(Posted by: Eric Rees)
Even though it may be hard for us console and PC gamers to believe, there is a huge following out there that thrive on mobile gaming. With the rise of Angry Birds and DoodleJump, people around the world have been introduced into mild gaming through the iPod/iPhone/iPad. Apple looks to up the ante with it's newest member of the family. Hit the break for all the goodies.
Just before the iPad 2 was announced, games were starting to come out for Apple's blockbuster tablet that were pushing the envelope. Graphics were reaching pretty decent levels and it looked bright for the future of mobile gaming. Real Racing HD and Asphalt 5 are two very respectable racing ports for mobile devices that have some good controls, surprising for the tablet. Mirrors Edge even has mobile version that's supposed to be very fun and takes complete control of the swiping that comes so naturally on the tablet. Hell even Civ has gotten in on the party, Civilization Revolution has gotten high remarks for a mobile game as well. The iPad 2 is only going to build on that success.
Announced today, the biggest change in the iPad 2 is the processor running it today. Apple announced the A5 chip will be shipped with the tablet and that it is indeed a dual-core processor; akin to what we've seen from Android tablets lately. Apple says that the CPU is going to be about 2 times faster and will pump out graphics up to 9 times faster. In short, gaming on the iPad 2 will be much better than ever before. The best news is that the A5 will use the same amount of power as the A4, allowing a 10 hour battery life still.
The battery life won't be the only thing staying the same, this new tablet will ship at the same price as the old one: $499. Finally front and rear cameras are installed on this device and it will also have HDMI output included, as long as you buy the $39 dongle that you need to use it.
Bottom line is that if you are a tablet person this is going to be something to consider. Now that Android has finally caught up in the tablet arena it's not as clear cut as we'd like to think but Apple has a reputation for being easy to pick up and easy to use.
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