as good as the iPhone 4’s, according to a display expert.
DisplayMate analyst Raymond Soneira put the iPad 2 and iPhone 4 displays through a series of tests and found that they perform very similarly.
The “iPad 2 delivers almost identical performance to the impressive iPhone 4 Retina Display,” Soneira said in his report.
That’s interesting, because the iPad 2 display has a lower pixel density than the iPhone 4. A lower pixel density makes pixels more apparent.
The iPhone 4 has a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch, which Steve Jobs claimed exceeds the limits of the human retina. The iPad 2 has a pixel density of 132 ppi.
Soneira explained that higher ppi is indeed better, but anti-aliasing methods delivered through software updates can reduce noticeable pixelation at lower resolutions and ppi.
And despite the iPhone 4’s higher ppi, the iPad 2’s screen scored very similarly in Soneira’s tests. Both devices earned “Very Good for Mobile” ratings in tests on contrast ratio and black levels, and an “Excellent” rating for their maximum brightness.
“There is no question that a higher ppi is better, but the real question is whether the iPad 2 delivers good display performance when considering its price point and battery-power constraints,” Soneira said.
The overall screen resolution of the 9.7-inch (diagonal) iPad screen is 1,024 x 768 pixels, compared to the iPhone 4’s 3.5-inch display, which has a resolution of 960 x 640 pixels.
Some tech observers claim that Apple has held off on doubling the resolution of the iPad’s display to 2,048 x 1,536 pixels because of cost and manufacturing constraints.
See Also:
Dr. Raymond Soneira of DisplayMate Technologies has made it his mission to suss out the best smartphone, tablet, HDTV, and multimedia displays from the worst with his Display Technology Shoot-Out series. Here, he tackles the differences between iPad 2 and iPhone 4 screens. More »
Apple has delayed the release of the iPad 2 in Japan, pushing the launch back until further notice. According to Apple, the date being pushed back to allow the country to focus on recovery.
No new release date for the iPad 2 has been announced yet. However, other countries set to receive the tablet on March 25th (the original date for Japan) will still get it in that time frame.
Via Apple Insider
Overwhelming demand for the Apple’s second generation tablet has forced the company to push back ship times for online orders yet again. The company’s site now lists ship time for all models as four to five weeks–up from the three to four weeks the site was listing over the weekend. On launch day last week, Apple listed the ship time as a few days, quickly upgrading it to two to three weeks.
The device has also reportedly sold out in all of Apple’s retail locations and other partner stores. The company addressed the shortages in a recent statement, “Demand for the next generation iPad 2 has been amazing. We are working hard to get iPad 2 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible.”
Available in white or black, Apple's new iPad 2 is 33 percent thinner than its predecessor. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com
You’d have to be extremely lucky to find an iPad 2 at your local Apple store, because the tablet seems to be sold out everywhere.
The iPad 2, which went on sale 5 p.m. Friday, was completely sold out by the end of the weekend, according to financial analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray.
Even the ninth person standing in line for an iPad 2 at an Apple store in Los Angeles couldn’t get the model he wanted (a white, 64-GB iPad 2 with 3G), reports 9 to 5 Mac.
Piper Jaffray’s Munster estimates that between 400,000 and 500,000 units of the iPad 2 sold over the weekend, compared to 300,000 iPad 1s sold in its launch weekend last year.
That’s a lot of iPads, but the iPhone is still Apple’s hottest selling product. The iPhone 4 sold 1.7 million units in opening weekend.
So that means if you weren’t one of the eager line waiters, you’ll have to wait a while if you want an iPad 2. On Friday, Apple’s website quoted an estimated delivery time of two to three weeks for an iPad 2 ordered online, and as of this morning, that ETA has been updated to three to four weeks.
While you’re waiting, make sure to check out Wired.com’s review of the iPad 2, which went live Monday afternoon.
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