I pad 2, Technological Revolution or Money Making Gimmick!

We are getting ever closer to the release of the I pad 2, but is the world ready for it? It has been only 11 months since the orginal I pad made an impact on the world, with respect to the computer market and equally to that of the fashion market. Some people also believe that this gap between the 2 products is too early, this review will discuss both sides of the argument.

The Spec.
The majority of you reading this will already know what the difference is between the I Pad 2 and the I Pad. Simply it is quicker, slimmer, with better graphics and new features. But thats it. From what we know there is nothing that you will not be able to do on the new I pad that you couldn't with the original, except conference calling. So is this good enough?

Keeping up with the times.
With the success of the I pad, tablets have been the next big thing and have asserted a large market share of the commerial computer market. If 2010 was known as the year of the I pad, 2011 will be known as the year of the tablet. Apple had a 90% dominance of tablets in 2010, with Samsung being its only threat. But now Apple has to be wary of competition from Android. Android will be the operating system for companies making tablets this year. These companies include, Motorola, Samsung, Asus, Lenovo, Toshiba, HTC, and LG, to name a few. Although I believe none of these companies can rival Apple in terms of sales, Android itself may out do Apple just by strength in numbers. If it is Apple verus the world it is Apple verus Android. I personally believe it is android that has accelerated the I Pad 2 release.

Now or later?
With such a range of companies now closing in on Apple's "tablet" market, Apple have been led to a cross roads with two options. One, wait for the competition to release their tablets and make the I Pad 2 a more technological advanced piece of hardware, but risk losing their own market share. Or two; release the I pad 2 early and hope that customers will still buy, even though the competition will be significantly better in every technical aspect (graphics, features, processing power, etc). However with this option, the I pad 2 may struggle leading up to christmas. Apple decided to pick the latter of these two options and its not suprising as it has never really been the most technical of products. Before the release of the I touch, Archos already had a product out which was far more technically advanced than that of the I touch. But despite this Apple has excelled against the competition and this is again why Apple have opted for this early release. As much as Apple have good products, I believe it is Apple's fashion status that has pushed it into power. This fashion dominance, is Apples biggest strength but may one day start to become its biggest weakness.

Another Apple product!
Everyone who is anyone has Apple. If you don't have the new Apple i phone or mac, you are behind on what is cool. But with another product that keeps needing to be replaced to stay fashionable, it is becoming increasingly expensive to be an Apple fan. I'm not saying that this is unique to Apple in bringing out products that seems so close to the last release. Actually to be fair, Apple are one of the best, many companies involved in selling electrical technology will have several upgraded products throughout the year. However what is unique to apple is that their products are so advertised and sought out for their fashionable status that the world knows when a new Apple product is out, apple don't even need to advertise, everyone else does that for them. Magizines, News, your friends and family. But again this also acts as a reminder that you now own an old product that needs updating.

I personally believe this product is going to be the achiles heel for Apple. With the times we live in, with money tight, people will be more likely to spend their money on a new phone (i phone) or computer (mac) than a product that is in between. Both the i phone and mac are getting bigger and bigger and may even one day verge on the overall success of apple in terms of MP3/4 market. Portable music is Apple and no one can compete. I think the other companies know that the phone and computer markets are nearly impossible to compete with Apple. But the tablet market is still open to anyone, for now that is anyway.

So for you reading this I'm curious to know what you plan to do. For you that are Apple fans, are you planning to re buy? Can you justify paying alot of money for a product that when released with be already be behind compared to it's competitors.  Are you happy buying a better spec I Pad even though your orginal I pad is still fine. Do you make full use of your I pad or is it that it is the latest thing to buy? Please leave your comments and answer the poll.