Big news today folks, Peyton Manning is no longer an Indianapolis Colt! It is a sad day for the NFL and Colts fans. In other news Apple just announced the iPad 3, iPad HD, or as they are calling it the “all new iPad”. Personally I’d call it the iPad 2S HD but that isn’t up to me. We just watched all the news unfold on our sister site SlashGear over the past hour and we’re wondering what all our Android readers think of the new device.

I’m not going to break down every individual specification about the device as I’m sure many of you have been following the news today (only for fun of course). For those that haven’t we still have a dual-core processor on the new iPad, although the graphics have been boasted to what they are calling 4x the performance of the NVIDIA Tegra 3. I’ll have to see that to believe it.

Sure it has a good camera that has been improved, tons of applications, and now even 4G LTE on board. Android tablets have had 4G LTE since it was first announced with many Samsung tablets like the above Galaxy Tab 7.7″ LTE we recently reviewed so that isn’t anything new. The Transformer Prime has an excellent 8 megapixel camera on the rear that beats the new iPad’s new 5 MP camera — at least in numbers but we wont know real world results until we get our hands on it.

The only impressive feature to me is the resolution, and it appears that Apple is zeroing in on that same feature calling the new iPad “Resolutionary”. The new Transformer Pad Infinity has a 1920 x 1200 full 1080p HD display and it looked gorgeous when we got hands-on at MWC, but the iPad’s new 2048×1536 resolution (264 ppi) screen probably looks pretty impressive too. I’m not going to sit here and bash the iPad although I’m sure many of our Android loyalists would love to hear it. Instead I’ll wait for it to hit the stores so I can get an honest feel for the device and see what I think. This will purely be on a hardware level for the most part as we already know what mobile OS I prefer.

Honestly the only thing it has going for it in my first impressions is the high resolution display, and the improved graphics for gaming. Although both of those are very important for a mobile device. The iPad 2 was a close match for the Transformer Prime in our initial benchmarks (linked to below) so it will be very interesting to try some of those same tests on the iPad 2S — I mean the all new iPad. Why Apple decided not to call it the iPad HD is beyond me. Keeping the name exactly the same seems very silly if you ask me but whatever. It is worth mentioning that the better screen made it get fatter. The new iPad is .37 inches or 9.3mm thick and weights more than the iPad 2.

The new iPad Wi-Fi model with 16GB comes in at $499, the same price as the 32GB quad-core ASUS Transformer Prime, and then only goes up from there — not to mention the 4G LTE models start at $629. We would love to hear everyone’s thoughts on the new iPad from Apple. Do you like the name? Are the specs enough? Will you be buying one? And anything else you feel like sharing.

32 COMMENTS

    • What counts as not pathetic?…because if the iPad 2 and the prime are neck in neck in processor benchmarks and the iPad 2’s graphics beat the prime, I don’t see how this iPad isn’t the best tablet on the market, unless you just absolutely hate iOS…

  2. In the words of a famous movie, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn!”  

    It seems a little bit of a let down…kind of like the iPhone 4s was hyped up and all they did was put a faster processor in it, a new camera, and few other small things here and there.  All this hype was making me wonder if my recent purchase of a Galaxy tab was going to fill me with regret.  Thankfully, there is nothing that is really wowing me about the new ipad.

  4. If they offered me a straight swap for my HP Touchpad…I’d probably stick with my Touchpad. 

    For me a tablet is for casual internet browsing and the odd 2D games that actually suit a touch screen (Cut the Rope and World of Goo). 

  7. lol. You know, lots of people have mixed feelings about this product. But honestly, almost every one of you (including the article author) sound either jealous or personally hurt by it.

  9. I am a tech kind of guy and an audiophile/Home theater
    enthusiast, but what is the reasoning for a 9.7-inch Retina Display with
    2,048 x 1,536-pixel resolution?  Can you say overkill?  Also, memory
    and battery kill?  It’s cool to have that resolution but other than
    bragging rights your eye will never discern the difference on a panel
    that small, it’s kind of silly actually.

    But honestly I didn’t expect much different other than the fairly good refresh. 

    • I agree completely.  For me, a tablet is a content consumption device and should be priced under $200.  If i’m going to spend over $500 for a device that can “create” content, I’m going to get something with a keyboard.  

  11. I guess there’s just nothing new out there for Apple to steal! I mean borrow… I’m sure as soon as some thing revolutionary comes up Apple will use it and call it iPad3. For now they’ll just give their herd a few updates to keep business alive.

    •  Somehow their ‘herd’ keeps multiplying in size. And their business is one of the biggest in the entire world, they’re not hurting for sales like a lot of Android tablet manufacturers are.

      Revolutionary to the general population is a different definition of revolutionary for techies. The general population wants a product they can buy which is easy to use, and has people who can help them if they have a problem. Apple stores succeed in this. Good luck on your grandmother getting the same quality help from Best Buy that she can get from the Apple store.

  13. It’ll be really interesting to see how the doubling of graphics cores keeps up with four times more pixels to drive.  The only think I’ve found android devices sometimes lacking in is GPU power.  Apple may have finally bitten off more than their marketing department and distortion field can chew. 

