Bits: Is the iPad 2 a Lot Better Than the Original?

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Apple says the iPad 2 is 33 percent thinner than the original model.

Over the weekend,?Chris Dixon, an?entrepreneur?and co-founder of the social site?Hunch, lamented on Twitter?that he still had not purchased a new iPad 2. Although Mr. Dixon hopes to buy the highly coveted device soon, he questioned whether it was a “must have” upgrade from the first generation iPad.

I responded, along with a number of other Twitter users, that the new model had changed everything for me.?I personally find that I use the iPad 2 for about 15 hours a week; when I owned the first-generation iPad, I used it for only one to two hours a week.

For me, there are several explanations. The iPad 2 answered a number of complaints I had with the previous model, which always felt a little too heavy and slow. Although the new model is only slightly smaller around the edges — Apple shaved millimeters off the exterior bezel — it is quite a bit thinner and lighter. As a result it is easier to hold when reading or surfing the Web. It is also more manageable on a morning commute.

Others I spoke with who have upgraded iPads also liked it better than the original version.

“Although the new iPad isn’t dramatically thinner, lighter or faster than the first, the collection of small improvements Apple has made make it feel like a huge deal,” said?Alex Rainert, a designer who is head of product at the location-based start-up?Foursquare. “The first iPad always felt a bit too heavy when typing or surfing the Web. The changes to the second generation make it feel like a fundamentally more usable device.”

For me, the iPad 2 also feels considerably faster than its predecessor. In part this is because the new smart cover, as I’ve written in the past, turns the device on as soon as you open it.? Typing is quicker, apps are more responsive, and the Web browser to me feels almost as fast as that of a desktop computer. In the past, the browser was extremely slow with image-heavy Web sites.

Justin Ouellette, a developer at BetaWorks, noted that the?small increases in performance on the iPad went further than they would on a desktop computer.

“The iPad kind of ‘becomes’ whatever app you’re currently running, and being more powerful and physically slighter allows it to deliver that transparent experience ever more convincingly,” Mr. Ouellette wrote in an e-mail. “The best user interface is one you don’t notice because it never lags or causes you trouble.”

What do you think? For those of you who have upgraded to an iPad 2, do you think it’s a big improvement? Is it a “must have” upgrade?