Ipad2 - The best ever?

In case you're in the market, here are nine new features of the next generation iPad that you can’t get on the old version, according to Apple.

1. It has a front facing camera. For all those video chats you never knew you needed—until now.

2. It has a rear facing camera. Need to take a picture or capture video and your phone, Flip camera, or actual camera won’t do? Pull out the iPad 2 and put its VGA camera to work.

3. It’s lighter and thinner—33 percent thinner than the first iPad. It’s also shed some pounds. The new iPad—the WiFi only version—is 1.3 pounds compared to the first generation, which is 1.6 pounds. If you’re looking for definition in those arms, you’ll have to hit the gym.

4. It’s faster! Twice as fast, to be exact. And that’s thanks to the dual-core A5 processor. As long as my videos load faster, I don’t care if it’s powered by a dual-core processor or 5-hour Energy.

5. It comes in two colors: black or white—unlike the black and white cookie.

6. It’s supports two networks. Move over AT&T, Verizon is also available on the iPad 2. We hear that now.

7. It connects to a larger screen. There’s HDMI video output (with resolution up to 1080p) for the times you want to hook up your iPad 2 to an HDTV and view that killer new app on a larger screen.

8. It comes with a new operating system. Just in time for the iPad 2, Apple released iOS 4.3. What does that mean? Your Safari Web browser will perform better—plus iTunes home sharing. For the times your MacBook Pro is out of reach.

9. It has a new cover, which (among other things) cleans the screen for you. No more unsightly fingerprints.

The price for the iPad 2 is the same as the original iPad—when it first hit stores—at $499 for the 16GB WiFi version. Good news is if you want to buy the iPad 1, Apple has slashed the price to $399 for the WiFi version. Cost of the 3G goes up to $729.