Is the new iPad a coup de grâce for the competition? I rather think it is. The new model is almost as much as the rumours suggested, with only the Thunderbolt port and higher-resolution screen biting the dust. With a new dual-core A5 processor, case 33 percent thinner and weight reduced to 1.2 lb, the new iPad would be a winner even without the dual cameras and the other tweaks announced a few minutes ago by Steve Jobs. Marketing teams in the opposition camps must be furiously revising their approaches now they know what Apple has planned. It’s worse than they imagined.
I’ve previously said I can manage without an iPad, having taken so well to my 11in MacBook Air. But I admit I feel an iPad 2 coming on – just for research and evaluation purposes, you understand. If I order one, I’ll probably go for the 32GB wifi unit because, as announced this evening, the iPhone 4 is getting wifi router capabilities and there doesn’t seem much point in having a separate SIM for the iPad.
This update is more than many of us imagined would be possible and I’m convinced it will make 2011 a second year of the iPad for Apple. The only remaining question is whether the white pad will outsell its black sister.
Technorati Tags: iPad, New hardware