Rumors be gone, the new iPad is here. Albeit, without an official name yet. Seriously, it's called "The new iPad." *facepalm* It appears Apple is dropping the numerical naming system from the iPad line and will adopt an iMac and MacBook like naming system with each subsequent release simply going by "iPad." All of that naming hoopla has been cleared up. Which is still incredibly confusing, because Apple is still selling the iPad 2, which when positioned right next to the new "iPad" looks like the superior device to the average person.
Display
The device features the rumored Retina Display with 264 pixels per inch for a total resolution of 2048 x 1536. Pixels become indistinguishable when held 15 inches from the user. Apple expected users to hold the was expected to be held at 10 inches from the user.
Processor and Camera
All of this is powered by an A5X dual-core cpu and quad-core graphics processor. According to Apple the A5X is four times faster than the Tegra 3. The new iPad also sports an improved iSight camera, with a 5-megapixel backside illuminated sensor for the rear camera, with a 5-element lens, hybrid IR filter, auto-exposure, and auto-focus and Apple designed ISP. So, it’s essentially the same setup as the iPhone 4S minus the 8 megapixel rear camera. The camera has 1080p video recording as well, with video stabilization, and temporal noise reduction.
Limited Siri Functionality
The new iPad is Siri capable as well, kind of. It is only capable of voice dictation and comes with support for US English, British, Australian, French, German and Japanese. Expect the jailbreak community to change this in the coming weeks and months.
4G LTE Capable
But, the big announcement, it has 4G LTE capability. Performance is amazing with 21Mbps HSPA+, DC-HSDPA at 42Mbps, and LTE rounding out the top with speeds of 73Mbps. Whether or not you get these speeds in the real world depends on your location and the crapiness of your network. The device is 3G world ready and Tim Stevens is claiming that the device has “the most bands ever.”
Battery Life
The iPad will sport 10 hours of battery life on 3G and 9 hours on 4G (so much for a big dip there). With all that new tech crammed inside the new iPad is 9.4mm thin, and 1.4lbs. Slightly heavier, but barely noticeable.
Price and Avalability
The new iPad will maintain the same price points for the current Wi-Fi models and the 3G/4G capable models will adopt the tradition 3G pricing of before. Apple is launching the device simultaneously in the U.S., Canada, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan on March 16th. Also, the iPad 2 will continue to be around and drop by $100 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model, the only model that will presumably be available after current stock sells through.
Apple and company showed off an incredible amount of games, inviting Epic Studios on stage, amongst others, to show off the increased graphics power of the new iPad.Apple’s Tim Stevens claims the new iPad has more screen resolution and memory than both the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. Guess the PSP Vita just got served.
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