Smaller is better, as usual

The San Jose Mercury News has an article by Frank Russell about the weight-loss program for the iPad 2:

Apple actually added hardware to the iPad 2, yet the tablet computer is noticeably thinner and lighter than the original. Is its weight-loss secret magic? Or maybe a little bit of tech surgery.
According to a "teardown analysis" this week by El Segundo tech researcher IHS iSuppli, the Cupertino maker of "i" devices reduced the iPad 2's thickness and weight "by trimming the dimensions of several key components, most notably the battery." The tablet's depth is 8.8 millimeters, about 34 percent thinner than the first iPad. At 1.33 pounds or so, it's fifteen percent lighter.
According to iSuppli, the iPad 2's battery is 2.5 millimeters thick, a reduction of 59 percent from the iPad battery. The makeover, iSuppli noted, comes without a loss of battery life. "The iPad 2 battery design represents a major shift from the iPad 1," Kevin Keller, principal analyst for iSuppli's teardown analysis service, noted in an email this week. "Apple moved from two thicker cells to three thinner ones, flattening out the entire battery structure," Keller wrote. "The new design also allowed Apple to eliminate an injection-molded plastic support frame from the battery subsystem, further cutting down its thickness."
The battery isn't the only reason the iPad 2 is so svelte. Apple's other secrets, iSuppli noted, are elimination of a stamped sheet metal frame from the display; new glass technology for the touch screen overlay; and an ever-so-slight reduction in space between the display and battery.
Overall, owners are more satisfied when they're using their smart new phones to connect on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, according to J.D. Power and Associates.
Smartphone owners who use social media sites rank their overall satisfaction at 783 on a 1,000-point scale, 22 points higher than those who aren't signing on to connect with their friends and contacts.
More than half of smartphone owners, for that matter, have used the mobile Internet or apps to connect to social media sites.
"The gap in satisfaction between customers who use social media applications on their device and those who don't is driven by several factors, but the critical ingredient is whether the user has a positive experience with the wireless device itself," Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates, noted this week.
As for smartphone manufacturers, Apple ranked number one in customer satisfaction with a 795 rating. Motorola and HTC, which both make phones that run Google's Android operating system, followed with ratings of 763 and 762, respectively. The industry average was 761; below that were Palm (now owned by Hewlett-Packard) at 736, Samsung (734), Nokia (734) and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (732). The Westlake Village company's report was based on a survey of 7,275 smartphone owners from July to December 2010.
Bearish on Apple? The iPhone maker's stock was hit with a rare analyst downgrade this week. JMP Securities lowered its rating on the world's most valuable technology company to "market perform" from "market outperform".
In an interview with Tiernan Ray of Barron's Tech Trader Daily blog, JMP analyst Alex Gauna explained that he cut his rating on Apple shares in response to slowing revenue growth at Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision, the parent of contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group. But Gauna also said Apple could be hurt as the intensifying disaster in Japan disrupts tech supply chains.
Apple stock plunged 4.5 percent, then  rebounded somewhat, but finished trading Friday at $330.67, down $3.97, or 1.2 percent, from Thursday's closing price.