Last year, we devoted part of our June 2010 book to the iPad Buyers’ Guide, the first-ever look at the world of accessories and apps for the original iPad. Over one million downloads later, we began work on an even better sequel. Today, we’re proud to announce the release of the iPad 2 Buyers’ Guide—a standalone publication devoted entirely to the best hardware, accessories, and software in the growing iPad ecosystem!
Now 146 pages in size, the iPad 2 Buyers’ Guide has been completely rewritten from the ground up, spotlighting the latest and greatest releases for both the brand-new iPad 2 and the first-generation iPad. Whether you’re looking to buy an iPad, sell an iPad, choose the best docking or AirPlay speaker system, find apps, games, or cases, the iPad 2 Buyers’ Guide has everything you’re looking for in one place. All of our top picks are inside, selected strictly on the basis of merit by iLounge’s editors.
Here are some of the sections you’ll find:
- From Our Editor
- 2011: “The Year of iPad 2”
- iPad By The Numbers: Our 2008-2011 Polls
- New From iLounge: iLounge + Mac
- Sneak Peeks
- iPad 2 Buyers’ Guide Top Tweeter Contest
- All About the iPad 2
- Choose the right iPad 2 version, capacity, color, and data plan for your needs.
- The iPad Lifestyle Guide
- Home. Office. School. Play. Thanks to new applications, iPads have found their way into all walks of life. We spotlight the best picks for popular careers, hobbies, and needs.
- iDesign 2011
- Profiles and interviews illustrate the impressive design work of six Apple third-party developers:
- * iHome
- * Incipio
- * Just Mobile
- * Mobigame
- * The Omni Group
- * Twelve South
- The iPad Accessory Buyers’ Guide
- Stands, cases, speakers, and many more types of accessories are featured in this massive look at iPad and iPad 2 add-ons.
- iPads Around the World Gallery
- What’s New in iPod
- Noteworthy recent accessory and app releases for iPods.
- What’s New in iPhone
- Updates on the white and Verizon versions of iPhone 4.
- What’s New in Mac
- New iMacs and cool products from iLounge + Mac.
- Index to Advertisers
- Closing the Curtain
- What’s coming next for the iPod, iPhone, and Mac.
If you’re an iPod, iPhone, or Mac user—and not quite sure whether you want or need an iPad—you’ll enjoy the awesome new iDesign section, which discusses the industrial and interface design work of six leading third-party developers whose products span multiple Apple devices. We’ve also included small sections to update readers on what’s most interesting in the iPod, iPhone, and Mac worlds right now.
As always, our iPad 2 Buyers’ Guide is a completely free download. You have a choice between two versions: one is in book-style two-page spread format, which is best for computer screens that are 15” or larger on the diagonal. The other is a full-screen single-page format, available for viewing on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, as well as printing on color printers. We strongly recommend the single-page version to iOS users—this version was optimized for your devices. Please download only one version so that others can get their copies quickly.
To view the Guide, PC users should have Adobe Reader 8.0 or later. Mac users should use Apple’s Preview or Adobe Reader 8.0 or later. Due to the Guide’s massive footprint, we strongly recommend that iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch users use Apple’s iBooks or a third-party PDF reader rather than attempting to view the entire book in Safari. We have tested it on everything from a second-generation iPod touch to an iPhone 3GS to iPads and iPad 2s, and it works on all of these devices using iBooks.
Please tell a friend about the iPad 2 Buyers’ Guide! We welcome you to share it on your file-sharing network of choice, with friends through e-mail, or though a mirror link (post in comments below). Enjoy!
