iPad 2: Assessing the Good, the Bad and the Splotchy

In case you missed it, the iPad 2 was made available to the masses at 5 p.m. Eastern March 11th, 2011, and based on the number of people standing in line to get one, the latest version has generated as much buzz as its predecessor. So now that it’s available for general consumption, what should users know about the iPad 2, good, bad or ugly?

Those not yet schooled on the iPad 2 but itching to get their hands on one may want to keep the following in mind:

• Black or White?: Gizmodo claims that for any reason other than aesthetic, you’d be silly to not go with a black iPad. The black frame allegedly is less distracting and draws you into the screen so you forget about the iPad altogether. With white, on the other hand, “… you’re always aware of the fact that whatever you’re doing is framed by a huge white border. It pulls you out of the moment, the software, the movie,” noted Gizmodo. I can’t comment until I hold one in my hands, but I really do like the white iPad and plan on buying it regardless. I’ll be sure to give you my review when that happens.
• Speed Demon: iPad 2 has a new System on a Chip — the Apple A5 CPU. It features a new GPU as well, which not only is twice as fast, but also contains four times the amount of graphic pipelines. To put it in more tangible terms, Anadtech benchmarked the iPad and noted it smoked the competition in GLBenchmark 2.0 testing, offering three to five times the amount of 3D speed of the first iPad and 3.7 times faster than the Motorola Xoom. To be fair, the Xoom was bench-marked at the native resolution of its display, which is larger than the iPad’s, but the results shouldn’t detract away from the overall point. iPad 2 is fast in many ways.
• Bleeding and Yellowing: Problems with an initial product launch? Say it ain’t so! Naturally, the iPad 2 isn’t immune to its share of glitches. Reports are coming in that some iPad 2’s have splotchy backlight bleeding spots (areas of uneven brightness around and inside the screen) along with yellow splotches on some screens. The backlight bleeding is attributed to a faulty display, but the yellow spots are a problem users also saw with the iPhone 4. It’s part of the chemical bonding agent that Apple uses on the glass. Apple shipped these devices so fast from the factories that parts of the adhesive haven’t dried yet and — like the iPhone 4 — after use, the spots fade away.

In all, the buzz on the Internet is that the iPad 2 is everything it’s cracked up to be and people are happy. There are even anecdotal reports that the original iPad dock works with the iPad 2, which is good news for those looking to recycle their original iPad accessories. Were you one of the lucky first to get your hands on an iPad 2? If so, let us know what you think — we’re always interested in hearing about your experiences with the iPad.

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