Not a lot.

It’s a powerful little computer. It looks pretty and is apparently much lighter than its predecessor. Its chip is butch.

When the first iPad came out there was the usual smorgasbord of hype about how it would change the way people ‘consumed’ media. And it’s certainly true that tablets of all kinds are doing that. Some of the iPad apps now available from publishers provide  an incisive glimpse of where media is heading, with content delivered in an intuitive and engaging way that far outstrips other digitised editorial forms.

iPad 2 is kind of the same but better. Apart from one subtle difference – the onboard cameras. On both sides. But you knew that because of all of Apple’s pre-launch leaks.

Why does a front-facing camera make a difference for PR? Because of the potential is has for human interaction.

If you think of tablets less as a small computer and more as a big phone that you can see things better on (though the lines are ever-blurring) that makes a bit more sense. As it stands, the iPad is a great platform for consuming media on. Providing the software is right, it gives most of us the ability to read and view editorial content in a bright, entertaining and informative way while we’re on the move. It might not be a substitute for all printed and conventional broadcast media, but it goes a long way.

The previous limitation was the reader or viewer engagement was largely limited to text-based interaction. Type things into social media applications or services. Type comments at the end of a media article. Type comments and enter them into a live debate. That’s all well and good, and there are increasingly good analystics for measuring what that ‘feedback’ means for those concerned. But it’s pretty one-dimensional, a bit laborious and a fairly closeted kind of engagement.

If Apple gets it right with Facetime, and other tablet makers follow suit (which they tend to do), the camera’s capacity to enable conversation – see the face, hear the voice – has the potential to change the way in which media content is devoured (hey, that seems like a better word than the well-worn consumed) and people are persuaded.

It could be a subtle yet important development in the quest for certainty in the influence game, because media becomes more powerful.

Let’s hope that power is used appropriately, and PRs get to grips with its potential quickly.