In typical Apple fashion, the iPad 2 isn’t a massive overhaul but a refinement, leaving much of the original intact. It looks very similar, the screen is the same 9.7in, 1,024 x 768 IPS unit as before, and even where significant new features have been added (the cameras, for instance), there’s plenty of room for improvement.

To start with, the new iPad is smaller and lighter than before: it weighs just a whisker over 600g and measures a mere 186 x 9 x 241mm. Its slenderness is striking. The new iPad is actually half a millimetre slimmer than the iPhone 4, and 4.6mm thinner than the original iPad. That’s some feat of engineering, and with its lighter weight and flat back the iPad 2 feels significantly more comfortable in the hand than the original.

The controls have been left alone, though: the home button remains at bottom-centre, with the volume and hold switch on the right edge at the top. The power switch remains on the top edge on the right-hand side, with the 3.5mm headphone/microphone socket opposite it along the same edge, and the Apple USB interface stays on the bottom edge.

Apple has built magnets into the left edge of the iPad 2, allowing the new optional cover to snap satisfyingly into place. Expected to cost about £25, the cover is divided into four segments with a hinged spine that snaps neatly over the iPad’s magnetic edge. It not only protects the screen, but can be used as a stand for typing or watching movies. This cover is absolutely brilliant for travelling.

There are more changes under the hood, with an updated CPU, a new GPU and a doubling of the original iPad’s 256MB RAM. The CPU is the most interesting update, replacing the single-core 1GHz Apple A4 processor with the dual-core A5. In real-world use it’s immediately obvious that the iPad 2 is a much faster and more responsive device than its predecessor

Amazingly, the iPad 2’s stamina easily surpasses that of its predecessor. In tests the first iPad lasted 13hrs 44mins and in further tests even more impressive battery life produced 16hrs 49mins of use

iPad 2 UK pricing starts at £399 for the 16GB Wi-Fi only model, and jumps up to £659 for the 64GB Wi-Fi + 3G edition.

Other models are priced as follows: 32GB Wi-Fi only at £479, 64GB Wi-Fi only at £559, 16GB Wi-Fi + 3G at £499 and 32GB Wi-Fi + 3G at £579

The Kindle app is optimized for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, giving users the ability to read Kindle books, newspapers, magazines and PDFs on a beautiful, easy-to-use interface. You’ll have access to over 900,000* books in the Kindle Store. Amazon Whispersync automatically syncs your last page read, bookmarks, notes, and highlights across devices (including Kindle), so you can pick up your book where you left off on another device.

Email documents to your new Send-to-Kindle e-mail address and Amazon deliver them to your device. The documents are automatically archived in the Amazon Cloud and available for re-download on your iOS or supported Kindle devices.