The first actual reviews of the iPad 2 are out now from all the major sources, and in general, they range from very positive with a few reservations to downright gushing. Almost everyone seems to agree that the new iPad has a big lead on the rest of the tablet market--with a lot more applications, a very strong user interface, and a better entry price point--though there's some disagreement about whether an upgrade to the latest version is necessary for existing iPad users.

Details after the jump.

The most positive of the reviews comes from David Pogue of The New York Times. "My friends, I'm telling you: just that much improvement in thinness, weight and speed transforms the experience," he says. "We're not talking about a laptop or a TV, where you don't notice its thickness while in use. This is a tablet. You are almost always holding it. Thin and light are unbelievably important for comfort and the overall delight. So are rounded edges, which the first iPad didn't have."

Pogue starts his review by relishing in the negative reviews that some folks gave to the original iPad. Then he generally only says good things about the new model. He praises the video camera and the HDMI link, likes the built-in gyroscope, and loves the new cover. His only complaint, mentioned in passing, is about the 0.7-megapixel still images the back camera takes. But his strongest comment is about the price, saying "It means that for the first time, your heart can succumb to the iPad mystique--without having to ignore the practical input from your brain." Given that the price hasn't changed, I'm not sure why this is new now, but I agree that a $499 entry point is compelling.

The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg is positive in his review but more measured. "Unless you are desperate for the cameras or feel you are laboring under the greater bulk of the original model, I don't advise that iPad owners race to get the new version," he says.

Mossberg generally praises the thinness and lightness of the tablet and says that while he didn't find the speed difference to be dramatic, it was notable. He too talks about the many available applications and that it never crashed on him, unlike every Android tablet he's tried. (Personally, I have also seen more crashes on the Android tablets, but I don't find the original iPad perfect--mine crashed this morning, for instance.)

Mossberg complains about the mediocre cameras, says battery life was less than on the original iPad (though still better than the Xoom), and claims it was harder to plug in cables and accessories because the bottom of the device is now angled. He also noted that the new "smart cover" came open in his briefcase, turning the device on and draining the battery. But overall, he says, "The iPad 2 moves the goal posts, by being slimmer and lighter, boosting speed and power, and holding its price advantages, available apps and battery life. As of now, I can comfortably recommend it as the best tablet for average consumers."

Edward Baig of USA Today says the new model "makes what was already a splendid slab even better, even if the overall upgrade is relatively modest." He notes some flaws: the screen resolution and storage are unchanged; it doesn't take advantage of 4G cellular networks; it only has a mono speaker, there's no card slot or USB support; and he reported several glitches with the AirPlay feature for streaming video. But he calls these items "nitpicks."

"The iPad 2 doesn't deliver everything on your tablet wish list," he says."But when it comes to the ever-evolving state of the art, iPad 2 is second to none."

Closer to home, PCMag's Tim Gideon says that "As cocky as it may seem, when Steve Jobs boasts that most of the new 2011 tablets are no match for the original Apple iPad, he has a point."

Gideon--whose review covers more ground --is very positive about AirPlay, the new NitroScirpt Java engine in the Safari browser, FaceTime and PhotoBooth. He even gushes about the new GarageBand app although it crashed on him.

But he says most people won't notice the difference in weight and complains about the poor-quality 0.7-megapixel rear camera and the lack of earbuds. (I generally wouldn't recommend Apple earbuds even if they included them, but I get the point). For people who already have an iPad, Gideon recommends that "unless you're dying for the graphics performance and camera, which, again, doesn't replace a dedicated one, upgrading right now seems a bit rash."

Unlike the other reviewers, he talks a bit about what it doesn't have compared with Android 3.0 tablets, noting the lack of Flash support on the iPad (which is promised for Android but not yet delivered) and how Android offers better multitasking, notifications, and live search features. However, he concludes that "But even without the advantage of far more apps, the iPad 2 simply provides a better user experience and operates more gracefully and seamlessly with your media than Android devices."

Engadget's Josh Topolsky covers much of the same ground, but adds a number of benchmarks to the coverage. The benchmark numbers looked better, and he concludes, "When we first handled the device, it seemed noticeably faster to us, and even after a week with the tablet, it's still zippier than the previous model by a longshot."

I was surprised by the comment that the CPU in the iPad2,  which Apple has described as being a 1GHz, dual-core chip called the A5, was only clocked at 800MHz, according to Geekbench. Unlike The Wall Street Journal, Engadget is reporting better battery life with the iPad2 than on previous models.

On other topics, Topolsky is even more negative about the cameras, saying "Let's just put this out there: the iPad 2 cameras are really pretty bad." But he also raves about GarageBand and is very positive about iMovie, even though it crashed on him.

Overall, he concludes, "For owners of the previous generation, we don't think Apple's put a fire under you to upgrade.... For those of you who haven't yet made the leap, feel free to take a deep breath and dive in -- the iPad 2 is as good as it gets right now. And it's really quite good."

Bloomberg BusinessWeek's Rich Jaroslovsky is also generally quite positive, but he joins Mossberg in complaining that it's harder to hook up to cables than the older one and that the cover comes loose and turns on the device. Overall, says there's no real need to upgrade to the iPad 2, but "let's face it: Many of you are going to anyway."

That's certainly going to be the case. I'll let you know what I think about the new iPad after I get mine tomorrow. 

For more iPad 2 coverage, check out my first impressions.