The speed test measured how fast the iPad 2′s Safari browser executed JavaScript. The test showed that iPad 2 runs it about four times faster than the original iPad. Part of that boost is due to the custom dual-core processor, Apple‘s A5 chip. But a significant contribution is from software improvements Apple made in the iOS 4.3 firmware, which is new with the new iPad, and in the Safari browser.

BURNING QUESTION: Are mobile Web apps ever going to grow up?

The faster a browser can process JavaScript, the faster and smoother even complicated Web sites will appear to run on your tablet or smartphone. The test made use of the SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark, which is available online to anyone.

Apple unveiled the iPad 2 last week in San Francisco, with a companion even in London, U.K., where Jason Jenkins, who writes for CNET UK’s Crave gadget blog, had the brilliant idea of actually running a key benchmark test in the few minutes that he had the tablet in his hands.

[Jenkins' original post at the CNET UK was picked up and referenced by a range of tech Web sites, such as here at The Unofficial Apple Webblog; but the original CNET UK post, at this writing, is no longer available. A cached version could still be found.]

“The good news for anyone thinking of buying the iPad 2 is that it did incredibly well in the test, outperforming all the rivals we have in the building to compare with it,” Jenkins reported.

The resulting number is in milliseconds, so the lower the number, the faster the JavaScript is being processed. The results are shown in the accompanying bar graph or in the graph still hosted at CNET UK.

The rivals included the Google Nexus S smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, both running Android, and the Android browser. Nexus S with Android 2.3.2, took 6,128 milliseconds to run the benchmark; the Samsung device, 7,066; iPad 2 took 2,097 seconds.

The competitors also include the original iPad and an iPhone 4, both of which initially ran the current iOS 4.2 firmware. Jenkins later their firmware, to a beta version of iOS 4.3, and found the new software led to big performance gains for both devices in JavaScript processing. For example, the benchmark processing time on iPhone 4 dropped from 10,414 milliseconds to 4,151; on the original iPad, from 8,321 to 3,261.

Jenkins concluded that overall iPad 2 is about 1.5 times faster on the Web than the original tablet.

The 4.3 iOS version will be released for existing iPads, iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS models on March 11. Users likely will see a noticeable improvement in Web performance, at least in some applications.

Jenkins argues that this level of improved Web performance make buying the original iPad a very good deal, especially with the current discount now being offered by Apple. “Our numbers indicate that — providing you’re mainly going to use the iPad for Web browsing rather than gaming or videoconferencing — that’s a pretty nifty deal, as the performance difference between the two [iPads] is closer than Apple’s marketing might lead you to believe,” he writes.

Jenkins quick benchmark is not intended as a definitive analysis of how well iPad 2, and iOS 4.3 with the latest Safari actually handle Web content. That’s a complex field, depending on more than just the raw processing power of the computing hardware. Performance can be heavily influenced by the various components of inside the Web browser, by the Web server itself, and the way that browser and server interact.

With iOS 4.3, Apple has incorporated into Safari an updated Nitro (formerly Squirrelfish) JavaScript engine. The engine is the component that interprets and executes the actual JavaScript either in a browser or for a Web server). Apple has an aggressive program to implement HTML5 specifications in Safari, and refine and improve its Web performance.

The iPad 2, set to be available on March 11, is faster, thinner and lighter than its predecessor tablet and includes two cameras for video. These and other new features and apps will likely lure many business users to try out the new device, several IT managers said.

Therefore, it’s inevitable that large IT shops will have to spend significant time and expense supporting them, the IT managers said.

Unfortunately for those IT executives, Apple and its CEO, Steve Jobs, didn’t talk about such business concerns at the unveiling of the iPad 2 and iOS4.3 on Wednesday, analysts noted.

Generally speaking, the massive numbers of workers who are using consumer-focused products like tablets and smartphones for business tasks are already forcing their will on IT shops and the corporations they serve, some IT executives said this week.

“I have coined this ‘the tyranny of consumerization,’” said Dave Codack, vice president of employee technology and network services at TD Bank Financial Group in Toronto. His group supports some 81,000 workers at the financial services firm.

Codack said his organization is currently testing the original iPad device along with Apple’s iPhone smartphone for various company-related uses, and it plans to test the iPad 2 and the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet from Research In Motion that’s slated to ship soon.

Codack is not a Luddite, not even close, and says his IT staffers “seem to be excited” about the new dual-camera feature, dual processor, improved graphics and lighter weight of the iPad 2. “I believe this translates into additional perceived benefit for end users,” he said.

But Codack quickly added that “frankly, the newer technology is making these devices more consumer-oriented. With employees using these devices in their day-to-day lives, it’s inevitable they will expect enterprise support to eventually bridge these two worlds, which will put pressure on the internal technology organization to step up.”

He said he called the process a form of tyranny because “the enterprise is not dictating technology with these devices; the revolt is coming from the end-user community.”

