ipad 2

I FaceTimed Piers today so he could watch me eat my dinner at Burger King.

It was after my Alienware launch event and I thought I was going to have to eat alone. Luckily, he was able to get on FaceTime so I had company!

I managed to get a corner table and propped my iPad 2 on it. I’m using a Viva hard case so it’s able to stand up both lengthwise and heightwise.

Piers had woken up not so long ago and was still in bed with bed hair. Haha.

FaceTime on iPad 2

I wasn’t able to hear him very well cos of the ambient noise around me and had to occasionally put my ear at the speaker and make him repeat what he said. Otherwise, we were able to have a decent conversation while I munched on my burger and fries.

No one arrested me for insanity, talking and giggling at a gadget for 20 minutes.

The only annoying thing about FaceTime is that it requires Wifi to work (not 3G) and you need a pretty strong signal.

It also works if you have a 3G phone that can act as a hotspot. I tethered my iPhone 4 to the iPad and got a really good connection. Very smooth, no lag at all.

The sharpness of the picture is inconsistent. Sometimes it feels almost HD clear, sometimes it gets pixelated, especially if your partner moves around too much.

Here’s a screenshot taken on the iPad:

FaceTime on iPad 2

On the whole, I think it’s really great being able to video chat on the go. Of course, you do want to find a pretty private space to conduct your video chats, which is quite tough in Singapore, but I don’t think it’s a huge issue.

The Alienware event was great but I’ll blog about it next week.

Gonna be there again tomorrow (1 pm to 4 pm) so go check it out. At Suntec City.

15% off Alienware machines this weekend!! It’s too good to miss!!!!!!

Sheylara with Alienware m14x

I really did think about it for a long time, whether to buy an iPad 2 to replace my still-newish iPad 1.

I thought about it for about three days.

Hey, that’s long, considering that I would have tried to buy it on launch day had I not been thinking about it. After it launched, for three days, I looked at all the advice given by my readers, weighed pros and cons, and read reviews.

What decided me finally was reading about how, because of the new processor, cool apps will be made for the iPad 2 that won’t be able to run on the iPad 1.

I totally do not want to be stuck not being able to play some great new game that I must play!

iPad 2

Of course, even after deciding, I was still hesitant. It’s a huge cost, after all. The one I want, 32GB 3G, costs £579 (S$1174).

So I told myself, “Okay, I’ll walk down to the Apple store later and if they have one available, I’ll get it. If not, erm, I might ask Elyxia to buy one for me from Hong Kong. (lol)

I really wasn’t expecting the store to have it three days after launch. So it was quite an easy deal to make with myself.

I even waited till Piers knocked off from work at 5 pm so I could drag him to the store with me. Needed someone to either congratulate or console me.

We reached the store at 5:30 pm and started playing around with the display units. I couldn’t muster the nerve to ask if they had any in stock for sale.

Just 20 seconds after we laid our hands on the display sets, a guy walked over and the following conversation ensued:

===

Apple salesman: Hi, is there anything I can help you with?

Piers: Yes, you wouldn’t happen to have any iPad 2s in stock now, would you?

Apple salesman: What version did you want?

Me: 32GB 3G.

Apple salesman: As a matter of fact, we do have that. Your timing is perfect cos we just received a new shipment an hour ago.

Me: Oh! Great!

Apple salesman: We’ve only got the black one, though.

Me: That’s fine!

(Two seconds of silence while he figured out if my response meant I wanted to buy it or not. My eager, expectant look finally tipped him off.)

Apple salesman: Oh, right! I’ll be back in a second with it.

===

Is that miraculous or what!

This morning (about 10 am), Piers called up the store again (cos now he wants one) and they’re all sold out again!

They say they might get another shipment soon but it’s unpredictable. Might or might not.

So, anyway, just like that, I am a broke owner of an iPad 2!!!

Now I will do an unboxing, although I don’t know why anyone would want to see an iPad 2 unboxing because all Apple gadgets have the same stuff in their boxes.

iPad 2