  14. seem like the ‘NEW’ Pad is playing catch up to Android. What innovation ?? New screen, Processor or 4G, basically all from OEM company. Any WOW factor???

  15. Reserving judgement on this one until a hands on is available (only 8 days at time of writing). I would like to see comparisons with the iPad2 for a start and maybe against one or two Android tablets.

    The screen sounds awesome and the “Apps” do too, but not on the face things, the whole package is not as ground breaking as yet IMO. The Quad GPU sounds good, but again real-time use will be the true test

  16. For me, it’s not about much resolution you can squeeze into a 9.7″ screen.  It goes beyond that.  iOS has the same look and feel it’s always had (for the most part).  No card reader (installed).  You’re STILL tethered to iTunes to add music or movies or pictures (unless you buy straight from iTunes).  No flash support.  No HDMI (built-in) port.  No USB port.  And STILL a VGA front camera?  Really?

    One of the things I love throwing in my iFan friends faces is that I can got to any computer and download/upload music, movies, photos, or files without the need for “jailbreaking” (rooting) or a special app.  Also, if I get bored with the UI, I can change it – without having to root.

    However, as a wise man once said…”to each, his own.”  I get that iFan’s are loyal because it’s i-something.  Me, I prefer more customization and expandability.  You can have your 2048×1536 resolution.  I’ll take extra features over resolution any day of the week.

    •  How exactly are iPads locked down to downloading music, movies or photos? You do NOT have to buy things from iTunes. Grab any files you want ANYWHERE and put them into iTunes. Either convert them to the iTunes formats (mp3 for example), or get an app that plays a different format (like avi). It’s definately not locked down in that regard. Only about 10 of my 2,000+ songs were bought in iTunes, and none of my 800+ movies were.

      • But is iTunes available everywhere? Can you pop on to some random computer, or any of your friend’s computer (Linux, Macs, and PCs) and put songs into your iDevices (without jailbreak)?

        Where as I can bring my Transformer Prime, my Galaxy S2 and Xoom to any one of my friends place (even ones with a mac) and can still load videos, musics, etc.

        It’s the flexibility that counts my dear friend! I don’t want someone to tell me that I need some software just for my device and nothing else will work for it. Peace.

      • Yes – iTunes is available on Macs, PCs, and linux. I can pop into any random computer and take the files and use them on my iPad, iPhone, etc.

        Instead of directly putting files into an iPhone or iPad (because of the lack of a USB cable), Apple requires that the files go into either iTunes, or now iCloud, which you then sync up to your device –  wireless. NO JAILBREAKING AT ALL.

        I don’t see where I lose any ‘flexibility’. I can do the same thing you can. I go to my friend’s house, and I can transfer all his files over to my iPad. File format doesn’t matter! I use iCloud, through a web browser, to put all the files there. Without me doing anything but uploading files to the cloud, my iPad syncs the files wirelessly.

        Any of my files in iTunes can be copied out, and put on my friend’s device (Android, linux, doesn’t matter). Of course, copy protected things I buy on iTunes cannot be copied, but all the non-copy protected things can be.

        Apple simply requires either a free copy of iTunes on a different device to manage your collection of music, movies, videos, etc. or use a web browser with iCloud.

        This is very minor. You sound like you think Apple restricts what can be put on an iPad/iPhone – not at all. The process is different, but the result is the same.

        Apple DOES restrict Apps, however. If this is your beef, I can understand. All apps must be purchased (even if free) through Apple’s App Store. This is to stop viruses or bad apps, and things that Apple does not like, i.e. pornography. If this is your beef, I agree with you that this is not open, and Apple is restricting you. THIS is the reason for JAILBREAKING an Apple device, but not for music, movies or videos.

  17. So the newest “innovations” to the new ipad are things that have long been present in android? (minus the over-the-top resolution, of course) – but still not even half the functionality…I’m failing to see how this is in anyway “resolutionary”.

    • Notice the spelling.  They are saying “reSolutionary” (not reVolutionary) due to the resolution of the screen that hasn’t been done by any other tablet.  So the resolution of the screen is indeed revolutionary – hence, “resolution-ary”.

      • Man…I must have totally missed that part about the resolution being RESOLUTIONary. Boy howdy, well look-it-there! I musta bin reedin with mah a-hole! 

        Thanks for the clarification, Glen. I’ll consult you prior to all further comments. What email should I send clarification requests to?

  18. I just love how you guys keep bashing Apple, and yet none of your Tablets match the elegance and design of the iPad. The iPad is stil one of the most Revolutionary gadgets ever. Suck on that!

  19. I find it funny how it seems like almost no one read the article, or at least the whole article. Most of the comments or just about either loving or hating Apple. For example the last paragraph asks what people think of the new name, and I haven’t seen a single comment about that (and on a side note I like the new naming system, I don’t want to see an ad for the iPad 30 when I get old). It seems as though people get so defensive on the whole my product is better than your product thing because of this and that. Does it honestly matter if some people prefer another product and don’t share your opinions?

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.