With the improved GPU/CPU...

[madhatter61]

I understand that reasoning, and certainly most apps aren't very dependent on performance anyway. But this is also what I was afraid of, because what is the point of having an iPad that is so fast when apps won't take advantage of it? I mean, really, there is no point at all, except that maybe it can output movies at 1080p instead of 720p, which is hardly a big deal at all. I'm not complaining, as I'm not sure what the future will hold, but I definitely am hoping that apps will expand into more advanced functionality considering that iPad apps are quite basic right now.

It is gaming folks. 44% of the apps on iPHONE are quess what ... games. The iPAD2 is a breakthrough performer and the gaming community will take advantage of the new A5 with GPU (...543M2) add the extra 3d gyro. WOW

As for the concern of overkill, it is really just progress. The price is the same, the battery life is the same. The logic is the same ... and the new one can certainly do everything the first iPad can do. It can just do it faster and the graphics look a lot better in some instances ... depends on the app.