The iPad 2, which was unveiled last week by the Apple CEO Steve Jobs, has now gone on sale in the US. The release of the second-generation iPad by Apple marks the company’s ongoing efforts to maintain its dominance in the tablet computers’ arena, which is becoming increasingly competitive.

The online orders for the iPad 2 were opened by Apple at 4.00am (8pm AEDT) on Thursday; and the device is set to hit the company's 236 US stores at 5.00pm (9am AEDT) on Friday, amid rave reviews from the prominent tech columnists of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

Noting that the new iPad “keeps Apple ahead in the tablet race, at least for now,” the Journal's Walter Mossberg said: “While it's evolutionary rather than revolutionary like the first model, the changes Apple has made are generally pleasing and positive, and the device worked very well for me.”

About the iPad 2, which is one-thinner slimmer than its predecessor and almost 15 percent lighter and faster, the Times’ David Pogue said that the improvement in thinness, weight and speed “transforms the experience” of using an iPad. Pogue also added that the front- and rear-facing cameras of the new tablet were a “treat.”

The iPad 2 will be launched in at least two dozen other countries - including Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland – on March 25!