Apple to Unveil IPad 2 on March 2 in San Francisco

[mjfern]

What I find stunning is that Apple is about to launch the iPad 2 and we are still waiting for the first credible Android-based tablet, aside from the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Note that the first iPad launched almost a year ago in April of 2010.

Apple’s time-to-market in tablets has generated at least five key advantages for the company:

1. Apple has locked up the market for critical components, including 60% of the global supply of 10” touch capacitive screens.

2. The company is much further along the learning curve in tablets, with refined hardware and software as well as more efficient production through its partnership with Foxconn.

3. Apple has achieved significant economies of scale to drive down per unit costs, having already shipped and sold 15m+ iPads.

4. The company has developed a sizable collection of complements in the form of apps and content (via iTunes) and physical accessories.

5. Apple has generated strong brand awareness around the iPad, given the limited competition for consumer mind share in this market.

These aforementioned advantages build upon Apple’s already significant, corporate advantages in the areas of technology, distribution (e.g., retail stores), customer service, and overall brand recognition.

Credible Android-based tablets will arrive soon. For instance, the Motorola Xoom is due to hit stores this Thursday. However, it may take some time (measured in years) for competitors to catch up to Apple in this market.

[there]

Credible Android-based tablets (e.g., Xoom) should emerge later this

later this... week?

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/21/visualized-motorola-xoom-...

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/20/motorola-xoom-up-for-in-s...

[guelo]

If you are just counting announcements there are tons of android tablet announcements, iPad 2's release could still be months away.

[stcredzero]

However, it may take some time (measured in years) for competitors to catch up to Apple in this market.

That means if someone can get their act together and catch up in just 1 year, they can lock up a still enviable #2 spot. I'm talking about having good execution on the device, the software, and a competing set of complements.

Not only does Apple engender the love of many, it also garners much dislike. This amounts to a huge resource which can be leveraged for marketing.

[DonnyV]

Yeah and they had a couple year lead with the iPhone and we saw what happen with that. ;-)

[mortenjorck]

Somewhere in Cupertino yesterday...

"Tim? Hey, problem. Bloomberg just put some nonsense out about slipping dates. Getting traction."

"Ok. Get Mossberg on the phone."

[brisance]

While that was probably tongue-in-cheek and meant to be humorous, Walt Mossberg is one of the more respected tech reviewers and is pretty clear on his ethics policy, which you can read here.

http://allthingsd.com/about/walt-mossberg/

[scottkrager]

So....who else held out on the first generation and is planning on buying? I'm in.

[Entlin]

Like many, I was eager to get my hands on it. But Apple changing their rules mid-game and a probable removal of the Kindle app left a sour taste in my mouth.

I will most likely sit this one out.

[ebiester]

Two weeks ago, I planned on it. However, subscription services like Mog are too important for me. I'll wait.

[lowglow]

The first gen ipad produced an amazing increase in my productivity. Topping the first gen will be a feat.

[ryandvm]

Torn between the iPad 2 and the Honeycombs, but definitely getting something this round.

[thought_alarm]

I'm trying to think of features that would get me to trade up from my original iPad.

A Retina display would do it, but it sounds like that's not happening this time round.

FaceTime? I already have a couple of devices that do FaceTime.

Thinner or lighter? It would have to be significantly lighter before I'd even consider it.

So I'm quite sure I will stick with my original iPad, at least until v3. It's a killer device that's completely changed the way I read, the way I watch TV, the way I spend my "leisure computing" time, and the way I listen to music at home, and I'm certainly very happy I jumped in early.

[ghc]

I held out. As much as I like dead tree CS books, lugging relevant ones around has become too much of a pain. Add to that the awesome offer from O'Reilly for $5 ebook versions of books you already own, and the ipad becomes irresistible to me.

I've just been holding out for a lighter version. I think the original ipad is just a bit too heavy.

[StudyAnimal]

I want to get one tablet, and a new phone. I also want one iOS device, and one Android device. As soon as it is clear which combination of OS and form factor is optimal I will buy. Probably leaning towards Android phone, and iPad at this stage, but still not quite ready to buy.

[jcurbo]

I held out for several months but broke down in July and picked one up as a reward to myself for getting a job :) I'm jumping right on the iPad 2 when it comes out though. I'll just sell my old iPad, thanks to the good resale value of Apple gear.

[aik]

I've been waiting for the iPad 2 to see what it can do, but after this subscription stuff and a potential removal of the Kindle app makes me care much less.

[sigzero]

Unless it doesn't impress...thinking seriously about it.

[simonista]

I held out and I'm hoping to catch a cheap first-gen after the second comes out.

[joubert]

bought 1gen. will buy 2gen.

