Tablets
Apple Finally Unveils The iPad 3
Apple announced the much-anticipated iPad 3 at an event today in San Francisco. The new iPad sports a retina display, a 5-megapixel rear camera, access to 4G LTE networks, and an A5 X chip with quad-core graphics.
“To this day, no one has yet matched that display technology on any mobile device,” Phil Schiller said of the 2048×1536 display (that works out to 264 pixels per inch). The new A5X chip is meant to excel at graphics, and has four times the performance of NVIDIA’s quad-core Tegra 3 chip.
While the iPad’s new camera doesn’t match the iPhone 4S’ resolution, it will adopt some of the features of the phone’s camera, including backside illumination, an IR filter, and built-in stabilization. The camera will also be able to record 1080p video.
Surprisingly, the iPad isn’t getting Siri yet, but Apple has added a microphone key to the keyboard that allows users to dictate text to the tablet.
Physically, the new iPad looks no different than the iPad 2 that was released last year. The tablet retains its home button, despite some speculation that Apple might forego it in the new design, and will still come in either black or white.
The new iPad also retains its pricing structure: $499, $599, and $699 for 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB WiFi models, and $629, $729, or $829 for the same hardware with 4G LTE access. Pre-orders will open today for the iPad’s launch on March 16 in ten countries including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, and Germany, with 26 more countries to follow on March 23.
Apple will continue to offer the iPad 2 at reduced prices, starting at $399 for a 16GB WiFi model and $529 for a 3G model.
Zander
March 7, 2012 at 3:31 pm
I was relieved to see that the iPad 3 was more of an incremental upgrade (like the iPhone 4 to 4S), rather than a complete overhaul. I’ve only had my iPad 2 for 4 months now, and would hate to have an obsolete product already.
I’m sure the retina display will be awesome, and I can’t want to check it out at the Apple Store. But I didn’t see any specs reported that would cause me to upgrade.
Rich Lavene
March 8, 2012 at 9:02 am
So you think I will likely have a tough time trying to get a good deal on a iPad 2 or even a refurb? I was kind of hoping that I could find someone who wanted to upgrade!
Sujeet
March 8, 2012 at 9:17 am
I don’t see why not.. If a 16GB WiFi iPad 2 goes for $399 new, used ones will surely drop to $350 or less.
Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple selling refurbished iPad 2’s for $300 or so!
Rich Lavene
March 8, 2012 at 11:03 am
Do you think 16gb is enough? Or do I really need a 32gb?
hey, btw, did you award the iPad yet?
Sujeet
March 8, 2012 at 11:17 am
I have the 32GB one, but I think 16GB is more than enough for most people. Some of the games are on the larger side, but most apps are fairly small.
iPad contest coming next week!
Francesco
March 8, 2012 at 12:39 pm
I’ve yet to purchase an iPad, so even though this one isn’t a major overhaul, I’m still planning to pre-order it.
Ryan Thomas
March 12, 2012 at 10:44 am
LONG LIVE THE DROID! But really, why get locked down with an I-Pad when you can have the awesomeness that is the Android
Sujeet
March 15, 2012 at 4:06 pm
I had a Motorola Xoom before getting my iPad, and you couldn’t pay me to go back. I’ll never understand the appeal of Droid. 🙁
Sujeet
March 17, 2012 at 11:11 am
So I went and looked at the iPad 3 yesterday at the Verizon store, and honestly I wasn’t really blown away by the new display. They had it next to an iPad 2, and it didn’t look much different at all!
Francesco
March 17, 2012 at 2:34 pm
I’ve been thinking about picking up a refurbished iPad 2 lately just to bring with me to school. I’m going to see if there’s any deals out there. It would be nice to save some money and also not have to worry about beating an iPad up from daily usage.