I have had my iPad 2 for almost 12 months now and it is still my single most used gadget in my home (excluding my iPhone). You can pretty much do anything you could on a laptop and quite possibly more.

The screen is crisp and bright, and the perfect size for use as an e-reader. The size and weight of the unit also lends itself to replacing all those dusty hardbacks too.

Battery life is amazing under general use, I get 3-4 days between charges with light to medium use reading books, paying games and surfing the Internet.

The iPad has access to a wealth of quality applications via the Apple App Store which will constantly breath new life into the iPad 2 for a long time to come. Notable apps include Pages (Apple's word processing package) and the beautifully crafted Flipboard which aggregates news from various sources and displays it on your iPad like a virtual newspaper.

If your iPad 2 ships with iOS 4 (the operating system of the iPad 2) then I recommend that you upgrade to iOS 5 which brings a slew of new features - one of the better ones being wireless sync - the ability to sync with iTunes via WiFi without having to connect your device to your computer.

A feature introduced by Apple between the iPad 1 and 2 revisions is "Smart Covers". These magnetic covers, available in a range of colours and styles, provide screen protection for your iPad. Aided by the magnetic strip in the cover, they can also turn the device on and off as you open and close the cover which helps to save battery life.

Speculation is rife of an updated model but with retailers starting to discount the iPad 2, now is a great time to bag yourself a bargain.