iPad 2

iPad 2 Hands on. [Link]

It will come as no surprise to you that the iPad 2 is lighter. But more than that, it feels qualitatively different, from the casing right through to racing around bends in whatever racing game thrills you.

When I advanced towards the table which housed several iPad 2s in their Smart Covers, I actually thought they were just the cases displayed, alone. To say it's thin is an understatement. It boggles the mind that it's thinner than an iPhone 4, yet doesn't seem to have that "ready to snap" cheapness other super-thin products have. I picked up the iPad 2 when it was still cloaked in a (admittedly horrible) beige Smart Cover case. Don't buy the beige color, whatever you do.

More hands on. [Link]

Okay, we've had a chance to play around the with iPad 2 some more, and here are our big takeaways from the experience.

• This thing is insanely fast. We're not joking -- it's blazingly fast. Everything the iPad 2 does feels like it's on turbo. We're uploading a video of the some evidence of this, you'll be appropriately stunned.
• The design feels great in your hands. Sleek, super thin -- much nicer to hold than the previous version. Definitely has more of a magazine than book feel. Everything is tight and solid. It is pretty amazing how thin they've gotten the device.
• Even software made for the first generation device feels better here. Safari is definitely sped up. Games looked great on-screen, though obviously there are no updates to the resolution of screen technology here.
• This is an evolutionary step, but we definitely don't feel like it's lacking for features. People are going to gobble these up when they see the new apps.

Video tour of the new iPad. [Link]

The spec sheet on the new iPads is pretty impressive, and the photos are tasty—but there's nothing like seeing a pretty face in motion