iPad 2: More product refresh than revolution

By Gavin Byrne

Steve Jobs on Wednesday unveiled the iPad 2 in a presentation that was heavy on new accessories and applications, light on new features.

Although iPad 2 is “lighter, thinner, faster” than the original, with some improvements at the processor level, Informa Telecoms & Media believes that Apple has lost an opportunity to further advance its lead in the tablet market. In a market where Apple’s Android-based competitors have had to wait for a tablet optimised version of Android (Honeycomb), it seems that Apple has taken its foot off the innovation accelerator.

Without the pressure of strong competition in the tablet market, are they getting complacent in Cupertino? Indeed, it seems that the iPad 2 is more of an iPad 1.5, with the real innovations still to come in future iterations. Nevertheless, helped by more than 65,000 iPad applications and some colourful accessories, Informa Telecoms & Media still believes that iPad sales will more than double this year to over 30 million.