Codack’s point of view about consumer devices becoming workplace tools is not at all new but has been aggravated by Apple’s iPad 2 announcement, some analysts noted. Apple had made a fairly big push to show enterprise friendliness in the iOS mobile software it unveiled last year, adding support for third-party VPNs used by corporations and other improvements.

However, analysts argued that more needs to be done to satisfy corporate IT needs.

“Yes, there’s excitement for what iPad 2 brings to business users, [but there's also] disappointment for how hard Apple makes it for enterprise IT to deploy and manage,” said Jack Gold, an analyst at J.Gold Associates. “Apple did not address this at all with iPad 2 or iOS 4.3. I think they missed an opportunity.”

Apple might be planning other moves to satisfy enterprise needs, but IT managers will still have to work with third-party vendors such as Sybase, McAfee and MobileIron to manage and secure the iPad 2, Gold added.

Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney said that Apple apparently feels that “the consumer is going to drive the enterprise.” While Apple encourages businesses to adopt the iPad, it “has no intention of becoming a Dell, an HP or Lenovo as far as enterprise support.”

A company with workers using Apple products must either provide back-end support to a limited number of applications or reorganize their entire support model to meet Apple’s way of doing business, Dulaney said.

Another option would be for companies to buy iPad 2s and other mobile devices from third-party integrators that would be charged with “doing their best to support Apple products.” But, he added, such support “will always be limited.”

Corporate concerns over limited support from Apple are often fairly broad. Supporters of Apple in the workplace generally believe such criticism is unfair, given their believe that a new iPhone or iPad can significantly improve worker productivity.

Jude Olinger, CEO of The Olinger Group, said he sees both the potential workplace benefits and the likely support challenges of the coming iPad 2.

Olinger Group, a market research firm, bought 284 first-generation iPads last April for its representatives to conduct shopper surveys in-person at 134 U.S. shopping malls.

Olinger said he now plans to buy 20 of the new iPad 2 tablets, partly to try out the two-way FaceTime video chat capability. That new feature could allow home office personnel to observe or even participate in a remote survey.

“The front and rear camera will be very useful for training survey interviewers, for capturing qualitative information and for seeing nonverbal cues if we are interviewing a survey respondent,” Olinger said.

But Olinger faulted Apple for its continued lack of Flash player support on the iPad, which prevents the playing of some videos. “It is a disappointment,” he said. “I wish they had Flash support or a workaround.”

A more crippling limitation is Apple’s lack of support for the iPad, specifically during the deployment of hundreds of new devices, Olinger said.

“The hardest thing with the original iPads was how to activate nearly 300 machines at one time,” he said. “With four people working activations, they could only get 40 done in a day.”

While Olinger said he has become an Apple convert in recent years and lauds the intuitive nature of its interface, he thinks the reputation of the vendor has fallen down in terms of overall enterprise support. That lack of support makes it costly to use Apple products on a large scale, he added.

“If Apple could get their enterprise applications together, they could give Microsoft a run for their money,” he said. “Starting with iPhone, they are backing into the enterprise.”

Codack at TD Bank is deploying long-term tests and trials of various devices, including the iPad, partly to evaluate how much IT support will be needed.

For smaller companies, support concerns for the iPad 2 don’t offset the benefits gained from the innovative ways it can be used.

James Burland, who writes the iPad Creative blog and works as an assistant at Anglebury Press, a small printing company on the south coast of England, said he expects the extra horsepower will provide a general boost in the performance of the Google Docs service the company uses for job planning.

“We are also toying with [providing] live video support to customers via FaceTime, because many have either a Mac or an iPhone, and using an iPad to drive a very large display on the factory floor to provide job progression updates and general information,” Burland said.

Gold said that RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook would be a good fit for companies concerned about Apple’s support operation.

Motorola recently acquired a small enterprise management company, 3LM, to enhance the enterprise management and security capabilities of Android-based mobile systems, Gold said. He did note that without such enhancements, plain vanilla Android is “even worse than iOS” in enterprise manageability and security.

“End users love the concept of iPad,” Gold concluded. “But IT ultimately has to deploy and pay for the ongoing device maintenance and control efforts. This is a real cost to companies that users don’t usually see or appreciate, but it’s real and substantial nonetheless.”

SAN FRANCISCO – At a special event in San Francisco Wednesday, Apple unveiled the iPad 2, the follow-up to the original iPad it released last April. The iPad 2 features an all-new design along with new features including built-in cameras and a new gyroscope.

At the heart of the iPad 2 is a 1GHz dual-core Apple A5 processor, which should provide a boost over the 1GHz single-core Apple A4 in the first iPad. Apple says the A5 is two times faster than the previous processor, while graphics performance is nine times faster–welcome news for everything from games to video-editing apps like the soon-to-be-released iPad-optimized version of iMovie.

“The graphics on this thing are wonderful,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who made a surprise appearance at the Wednesday event despite being on medical leave.

