A review of Apple's new iPad 3

             Apple's third installment of the iPad is ready to be released this month and looks set to continue the company's domination of the tablet market. It's only been a year since the release of the iPad 2 so in this post i'm going to determine if this new iPad is worth the rush or if you're better off saving your money and picking up an older model.

             The iPad 3 or as Apple is calling it 'The New iPad' will be released on March 16th but if you didn't know any better you'd probably just think that your local Apple retailer has just replenished it's iPad 2 stock. This new model really doesn't look or feel any different to its predecessor, so has all of your extra hard earned cash been put towards tracing paper for Apple's design department? Or are there some amazing new specification upgrades waiting to be discovered?


             Perhaps one of the most speculated additions to the new iPad is Siri, the digital personal assistant found in the iPhone 4s, unfortunately this hasn't been the case. Instead of Siri, Apple have added a voice dictation feature which we can use to write messages, take notes and search the internet. Although useful, this feature has been overshadowed by the success of Siri on the most recent iPhone and the general dissapointment that it won't feature on this latest iPad.

Courtesy of apple.com

             As mentioned previously the new Ipad looks just like the iPad 2 so it has the same 9.7 inch LED backlit LCD screen. The resolution of the screen however is a completely different story, with the new Retina Display Apple have managed to double the old resolution to an impressive 2048 x 1536 resulting in 264 pixels per inch. Apple have branded this new display as a 'resolutionary' (see what they did there) step forward in the tablet market and on paper at least it certainly moves the new iPad away from the previous model. Amazingly this new display actually outperforms current HDTVs which makes it the first real point of interest to potential buyers.

Courtesy of apple.com

             Another noteworthy improvement can be found in the new iPad's camera. The 5 megapixel iSight camera has been lifted out of the iPhone 4s inheriting the impressive image stabilisation as a result. The iSight also comes with a built in face detection system which can balance focus and exposure for up to ten faces. Even with the ability to record up to 1080p HD videos added in, the new iPad's camera still hasn't managed to escape the critics with many left dissapointed that Apple have yet again decided to leave out a flash feature. To combat this however the iSight does feature a fairly useful backside illumination sensor which helps maintain its performance as best as possible throughout changes in lighting.


             In what appears to be the final major improvement over the iPad 2, the new model is now capable of connecting to faster 4G supplies via improved mobile antennas. This means that the latest iPad could potentially reach mobile network download speeds of up to 42 mbps. In addition to the new network speeds there appears to be an improvement to the base apps available on the new iPad including the iLife and iWork selections. iLife will feature iPhoto and iMovie which are great for viewing and editing your pictures and videos as well as GarageBand which will let you explore your musically creative side (regardless of how talented you might be). On the other hand iWork includes the Pages, Keynote and Numbers apps where you can create documents, presentations and spreadsheets inbetween your Angry Birds sessions.

Courtesy of apple.com

             It seems then that Apple may have dodged a bullet by naming this latest model 'The New iPad' and not the iPad 3. Although the new specs and features are certainly improvements, there's nothing ground breaking which can really set this new model apart from its older siblings. Perhaps the best way to look at Apple's latest tablet then is as the iPad 2S, not the iPad 3. So if you already have an iPad 2 or even the original model you certainly won't be left in a pool of envy for those who buy the new one. However if you're in the market for your first tablet and you can afford this latest iPad, you'd be silly to buy anything else.


            Still not sure? here's an official introductory video for the new iPad.