The New Apple iPad 3

May 01, 2012

The new iPad, the iPad 3, the Early iPad 4G – call it whatever you want, but on the outside it looks just like the iPad 2. The difference is the major overhaul on the interior. 

So what exactly is the difference between the iPad 2 and the “New iPad”? There are a couple of things: a Retina Display that makes everything looks beautifully crisp and an updated A5X processor bringing quad-core graphics and a 5MP camera on the rear with a VGA sensor on the front. Oh, and did I mention iOS 5.1 support? 

Key features of the new iPad

• 9.7" LED-backlit IPS LCD touchscreen, 2048 x 1536 pixels; scratch-resistant, oleophobic coating 
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0
• Optional LTE connectivity (data only) 
• Optional GPS with A-GPS support (for the 3G model only) 
• Apple A5X SoC with 1 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor 
• PowerVR SGX543MP4 quad-core GPU 
• 1GB RAM and 16/32/64GB of inbuilt storage 
• iOS 5.1 with iCloud support and activation 
• Weight of 652 grams (662 grams for the LTE version) 
• 11.560 mAh battery 
• Accelerometer, compass and three-axis gyro-sensor 
• Compatible with every iPad and iPhone app without any modifications 
• The cheapest version costs less than a SIM-free iPhone 
• 5MP auto-focus camera, 1080p video recording at 30fps, VGA secondary camera capable of FaceTime calls 
• Four and five-finger gestures 

Retina display 

The hardware that we all had expected to be in the iPad2 has finally hit the new iPad – about time eh? Apple has doubled the pixel count in both directions of the display. The 1024 x 768 screen of the first two generations has made way to the astonishing 2048 x 1536 Retina display, boasting a pixel density of 264 ppi. 

iSight camera 

The new iSight camera on the new iPad/iPad 3 is a great upgrade as it surpasses the 1MP mark from previous units. It sports a 5MP unit capable of 2592 x 1944 resolution photos, offers touch focus, face detection and geo-tagging .Also, quite expectedly, the new iPad is capable of 1080p video recording at 30 fps. 

What we didn't like 

The lack of HDR setting on the new iPad was somewhat odd. Other than that, the camera app UI is all too familiar - you get a bottom bar with options, switch to front facing camera and camera/camcorder toggle. 

Performance 

Users coming from the iPad 2 won't feel a performance boost, unless they open Infinity Blade II whilst listening to music and poking friends on Facebook... 

The new iPad (3) has a dual-core processor with each core clocked at 1 GHz and 988 MB of RAM, but what’s really fascinating is the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). It's a PowerVR SGX543MP4 unit with four cores – the same as the one in the PlayStation Vita and it really is prevailing, handling both the intense graphics of games like Infinity Blade II and the quadrupled screen resolution. But then again, when has Apple ever disappointed any of us in the graphics department? 

Verdict 

Yet again, we are looking at the leader in the tablet race. With its outstanding retina display and a camera that stands second to none – Samsung and other competitors will have a lot to think about before releasing their newer tablet models! Users will enjoy the GPU which allows them to enjoy full HD videos and gaming whilst surfing the web and reading the news thanks to the dual-core CPU. In a nutshell, the “new iPad” should definitely be considered by anyone looking for a new high-end tablet. Having said this, if you're coming across from the iPad2 and aren’t too big on gaming, you may want to just hold-off on this one… 

New Apple iPad 3 deals and specials 

Check out out Dionysus Cellular's new Apple iPad 3 deals, contracts and specials on Vodacom, MTN and Cell C.

Naman Singh

www.dionysuscellular.co.za

Tablet iPad 2 Early iPad 4G The New iPad iSight Camera Apple iPad 3