Apple New iPad Wi-Fi only
The screen's the star
Review Let’s cut to the chase. The "new iPad" doesn’t have the much-rumoured haptic touch technology. In fact, its list of major new features can be counted on the fingers of one hand. It doesn’t even have a number after its name. How disappointing is that?
And yet, after a weekend of gazing longingly at the imperceptible pixels on that new "retina" display, all I can say is that you can take my new iPad – when you pry it from my cold dead hands, as Chuck Heston once said about something else entirely.
That screen really is the star of the show. Apple boasts that the displays used in the iPhone 4S and the new iPad have such high resolution that you can’t see the individual pixels on the screen. Well, to be honest, if you look really closely, you can. But if you hold the tablet beyond contact lens distance, you'll have a job.
I could see an immediate difference in the higher-than-HD resolution of the new iPad. The pinpoint clarity of the 2048 x 1536 display is remarkable, even when looking at existing apps that haven’t specifically been updated for the new native resolution.
E-book text presented by iBooks was cleaner and sharper, and experimenting with fonts in Apple's word processor, Pages, revealed an amazing smoothness to the lines and serifs on individual characters.
Text on the new display is so much more smooth than before
Click for full-resolution shot
The textures in swordplay game Infinity Blade II – already updated for the retina display – were more detailed and realistic, and colours were noticeably richer and more vibrant. Even standard-definition video on apps such as BBC iPlayer seemed to benefit from the improved display.
HD video on the iPad 3
Click for full-resolution shot
Of course, the fourfold increase in resolution means that the screen needs a lot more processor power too, so the next major improvement is the inclusion of Apple’s new custom A5X chip. The main CPU core in the A5X is identical to the 1GHz A5 processor used in the iPad 2, but it now sports a pair of dual-core GPU parts - four cores in all - to handle all those pixels.
BBC iPlayer auto-upscaled from 1024 x 768 to 2048 x 1536
Click for full-resolution shot
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COMMENTS
but it's not like the hi res screen is a surprise though, is it? it was long rumoured for the iPhone, and when it arrived, it was obvious that the iPad was going to get it too.
so WHY hasn't the competition already got higher res screens? it's impossible to think they weren't aware this was going to happen, so why haven't they already got a tablet in the market with at least the same spec screen?
instead, they're all just sitting on their hands, taking a back seat, happy to give Apple all the market share and the publicity. Sure, they'll probably rush a product to market now, and it'll be obviously rushed and critically, later than the iPad.
for the competition to be competition, they've gotta start getting ahead of the game, not just content to constantly play catch-up
It's always the next Android tablet that's going to blow the iPad out of the water though, isn't it.
One never quite seems to come along though.
Overpriced gadget from a corrupt company
This is overpriced and soon you will be able to an Android tablet with the same display (they made by Samsung after all). With Android you wont be contrained by Apple's fachist restrictions. The only reason you will buy a new iPad is if you a fashion conscious pleb thats just wants the latest shinny thing that Apple offers even though all they provided is a better display without any meaningful new functionality. If you get the 4G one you even a bigger idiot.
Fully disclosure: I recieved my new iPad (non-4G) on Friday. I love it every bit as much as my iPhone. I thought it best though to save the Apple haters some valuable time by posting on their behalf.
Re: Depends. As usual
4:3 is fantastic as fas as I'm concerned.
You know that there are some of us who can't stand this fad for 'widescreen' displays.
The amount of vertical scrolling that you have to do on many, many web sites is a testament to their designers (who seem to love more and more white space) total lack of nonce about Usability.
Using the iPad in eirter orientation if a far more pleasurable experience than any Widescreen Android tablet I have tried.
SO 4:3 in 2012? YES PLEASE.
For Apple, the iPad is the result of a vision for a device that will deliver a certain sort of experience.
For Apple's tablet competitors - well ... it's just not. They don't have a vision, they don't have the desire to bring something innovative to people, they just want a slice of a particular market's profits: their heart isn't in it; they're always going to be playing catchup because their motives are poor.
And I say this as someone who largely dislikes a lot of the controlling, anti-competitive shit that Apple pulls.
