I managed to get a hold of the new iPad 2 today courtesy of X-cite Electronics and I’m glad I did since there were a lot of questions I had which I managed to get answered after spending some time with the iPad 2.
The iPad 2 I got is the 3G version so the first thing I wanted to check is to see if the iPad was locked to AT&T or not. This time around there are two versions of the iPad 2 3G, there is the AT&T version and there is the Verizon version. The one I got was the AT&T version and it runs perfectly fine in Kuwait. I took out my micro sim from my iPhone 4 and placed it inside the iPad 2 and it worked right away and I was able to browse webpages and stream music from my favorite stations without a problem.
Now physically I was expecting there to be a lot more difference between the old and the new iPad but honestly I felt they were pretty similar. Sure the new iPad is 33% slimmer but it doesn’t feel that different to me (I’ve got big hands maybe?). I never felt the old iPad was actually thick so the fact that the new one is slightly slimmer is a bonus but not really worth upgrading from the old iPad. One thing I want to point out is the fact that I found it difficult to connect the iPad 2 to the keyboard dock due to the way the dock connecter at the bottom of the iPad 2 is on a curve. It took me a few tries the first time and I am guessing I would get better at it after a bit of practice.
The smart cover is pretty cool since it’s very minimal and easy to take off and put on. I didn’t like holding the iPad with the cover on but what’s great about the smart cover is you just pull it off to remove it so it’s very practical to put on and take off and when on it doesn’t add to the thickness by much.
Now I left what I think is probably the most important upgrade till the end and no it’s not the camera which I find useless but the new faster A5 processor. The new iPad 2 is a lot faster than the older iPad and games like Sim City and Red Alert for example run a lot smoother on the iPad 2 compared to the original iPad. Even when launching the apps the difference is very obvious as you can since in the video I recorded above (The iPad 2 is on the bottom).
If you still don’t have a tablet and are looking to get one I wouldn’t recommend anything other than the iPad (both original and 2). If you already own an iPad and are wondering if you should get the iPad 2, well personally I don’t think there is enough change to justify the upgrade. For me the only reason I might get an iPad 2 is if they come out with cool games that take advantage of the new faster iPad 2 processor but other than that I don’t think I would get one. Some people might need the camera or want the smart cover but I use my iPad to read magazines and play games and the original iPad will do both those nearly as good as the iPad 2. But a few months from now I will probably eat my words and end up getting the iPad 2 just because I’m an Apple fanboy.
You can check out the iPad 2 yourself since they are on display at the X-cite Avenues and Al-Rai branch. They are also taking orders and will be delivering them in a week or two. Here are the prices:
Ipad2-16GB-WiFi Black/White KD199
Ipad2-32GB-WiFi Black/White KD249
Ipad2-64GB-WiFi Black/White KD289
Ipad2-16GB-WiFi 3G Black/White KD259
Ipad2-32GB-WiFi 3G Black/White KD309
Ipad2-64GB-WiFi 3G Black/White KD349
70 replies on “First Impression: The iPad 2”
I agree for those with an iPad 1 already just wait for the third, seeing as I already sold mine and am having iPad withdrawals, I can’t wait to get my hands on mine when it gets here.
my iPad and Bowers & Wilkins headphones were stolen on flight from Doha to Houston last year .. already replaced the headphones now looking to replace the iPad … iPad 2 will be my choice … why exactly do you deem the camera useless?
Well because I have an iPhone with a better camera and I look less awkward taking pics with it compared to the ipad.
Good to know that my original iPad does not come off that bad when compared to the iPad 2.
Don’t you think they are ripping off people with these prices? you know how much is the difference if i bought from the states???
this is crazy…
Tariq, the 16-GB wifi model breakdown is as follows:
1. KD 145/- from the Apple store.
2. KD 11.6/- for 8% US tax.
3. KD 10/- (approximately for DHL shipping).
4. KD 7.25/- (Kuwait customs duty 5%)
Landed cost in Kuwait: KD 173.85
A markup of KD 25.15 seems fair for the hassle or ordering, stocking, etc. and the risk associated with importing a damaged item.