The A5 also has a similar low-power consumption rating as the A4. Like the original iPad, the new model promises 10 hours of battery life.

The iPad 2 features two built-in cameras, for use with FaceTime video chat and other apps. FaceTime can be used between two iPad 2s, between the iPad 2 and an iPhone or iPod touch, or between an iPad 2 and a Mac using FaceTime for Mac. As with FaceTime on other iOS devices, you’ll be able to use the front-facing camera to capture your own image; you can switch to the rear-facing camera during conversations to show chat participants what you’re looking at without having to flip around your iPad.

Apple also announced a new Photo Booth app for the iPad. The app uses the front-facing camera to snap your image, which you can then alter with eight included effects. The Photo Booth app previews all effects on one-screen in real-time.

The iPad 2′s front camera is capable of recording VGA-resolution (640-by-480) video at 30 frames per second with audio. The front camera can also take still photos at 640-by-480. The back camera can record HD video at 720p at 30 frames per second with audio. When in still camera mode, the back camera has a 5X digital zoom.

The iPad 2 features a 9.7-inch LCD screen with a 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch, like the original iPad.

Overall, the iPad 2 is thinner and lighter than its predecessor, weighing 1.3 pounds and measuring 0.35 inches thick. The original iPad was 1.5 pounds (1.6 pounds for the 3G iPad) and 0.5 inches thick. The iPad 2 is actually thinner than the iPhone 4, which is 0.37 inches thick.

Other new features include a gyroscope, which has previously been included in the iPhone 4 and fourth-generation iPod touch. Apple says the gyroscope feature works with the iPad 2′s built-in accelerometer and compass to sense the direction the iPad is headed and how it’s moving. That should affect gaming and mapping apps, giving both more of a 360-degree feel.

The iPad 2 supports 1080p video out using an Apple VGA Adapter or the newly announced Apple Digital AV Adapter. Users will also be able to choose between a black or white iPad, which will both ship at the same time. That stands in stark contrast to the iPhone 4, which was also supposed to be available in both black and white options; however, the white iPhone 4 has been continually delayed, with model scheduled to arrive sometime this spring.

Apple offers six models of the iPad 2, with pricing identical to the original iPad’s. There are three Wi-Fi only models: a $499 version with 16GB of flash storage; a $599 model with 32GB of flash storage; and a $699 model with 64GB of flash storage.

Apple will offer three 3G-equipped models: a $629 version with 16GB of flash storage; a $729 model with 323GB of flash storage; and a $829 model with 64GB of flash storage. According to Apple’s iPad 3G Website, the 3G-enabled iPad 2 is designed to run on either AT&T or Verizon, but not both carriers for the same tablet.

Apple says the iPad 2 will be available on March 11 through the online and retail Apple Stores. You can’t place an order for the new tablet until March 11, according to Apple’s online store. As of this writing, the original 16GB Wi-Fi iPad was available through Apple’s clearance section for $399.

The iPad 2 specifications call for iTunes 10.2, which Apple released Wednesday afternoon. iPad 2 also requires Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later (or Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 if you’re using that other platform.)

In a little less than a year, the iPad has become a big part of Apple’s business. Jobs said during Wednesday’s presentation that Apple sold nearly 15 million iPads during a nine-month period in 2010. According to Apple, the iPad has more than a 90 percent share of the tablet market. “While others have been scrambling to copy the first generation iPad, we’re launching iPad 2, which moves the bar far ahead of the competition and will likely cause them to go back to the drawing boards yet again,” said Jobs in a press release.

At the event, Jobs acknowledge the role of the retail Apple Stores as a key to the success of the iPad. The stores’ built-in ability to support the iPad was key to educating customers and to handle customer questions. “Without these stores, I don’t think we would have been successful either,” Jobs said.

“It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough,” said Jobs at the end of the iPad 2 event. “That it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the result that makes our hearts sing.”

Apple has a video demonstration of the iPad 2 available on its Website.

Apple posted the video of today’s iPad 2 event. The video is also available if you subscribe to the Apple Keynotes podcast in iTunes.

SAN FRANCISCO – DirecTV announced on Wednesday that it’s working on an iPad app that will let users of the satellite TV service browse shows, set up recordings, and control their DVRs using Apple’s tablet. The company already has an iPhone app that lets you view listings and schedule recordings.
DirecTV hasn’t given an official release date for the app, except to say that it’s “coming soon” on a special section of its Website, but the app promises to basically turn your iPad into a giant remote control.

According to the DirecTV page, the app will launch at a home screen that gives you the latest info on shows and movies you’re watching, upcoming listings for your favorite shows, and even a sports roster—complete with scores.

You’ll also be able to program your DVR from your iPad by scheduling or canceling recordings, control DVR playback of recorded shows.

Unlike the apps from Dish Network, however, it doesn’t appear that DirecTV will allow you to stream recordings from your DVR to your iPad.