Fruit cocktail
Orange has confirmed that it will stock Apple's iPad 2. The network said it will offer apple's next generation tablet with Wi-Fi and 3G as well as revealing its data plans for the highly anticipated tablets in ‘the coming weeks'.
So far it appears that Orange is the only network to confirm the iPad 2's arrival, although it is highly unlikely that others will not follow suit.
It is barely a week since Apple unveiled its latest tablet and already the repercussions are being felt. It prompted Samsung to have a re-think as it noted certain parts of its tablets will have to be improved as the iPad 2 is very slim, while Motorola's shares took a hit upon the iPad 2's unveiling, as it launches its own Honeycomb Android tablet, the Xoom.
Apple's iPad 2 debuts Apple's next SoC, the A5 while managing to be 33 percent thinner than the original device. The dual core A5 chip promises up to 2x the CPU power and 9x the graphics performance from what will probably be an Imagination Technologies POWERVR SGX543 GPU.
As expected, the evolved tablet sports rear and front cameras in a lighter body that is skinnier than the iPhone 4. It has 10 hours battery life and comes in black and white flavours.
It will be interesting to see how much the iPad 2 contracts will be from networks, especially with reports that the now reduced original iPad is still in demand.
According to The New York Times, many people who own an iPad are keen to upgrade to the new version and it appears a number of shopping sites are keen to buy the first gen tablet and could break resale records for electronic devices in the process.
A spokeswoman for eBay called Annie Lescroart told the newspaper that over 15,931 iPads have been put up for ‘Instant Sale' on the site since the iPad 2 was unveiled.
The 16GB original model which retailed for $500 not so long ago is fetching an average of $305 on eBay, apparently, while the 64GB version is selling for around $585. Lescroart reportedly confirmed that eBay saw thousands of offers on the iPad within a few hours fo the iPad 2 announcement.
The trend is apparently not restricted to eBay and there are reports that there has been a sharp rise of iPad listings on Craigslist, selling for between $300 and $600.