Also take into consideration they paid the supplier in the US to get a large quantity.
The margin on lower-cost items isn’t too bad .. I couldn’t convince myself to buy the 3G-64GB from them at that price though.
Cajie you are absolutely wrong in your calculation. First off the price at the Apple store already includes a healthy profit margin. When Xcite buys the iPads this is not the price they pay. Secondly that 8% tax is a State tax, which Xcite does not pay, since its an export item. Xcite ship a huge bulk of iPads (and possibly other items together), the shipping costs are negligible to them. Lastly I doubt they pay the excise tax, but if they did its 5% of the much lower bulk price.
So no the markup is not fair in the least bit.
Actually Yeni, Xcite buys the iPads at regular store prices and they pay tax (at least at the beginning until Apple makes the iPad available to international sellers).
Currently the only way to buy iPads is from Apple and they limit you to 2 per customer which is why the prices for iPad 2 on eBay are currently expensive and which is why KD25 profit for X-Cite is probably not even covering the cost of which they paid to purchase the devices.
You mean they have a network of thousands of people who go and buy 2 iPads each on Xcite’s behalf? That can’t be right?
It is easier to buy more than 2 iPads now. You can use cash or buy it from Walmart, target, Best Buy, or Apple Stores. The hardest part now is finding them in stock since they are all gone. xcite probably have very few iPad 2s right now.
@Yeni..X-Cite is not authorized to export iPad 2 nor are they authorized distributors, so they will not get those benefits. They must have struck a deal with a supplier in US (like Mark mentioned). So in fact, there will be cost associated with that too.
Bottom line. X-Cite is a business out to make money. As long as there is demand, they will sell at that price (which, compared to the original iPad pricing, seems decent).
I respect what all you guys are saying, but the word BULK Sourcing always make a differ even if its with the different supplier or not.
i still think its way expensive and we can always get a new freaky gadget anytime we want but, i like to buy it from the States with a Student Discount and add the 2 years extra warranty with all the gadgets i want to buy with it. WAAAY CHEAPER than Xcite.
Keep the tread going…
There is no student discounts on iPads and iPhones. Furthermore, there is no bulk discount for iPads and iPhones except for authorized resellers and there are none in Kuwait.
I’ve bought two iPad 2s on Friday. Each cost me $543 (including tax) and I am a student. cajies calculation are correct. Last year I’ve sent my brother a 16GB wifi iPad. The total cost was about 175 KD and it took almost two weeks to arrive to him after I’ve sent it using Aramex (held for a week in customs and ended up paying 20KD shipping and customs). This year he will buy it from Kuwait.
But hey, if you think you can get it to Kuwait cheaper then why don’t you start doing that and make money?!
Wallah ya BoBader
i’m thinking of getting for the personal use and how getting to Kuwait will make me money if i only can get 2 😛
all im saying i might just wait for some androids to show in the Market and see what happens.
Thanks for the review.
Excellent review mark,let me shed some light on my experience ordering the ipad 2 from the US apple store. I logged in at 11.40 on Friday and ordered 2 Ipads to be delivered to my Aramex account.
3 hours later I received an email stating the following mail:
” Freight Forwarders: We do not ship to Freight Forwarders. Therefore your order has been canceled.”
Thats funny as I have received 2 Ipods a month back on the same address.
I retried with one iPad and the order went through, the cover was shipped however another 3 hours later I received the following mail:
“We appreciate your interest in iPad 2. There is a limited quantity per customer for this product and your order has exceeded this limit. Your
order has therefore been canceled and you will not be charged.”
Obviously their system did not cancel the first order as the limit is set to 2 Ipads per customers, however the puzzling part why was the first order declined and the other accepted.
so did the second order get canceled or not? I read a few people had their order canceled because they ordered 2 as well even though 2 is the limit and should be ok.
Let me ad the following in regards to pricing the the 32 GB wifi including taxes and shipping to Aramex totaled 181KD. Add the that 7 KD for shipping charges for Aramex that’s 188KD vs 240kd a variance of 52 KD.
