Update : Check out our new iPad 3 review The Apple iPad 2 might be getting a little longer in the tooth, but it's still a viable option in the tablet market. Can iOS 5.1 - soon to be iOS 6 - give it a decent refresh?

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

With properly calibrated expectations--think minor refresh, rather than next generation--the iPad 2 continues Apple's reign as the king of tablets. If you haven't bought one yet, the iPad 2 is a stellar device that still feels like a little slice of science fiction come true.

New A5 chip and RAM significantly improve overall performance, and gaming in particular; Dual cameras work fine for video calls; Thinner, lighter unibody looks slick and makes the iPad more comfortable to use.

No transformative new features; Display is unchanged, so it still isn't usable in bright sunlight and attracts lots of smudgy fingerprints; Cameras yield poor, low-res photos; Using cameras is often difficult and requires awkward grip; No support for 4G cellular data.

Apple made the iPad 2 thinner, lighter, and more powerful than the first-generation iPad. In the face of competition from Honeycomb and others, is that enough to remain the top[...]

Slick; thin and fast; Excellent battery life; Amazing app support

Good; not great; display; Subpar speaker; Lousy cameras

When I first bought my iPad 2, friends asked if I would use it, as I already had a smartphone, a MacBook pro and an iMac. Over the past ten months, however, I have probably used it more than all my other devices put together.

I thought it had a back, but there was no other image than the front image so had no idea there was no back on it. But if that's what you were looking for it is clean looking, thin and smart looking. Just not suitable for my needs

Lovely colour; thin; smart

No back on it

This device is no doubt a step forward for tablet PC technology. Albeit only one. This portable powerhouse is just the sort of lackluster specification update we've come to expect from Apple . While it is thinner and somewhat lighter. The look and overall feel have changed only negligibly.

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

The new Apple iPad 2 is a positive step forward in the evolution of tablet computers. The addition of cameras, RAM, and a dual core processor certainly adds to the long term viability of your investment.

Upon its release, last March, iPad 2 was among the first tablets to come with a dual-core processor.The Apple A5 is a 1GHz CPU that performs admirably still. It's now the brainpower of the iPhone 4S,which manages to thrash most other's in its wake.