[Synaesthesia]

I'm curious to see how right the rumours are about the new design. From the case designs which have leaked, the iPad 2 is significantly thinner, with two cameras. I'm also expecting a dual core CPU and 1gb RAM, dual cameras, but no "retina display".

If it really is as thin as rumoured I'm impressed.

[pmjordan]

I wonder how many apps in the app store that use multithreading will suddenly break a lot more frequently because of the second core.[1] Rare, freak crashes and glitches could suddenly become unusably frequent. Maybe all apps submitted with SDK < 4.4 (or whatever) will be pinned to one CPU?

[1] most race conditions will only trigger on a uniprocessor system if preempted, which is fairly unlikely if the racy data accesses are close together.

[daimyoyo]

I have an iPad. I love my iPad. That said, it's too heavy. 1.5lbs is really light when you have a laptop that you set down to use, but when you actually hold the device whenever you're using it, that weight adds up. It needs a better display. Please don't misunderstand me, the iPad has an amazing display compared to what was available when it launched. When you hold an iPhone 3GS up to an iPad the phone looks like it's using 16 bit EGA. But the galaxy tab and the iPhone 4 have raised the bar for what consumers expect. Finally, it needs at least a front facing and would benefit from two cameras. The new iPad also needs FaceTime. Also, if apple were smart they'd add the same camera the iPhone 4 uses to the rear. That would further lock up production capacity so that competitors can't use the backlit camera technology in their stuff. I'll be watching the keynote live if at all possible and I'll be following by liveblog if not. Should be a great event.

[mrtron]

Really?! Too heavy?

The 'Retina' display would definitely be a huge leap forward but can they make the screens iPad size for a reasonable cost yet? From what I understood that wasn't possible.

Camera is a no-brainer addition. Facetime/Skype video on an ipad would be amazing. I am starting to offload tasks from my computer to my iPad and this is another I would like to do. I already Skype on the iPad while working on my computer.

There is a charm to having trivial tasks, anything well suited to the app world, on a separate device than your computer. Somewhat like an extra monitor...but even more detached.

[ugh]

What do you mean by a better display? Merely a higher resolution? The iPad’s IPS panel is great and I personally hope that they don’t go with other technologies. An increased resolution would be nice but unlikely.

[cageface]

I'm still baffled by the lack of a camera on the first gen iPad. I'm sure there must have been a good reason for leaving it out but it seems like such a no brainer. It's pretty disappointing since there are a bunch of iPad apps I'd like to write that would require a camera but I don't want to release something that only works on the new ones.

[harold]

The new iPad will probably be awesome. I have the original, but don't use it as much after getting an 11" Macbook Air. I'll probably sit this one out.

[Synaesthesia]

Probably gonna make the first one look like ass ha ha

[fierarul]

It seems the iPad was released not too long ago so it's 'fun' that the current iPads will have such a dive in value with the new iPad2 hitting the streets.

I know it's been released in April, but that's just in the US. It arrived in the rest of the EU at the end of July (and I bought mine in September).

Of all things Apple could release more often, they pick the iPad...

As an iPad 1st gen owner I hope at least they would release some attachable iSight camera for the iPad. Because video calling is about the only thing I would want it to do in order to be a decent Skype station.

Personally I've found little value in the iPad. A pocketable iPod Touch is perfect for light email reading, quick browsing, and Skype calls while a Kindle is much nicer for book reading. Furthermore, these two added weigh less than the iPad!

[aufreak3]

On a side note, I wish articles would just say "guessers expect the iPad 2 to be thinner ... blah blah" instead of analysts. I'm getting tired of "analysts" who "predict" but play no role in the creation.

[kmfrk]

dcurtis has a link to what may be the iPad 2: http://blog.dustincurtis.com/photos-of-ipad-2.

[kayoone]

i am much more interested in the new Macbook Pro that are rumored to be announced on Thursday. With an event a week later that now seems unlikely though.

[DrHankPym]

Of course this happens when I buy my parents an iPad for Christmas.

[oscardelben]

Don't worry, your first gen iPad will be perfectly fine and you'll continue to do all the fascinating things that you're already doing with it. Do you change your iPhone/macbook (if you have them) every time a new one comes out? I hope not, and that's the same with the ipads.

[pmorici]

I don't considering that photo is of an invitation from a past event, "The image above is from one of my favorite previous save-the-dates."

[thenayr]

The picture isn't actually for the March 2nd event.

[p90x]

The first iPad was a big iPhone 3, so this one will be a big iPhone 4. iPad 3 will be a big iPhone 5. Why mess with a successful model?

[CoachRufus87]

b/c the market demands it.