Mark gr8 review .. its unlocked yay!
off topic : did you release an album? 😛
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt5AY1REjew&feature=player_embedded
I have to admit the launch prices are much better this time on with X-cite , retailers like x-cite are coming very close to the apple store prices , which is great and hopefully will buy it in a few weeks time.
iPad 2 the Android killer… no wait… no flash, no usb, same shitty OS… MAYBE NOT!
Dude the iPad2 is not the Android killer… the original iPad killed Android before 2 arrived 😉
Android has been eating away at iPad very successfully. It overtook iOS already in the phone market and is getting close to overtaking it in the tablet market too. The people have spoken.
Agree on the first part. Android has now overtaken iOS to be the #1 OS for phones.
As for tablets, it has not even started. Once the honeycomb devices start coming out with prices that can match iPad 2, then the people will speak.
https://www.blogcdn.com//media/2011/03/tabletpurchase.gif
Android can be found on: Acer, Dell, HTC, LG, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and a bunch of other phones. iOS is only found on iPhone, iPad and the iPod Touch. Also, Apple is the second biggest phone manufacturer in the world. Right after Nokia, and third is RIM then Samsung, then the rest. Apple owns about 90% of the Tablet market share, and no Android Tablet will beat iOS in anyway for so many reasons. Apple is the leader in the phone market, the MP3 player market, the tablet market, and the computer market. They’re the leaders in the computer market because they sell the most computers, more than any other company. I am an Apple loyalist/enthusiast/fan boy, call me whatever you wanna call me, but all these statistics are 100% accurate and feel free to Google each and everyone of them just to be sure.
lol. Android fans are pretty delusional.
Having flash or usb support is pretty useless.
Not true Patrick. I can see hundred of uses if the device can act as a USB host.
I think anything you can do with a USB, you can do with bluetooth or wifi.
I think the most important reason for the USB would be to transfer pictures onto the ipad which is why i just ordered the SD adapter and USB adapter. Other than that though I don’t use USB much on my Mac at home, I have a backdrive connected by USB, my headphone DAC/AMP and iPod cable. On and my mouse.
1. Connect a camera and download all the pictures for instant review on the field (don’t want to carry a proprietary camera connector kit).
2. A friend has a document on his USB flash. Connect and play/review it on the iPad.
3. Phone is running low on battery. Plug into the iPad and charge it via the USB.
etc…
Actually point 2 would be useful. I wonder if it works with the USB adapter, googling it now
ok only works if you jailbreak your ipad
I just wanna see how narrow a post column can get.
I use my iPad at work as well as play. I have literally hundreds of schematics, in PDF format, on my iPad that I take in the field with me. This reduces the number of hard copy prints I take to zero! I love my android phone but would die without my iPad!!
I would really dig point 1, if only they’d release a Lightroom App or a proper Photoshop RAW app.
Isn’t the USB port on many of those Android tablets and phones is miniUSB and therefore requires an adapter as well to connect flash drives?!
No. My Archos 101 has a full size USB and mini USB.
My 10.1″ Android tablet has USB, flash, MicroSD, HDMI out, & Mini USB. I find ALL of these features USEFUL. I am also happy to not be locked into the Apple universe for my app needs. Oh, by the way, I paid USD $299 for it. How ’bout them Apples?
lol not really.. tho I hate any sort of apple products.. overrated lol..
Android is not near the Apple tablets yet.. give it some time, tho the Xoom easily pwns iPad 2 in many aspects. But overall, iPad still is ahead in terms of tablets ..
Good discussion, exactly how is the ipud ahead ‘in terms of tablets…’?
The second order got canceled, I have written back to them to take action, lets see how effective they are in resolving such issues yet maintaining my initial 5 days delivery.
About the dock- I think they sell an updated version specifically for the iPad 2 (you have to love how Apple squeezes every last bit of money from you 🙂
Hi
If you compare iPad2 with Galaxy Tab, how you comment?
