Enterprise Mobility: Apple's iPad 2 Raises the Bar on Competitors

Although the iPad 2 isn't the dramatic redesign that some observers had hoped it would be, the company has managed the difficult feat of balancing expectations and economics, and in the process has raised the bar for the competition. The new model includes front- and rear-facing cameras and a new dual-core processor, is lighter and thinner than the original, and is available in any color you want, as long as it's black or white. But the pricing hasn't changed from last year: the iPad 2 starts at $499 for the WiFi-only 16GB model, and the top of the line unit (with WiFi, 3G mobile networking from AT&T or Verizon and 64GB of storage memory) still comes in at $829. But will developers will be able to take full advantage of the dual-core processor environment upon the expected release of iOS 5 later this year? If so, the new CPU and the apparent doubling of the device's working RAM to 512MB should open up significant new possibilities and provide users with a more stable platform than the original iPad.