The new iPad is finally here and the biggest revelation seems to be that it’s absolutely not the iPad 3. It’s literally just the new iPad. Does that mean it makes it sound like it predates the iPad 2? Maybe, but there you go; it’s March and we’ve been able to see what the new tablet is capable of.
Perhaps it’s not regarded as enough of update to warrant the ’3′ moniker in the same way as the iPhone 4s didn’t quite make to be called an iPhone 5 but there is no doubt that this new device has some very impressive new features.
The new iPad
We’ll start with the camera, a feature that Apple seems to have tackled only half-heartedly if previous devices are anything to go by. the new iPad has a 5MP camera which is certainly welcome, especially considering any tablet is not going to be used as a camera all that much. Of course it’s a video camera too and one which is capable of taking 1080p HD footage. The iPad 2 has a 1MP camera and can cope with 720p
Where the new iPad is really impressive in this area though is the way it displays pictures, video and other graphics. The ‘retina’ display is claimed to be such high resolution that it’s not possible to view individual pixels and this certainly seems to be the case. Added to the improved colour quality of the tablet, it all makes for a superb viewing experience. This also crosses over into eBook reading which is now at ‘Kindle’ quality.
These improvements must be powered by something and the A5X chip replaces the A5 from the iPad 2 to produce some very satisfactory results. Want to use your iPad as a portable hot spot for up to five devices? You can now, depending on your telco. LTE wireless connectivity is also catered for.
It’s a tiny bit heavier (about 55g) and fractionally thicker (0.5mm) and the really good news is that the price is no more than the previous models. For those looking for a bargain this means that the iPad 2 is now going (relatively) cheap at around £329 in the U.K.