I haven’t used the Galaxy Tab so i can’t comment on how good or bad it is compared to the ipad2
Noticed anything about the light leakage from the screen?
didn’t check for light leakage but looking at the video above it doesn’t look like it had it
@lloyd just another ploy like the antenna to discredit Apple!
Do i need to pay Upfront when booking ?
How is the weight difference feeling?
looks like e-waste to me at this stage, i got a desktop, two laptops already n a few mobiles enough to worry about energy waste n carbon footprint. am sure the ipad wont make any difference than make me lazier n act as eye candy for the first month and as an eyesore for the rest of its lifetime. actually, am sick of electronics all around me 24×7. am glad i didnt go for ipad1,think i can live without one for another 5years when it will have a big pixel cam, HD recording 2TB HDD for a basic model and a descent processor for the same price. thats about when my laptops will die or i smash them for poor performance. sorry guys, my take is money cant buy you love nor the perfect accessory or electronic gadget on this one.
AT&T version is it officially unlocked ??
I just ordered the new iPad 32gb Wifi only from the states.It costed me only 150 KD, 100 KD cheaper than the price in Kuwait and I also ordered an wireless keyboard that was like 20 KD. Saved about 80 KD.
@ Abdulla how did you order it? my transaction was declined twice by Apple on the iPAd where as the cover was shipped here is apple second email “Freight Forwarders: We do not ship to Freight Forwarders. Therefore your order has been cancelled.”
Hello, if you have got an Aramex shipping adress there is no chance that you could use it with Apple. This is because some companies in Kuwait complained about people ordering ptoducts from the States that cost a lot cheaper and are not buying from the main suppliers in Kuwait. Apple now blocked any orders that are for Kuwait. I ordered the iPad by puting the adress of a person I know in the States and when he recieves them hes going to send them to me. I had the same problem as yours at the begining but I found out that I cant order any products from the US Apple store. If you have a shipping adress in the UK you could order products from thr Apple store in the UK (www.apple.com/uk). I know this because I ordered my iPhone from the UK and had no problems.
The funny thing is that they shipped the cover for the Ipad 2 from the US store and declined the Ipad2 go figure!
Mark if you get your hands on a Moto Xoom, can you review that also? I might be heading back home in April, and may pick up one of the WIFI only ones.
I have an iPhone and Love it, but I think the Andriod tables are going to give Apple a run for its money..
Will do that, I’ll check and see how I can get my hands on one.
What I wanna know is what do you all do for a living that you can afford to order iPads?! This is not a stab at you. God bless you all and may he give you even more, but I just want to know what you all do for a living, maybe I can bring up the level of my life a little and I can afford to pay for iPads like I can for water!
Gina, dont get carried away. Its perfectly normal not to own gadgets, infact the demand is created by us. all you got to do is say no and look how stuff crumble into dust from the market. relax, its normal to be normal, having driven by latest n greatest gadgets in not, its a luxury some accept as normal thats all. and there are many who cannot afford too buy it in installments as its a very shortlived momentary bliss to own something new and shiny. have seen many who sell stuff in the first month as it does not suite their taste. buy stuff only if u need it and can afford it.
Gina, different people from different strokes!
Hey, does anyone know whether I can find one in a different branch? Or is it only those two?
Mark,
Did you update your iPhone to iOS 4.3?! There should be a new Personal Hotspot feature. Last year I ordered the 3G iPad. This time I bought the WIFi only version since I will be tethering it to my iPhone using this new feature.
late here…
https://www.apple.com/uk/ipad/
I ordered 3 ipads from apple and they have been shipped and on there way. How is that possible?
What address you used ? they shipped the cover but kept canceling the Ipad 5 times ! they don’t ship to aramex i guess !
Hey mark,
I went to xcite, they’ve tolld me they don’t have the 3G version yet, not b4 a month at least !
Can’t I just order it from official website ? it’s too expensive
Ipad2-16GB-WiFi Black/White KD199
on official web it’s for like 140 KD !!!
and you said the At&t version works just fine in Kuwait, can you help please ? I’m sick with the price Boost
Yes I have an Aramex account