After four hours in line I was the happy new owner of an iPad 2, barely. It turns out the local Apple Store wasn’t all up to the challenge of providing a metric ton of people their shiny new gadget, and the 100+ people in front of me dwindled down the stock enough to royally screw the 100+ people that lined up after I did. By the time I entered the actual store all of the AT&T 3G models were out, as were the 16-gig wifi versions. I got one of the last 32-gig ones (black, thankyouverymuch), and heard many a harsh word in serious tones towards apple-tee-sporting folks as I was exiting. Huh.

After a few hours of playing around with the sucker, this is what leaps to the front:

Goods

• It’s zippier. Actually, a lot zippier. Apps fire open, pages swipe silky smooth, etc, etc. Reminds me of the upgrade from a 3G iPhone to a 3GS; all the lag I never really noticed is gone, and the entire experience is better for it.

• It’s lighter, omg lighter. Now, a large part of this comes from the fact I used the Apple case with my last iPad (effectively making it a full two pounds), and this one is 40% lighter even with the smart cover on. Not to mention way thinner as well.

• The button is less stiff and clicky. Which is a good thing.

• I think it works better. I’ll know for sure after more testing, but Battleheart levels load way quicker and it looks like OmniGraffle is no longer a laggy mess. Which alone makes the purchase worth it.

Bads

•  I miss the old case. I’m normally not a case person (4 iPhones, and the only case I’ve ever used was the free one they sent to everybody), but I loved (loved, loved) the Apple-made iPad one. Yes, it added to the weight and “covered the beauty”, but I liked the fact it turned my iPad into something I could throw into my bag without worry. The smart case is cool, but not safe, and I can totally see myself breaking down soon and buying a 3rd party one.

• Crap camera. Yes, I never expected to be taking awesome stills with this, but man… The wife and I had some serious fun with FaceTime, but the artifacts on the shots made them look like ten-year-old cellphone pictures. This is a bit of a mar on such an otherwise advanced piece of kit.

I had more than a few friends wonder why I upgraded - especially seeing this was an incremental upgrade rather than a total refresh - but once I read about the upgraded components it was in the bag. I used my old iPad like nuts, and being able to use it better is a great reason to take the plunge. Plus the price I got for my old 64-gig version and downgrading to a 32-gig one helps a ton…

Oh, here I was when only 40 or so people were ahead of me:

click to embiggen

The line had people stretching way around the corner on the right side, nuts.

Tags: apple