Apple announced the
iPad 2, and here's what we know:
Unchanged:
- Same price/configurations (though with Verizon models added)
- Same screen resolution
- same basic physical shape
- same battery life
Changed/Added:
- Faster (2x faster CPU, 9x faster graphics)
- Thinner (13.4 mm to 8.8mm)
- Slightly lighter (1.5 to 1.3lbs)
- Black & white models
- HDMI output (up to 1080p)
- Gyroscope
- Forward facing VGA camera, backward facing 720p camera (probably identical to the iPhone 4)
Software changes:
- Improved Safari and Java performance
- iTunes home sharing
- iPad switch can be rotate lock or mute
- FaceTime
- PhotoBooth
- local Wifi hotspot (for iPhone 4)
New software
iMovie
They've upgraded
iMovie to work with the
iPad. It looks like it grows up the version they previously released for the
iPhone (it might be the same one; I'm really hoping that it is and it's a free upgrade if you already bought the lousy previous
iPhone version of
iMovie.) The iPhone version I found basically unusable for anything other than very simple editing, but this version could be actually useful.
Unfortunately, according to Apple's spec page, it won't run on the original
iPad; only the
iPad 2, and the
iPhone 4 and 4th gen
iPod Touch.
I'm not surprised about this either; but
iMovie only works with 720p video (
and probably not AVCHD either) according to
Robert Scoble.
Apple:
iMovie
GarageBand
They've bought
GarageBand to the
iPad as well. Apple's site doesn't say if this will only work with the
iPad 2, but I wouldn't be surprised. Seems that you can transfer projects from the
iPad to your Mac...
I wonder if you can go the other way? I don't have an audio editor on the
iPad, so this looks interesting as well...
Apple:
GarageBand
So should you upgrade?
I was really hoping that I wouldn't feel the need to upgrade. I still feel that way, though in the Steve Jobs reality-distortion-field, I definitely started to feel an urge to purchase during the presentation. (
Great to see Steve was there, by the way.)
Though I'd like to be able to use
iMovie and
GarageBand on the
iPad, oddly enough those seem to be the only two reasons I could be compelled to upgrade. The original
iPad at the moment seems fast enough, and I don't really need cameras (as I have an
iPhone 4 with those same cameras.)
But I'm not too sure how really useful and necessary those two apps are; maybe I'd be better just buying a couple of third-party apps and being done with it?
So, I'm currently saying I won't upgrade....but don't be surprised if the rationalizing starts happening....
[
UPDATE: added note about
iMovie only supporting 720p video.]