ipad 2 the missing manual, 2nd edition

iPad 2: The Missing Manual, Second Edition

BY J.D. Biersdorfer

Copyright © 2011 J.D. Biersdorfer. All rights reserved.

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Editor: Peter McKie

Production Editor: Dan Fauxsmith

Illustrations: Rob Romano, Katherine Ippoliti, and J.D. Biersdorfer

Indexer: Julie Hawks

Proofreader: Marcia Simmons

Cover Designer: Karen Montgomery

Interior Designers: Ron Bilodeau and J.D. Biersdorfer

Print History:

May 2010 First Edition.

April 2011 Second Edition.

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of the information contained herein.

ISBN: 978-1-449-30173-6

[TM]

Introduction

Steve Jobs revealed the original iPad on January 27, 2010, finally con￾firming rumors that had been swirling for years: Apple was making

a tablet computer! And when that first iPad model hit stores a few

months later, the public snapped up 300,000 the day it went on sale.

Less than a year later after the first one arrived, Apple put out an even bet￾ter iPad in March 2011. Thinner, lighter, faster, and equipped with a pair of

cameras, the iPad 2 created its own huge lines around the country when

it went on sale. Apple’s inventory pretty much sold out the first weekend.

So what’s the big deal? Tablet computers are nothing new. Tech companies

have tried the concept since the 1990s. But those flat slabs never caught

on for a variety of reasons. Some required input with an easy-to-lose stylus;

some had slow, unresponsive touchscreens; and some were so heavy it

felt like you were hauling around a patio flagstone that happened to run

Windows XP. Most of the public took one look and went: “Nah.”

So why has the iPad proven so popular, even as competitors rush to put

their own clunkier imitations out there, lurching for Apple’s thunder? One

theory: combine a growing desire for Internet access and a shift to digital

music, books, and video with a sophisticated, fast, lightweight touchscreen

device and you have a gadget perfectly suited to the emerging world of

personal media devices. Sure, the iPhone does all that, but you don’t have

to squint on the iPad. The iPad is both an evolution and a solution.

And thanks to the thousands of third-party apps already available, the iPad

can move beyond being just a platter that serves up media and Internet

content. In fact, it can pretty much be whatever you want it to be.

And come to think of it, that’s probably why it’s so popular.