TiPb has an excellent review of the iPad 2. The name of the blog (which stands for The iPhone/iPod/iPad Blog) made me wonder if this would be another Apple Fanboy review. It isn’t. Rather, like one of our major cable networks, it is “fair and balanced” 
The review also is thorough. Here are some highlights:
I just received an email from Apple that my wife’s iPad 2 has shipped. When I ordered last Friday early AM, the estimate to ship was 3- 5 business days. It turned out to be 4 business days. So it appears the shipping estimate when you order (now weeks instead of days) is accurate.
The delivery estimate is March 23, 6 days from now. That’s consistent with the 5 to 7 calendar day shipment period from China I’ve experienced with Apple, including the delivery of the AV Adapter 2 days ago and the Smart Cover today.
Finally, for the “are we there yet?” set, my experience is that when checking order status, status changes from “not shipped” to “preparing to ship” about 12 hours before actual shipment.
So my wife and I are expecting a “bundle of joy” about next Wednesday 
Marketing 101 teaches that one way to drive up demand for a product is to create a perception that the product is scarce. I’m not on a first name (or last name) basis with Steve Jobs to ask him. But it seems obvious that Apple had a scarcity strategy for the iPad 2. No pre-orders online that would be delivered on the first day of availability. Limited stock to stores. Having customers wait outside so long lines would be shown on TV.
Apple is a very successful company. Its scarcity strategy for the iPad 2 has been equally successful. Not just the blogosphere, but the mainstream press is replete with stories of high demand, scant supply, long lines, weeks long online wait times, strategies to get an iPad 2 without the wait, etc.
However, this strategy is a two-edged sword. I wrote in Handling devices before you buy: iPad 2 and Xoom how impressed I was when I handled the iPad 2 at a local Best Buy. Had the device then been available, I may have bought it as an impulse purchase. But the iPad 2 wasn’t then available of course. So I didn’t purchase it. When I got home and calmed down, I reconsidered, and decided to wait and see on competitive devices that will be coming out very soon, such as BlackBerry’s PlayBook.
I’m not second-guessing Apple’s strategy. Apple is far more successful than I could ever hope to be. However, for a device whose form factor and user interface is as beautiful and pleasing as the iPad 2, I could see the potential for a lot of impulse purchases, if the device were available. Just saying.
My wife and I had to go to our local Beast Buy today because we could not get through to the Geek Squad installers by telephone after several tries during several days totaling several hours 
But that’s another story. While there, I got to handle, for the first time, the Motorola Xoom (lots in stock) and the iPad 2 (none in stock).
Here are the specs you can look up online relating to the respective form factors of the iPad2 and Xoom:
| iPad 2 | Xoom | |
| Screen size | 9.7” | 10.1” |
| Height | 9.5” (241.2 mm) | 9.8” (249 mm) |
| Width | 7.31” (185.7 mm) | 6.61” (167.8 mm) |
| Thickness | 0.34” (8.8 mm) | 0.51” (12.9 mm) |
| Weight | 1.35 lbs (613 g) | 1.61 lbs (730 g) |
But the cold specs only tell part of the story. Handling the devices, the iPad 2 seemed light and thin, the Xoom heavy and … bulky would be too strong a word, but definitely not thin. My wife told me the same thing, before I told her my impression. She also told me I was a good husband to order her the iPad 2 
I need all the husband points I can get. Thanks, Steve Jobs 
Of the course, the form factor is only part of the story. These devices have a different OS as well as different hardware. And the Xoom will have 4G while the iPad 2 will be stuck in the 3G slow lane. But when it comes to the look and feel of the device, it was no contest. I’m not sure if a non-tech geek would look farther. Even for a tech geek, the siren song of the iPad 2 was strong. Especially with my wife telling me if I got one, we could use them for Face Time calls between us Lucky for me, Beast Buy was out of stock.
As you know, I’ve ordered an iPad 2 for my wife to replace her iPad, which I’m going to sell. But as the picture shows, Steve Jobs’ Reality Distortion Field has got me thinking of ordering a second iPad 2, for me. Why? It’s not very mobile. It’s locked down like other Apple devices. Inking isn’t great. It’s not 4G. It ain’t cheap; for nearly the same price I could get a Xoom which will be 4G. And most of all, I’m swimming in gadgets. So why am I even thinking about an iPad 2?
I asked my wife last night if she would prefer to Galaxy Tab to the iPad 2. I asked because she had complained that the iPad was a bit heavy and large to hold while using it to read in bed (via the iPad’s Kindle app). The Tab is significantly lighter and smaller, but its 7” screen size is still ample for reading, and indeed is larger than the screen on her Kindle.
She warned me that if I was planning on switching her forthcoming iPad 2 with my Galaxy Tab, it would be over my dead body. Being into self-preservation, I assured her that wasn’t my intent. Rather, as a writer of this blog, I was curious about her reasons. Still suspicious, she explained. You may find her explanation of some interest.
Now that I’ve ordered the iPad 2, what am I going to do with the iPad? I could give it to a friend. But I don’t have any; the last one escaped last week 
So I plan to sell the iPad. But how?
I ordered the iPad2 early AM from the Apple Store. 2:30 am is not my prime time to be ordering gadgets or writing blog posts. I would have ordered closer to the 1 am (Pacific) start time but I kept debating between AT&T and Verizon. Finally I decided, and rolled out of bed and waddled over to my computer. I ordered:
I purchased the AT&T unlimited data plan for my iPad. AT&T has since discontinued offering that plan. However, it continues the plan for those who already have it as long as you keep paying and don’t change your plan. In other words, I’m “grandfathered” into the unlimited data plan.
Now that the iPad2 has come out, my wife, who appropriated my iPad, is making subtle hints about wanting it (i.e., “get me the iPad2 if you want to see another sunrise”). Assuming I get the iPad2, I’d like it to have the benefit of the unlimited data plan now on the iPad, which I’d then sell or trade in.
AT&T has confirmed that you can transfer your grandfathered unlimited data plan to your new iPad2. The question is exactly how to accomplish this transfer. With the help of Mr. Google, I found the following advice, which I just confirmed with AT&T customer service:
I still read about the iPad (and now the iPad2) even though some time ago my wife appropriated my iPad in the name of the people (she being the people). And I still use the iPad when she’s not looking (per the Bro Code, mums the word).
The iPad is a pleasure to use. I’m sure the iPad2, with a beefier processor but a more svelte design, will be more so. But the apps? There are a lot of them. But most seem to me to be little or no different than if they were on some other touch device. They don’t take advantage of what makes the iPad a magical and revolutionary device (must free myself from Reality Distortion Field).
This morning I read Om Malik’s iPad May Be Magical. Apps Aren’t. Here’s Why. It articulated well the vague dissatisfaction I’ve had with most iPad apps. Read it, and tell me what you think.