The Good Much faster in some areas. Thinner and lighter. Huge, intuitive app library. Smart Covers are slick. iMovie and GarageBand are killer apps. Dual cameras add functionality. Still excellent battery life. Tough-to-beat price. The Bad Not night-and-day better for some iPad owners.

Much faster in some areas; Thinner and lighter; Huge; intuitive app library; Smart Covers are slick; iMovie and GarageBand are killer apps; Dual cameras add functionality; Still excellent battery life; Tough-to-beat price

Not night-and-day better for some iPad owners; Cameras are sub-par by Apple standards; Android sometimes more powerful and open; Smart Cover doesn't guard the back; Still the same 1024x768 display

If you already own the original iPad there's little reason to splurge on the latest. While the cameras bring new functionality, the results as far as the rear camera is concerned, are basic.

More horsepower under the hood; slightly lighter; looks and feels great; battery life is still brilliant

Rear-facing camera offers basic results

If you're reading this, you're probably not one of the diehard Apple cultists who queued overnight to score the iPad 2 on launch day. Even more than its market-defining predecessor, the next-gen tablet from Cupertino was the subject of media hype, fan hysteria and in Asia, price hikes on the grey...

Incredibly sleek look and feel; video calling; tons of apps optimised for iPad; particularly magazines and new media

Lack of Flash video is galling for a media-centric device; bloated iTunes software; difficult to transfer media without iTunes

: Speedier and more streamlined than its predecessor, the iPad 2 is a wonderfully sleek next-gen device – which makes the lack of Flash video, and that clunky iTunes software even more noticeable.

: Very sleek and stylish; lots of iPad apps; especially new media and magazines; video calling facilities

: The omission of Flash video is a big issue; iTunes is dated and it's hard to transfer data without iTunes

Despite some operating system niggles, the otherwise slick iOS combined with elegantly designed hardware leads to some real, tangible benefits for the end user - such as excellent battery life. All this makes the iPad 2 the standard by which all other tablets will be judged.

If all goes according to Apple's plan the iPad 2 will hit the Australian market this Friday, March 25th. We queued up outside an Apple store in San Francisco at 3.30am so you won't have to.

The Apple iPad 2 right now is cheaper and easier to use, but not necessarily better endowed than competing tablets – but that doesn't matter.

Dual core processor; 10-hour-plus battery life; Bright 9.7-inch IPS LCD screen; A third thinner than the original; Front and rear cameras

Highly reflective screen; Slippery; No expandable memory; Poor visibility outdoors; Poor still image quality

Apple has done a fine job with the iPad 2, sure it doesn't have removable storage, or 1080p video cameras in the front and back that do 24p in 16x9 or 22x9 format, or 4G or Wi-MAX, etc but it does a great job for what it is.

See Conclusion

See Conclusion

Everybody wishes the iPad 2 had a higher-resolution display like the iPhone 4, but Apple didn't even have to go there yet. All Apple did was put the iPad on a treadmill. The tablet shed some weight and gained some speed to become the iPad 2 , and it's incredible what a difference that makes.

Skinnier profile shows mercy to your joints; Big performance boost makes apps, games and web browsing more zippy; Same 0 starting price and 10-hour battery life

Mediocre cameras make still photos look slimy; Thinner body makes physical buttons on the side a little harder to press

Seamless hardware and interface design, plus an unparalleled ecosystem of apps, keep the iPad 2 a step ahead of the emerging tablet pack. You'll want to be aware of some important factors, though, before picking a data carrier.

Fast performance; Super-thin design; Support for FaceTime; Superb media-sharing; browsing improvements in new iOS; Choice in data carriers

Poor camera quality; Still lacking Flash support; USB port; HDMI; SD-card adapters cost extra; Won't run on 4G network