Admit it, you’re tempted to buy an Apple iPad. Many people are, as it looks fantastic, is more affordable than most people thought it would be, and is a desirable piece of kit. However, it could be prudent to wait a while. Maybe until the iPad 2 arrives.

Apple has achieved wonders with the iPad, of that there is no doubt. The design is fantastic, as it always is with Apple devices; the UI is both familiar and easy-to-use, even by a 2-year-old; iPad apps are already showing promise, and look set to be as important to the Apple tablet as they are to the iPhone and iPad Touch.

However, if Apple follows its usual pattern, and there’s no reason to suppose otherwise, the iPad 2 will be with us by this time next year, and possibly even earlier than that. So would it be better to wait for the iPad 2? Possibly, and here is why…

The iPad 2 will likely be cheaper, lighter, have a better battery life, and have more features. Many of the disappointing aspects of the iPad will likely be fixed for Mk II.

The recently-unveiled iPhone OS 4.0 has multitasking capabilities, and an iPad version will be released in the fall. Meaning the iPad 2 will have multitasking capabilities straight out of the box. The addition of a camera is almost guaranteed, and is likely one of the things Apple purposely held back from the original iPad.

Support for Adobe Flash is less assured, and really depends on how well HTML5 takes off over the next six months or so. Also not guaranteed but possible are USB ports so that memory sticks can be used with the iPad, and printers, scanners, and other peripherals can be connected to it.

The other big advantage to waiting a year is that you’ll get an idea of what the competition is doing. Right now, the iPad is way out in front.

But before 2010 comes to an end, we’re likely to have tablets from HP, Samsung, Microsoft, Dell, and others either on the market or at least announced and on the way. Any of which could be better suited to an individual’s needs than the first-generation iPad.

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