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Apple iPad Wi-Fi (2012 model; Apple A5X processor; 9.7-inch display)
The iPad's new screen is a stunner. That's really all you need to know about the new iPad (yes, that's the name). That, and a reminder that pricing still starts at US$499 for a 16GB Wi-Fi model, with 4G starting at US$629.
Forget all of the minor tweaks and incremental updates Apple has made to its third-generation tablet. The faster processor, the upgrade to 4G data, the improved camera--it's all housekeeping. It's the stuff it had to do. It's the stuff any manufacturer could have done.
Now, increasing the iPad's screen resolution to 2,048 x 1,536 pixels that exceeds any current tablet or laptop--that's a move only Apple has the scale and industry muscle to pull off. At this point, if Apple decides that the next iPad will be made from unicorn tears, we wouldn't bet against it.
But in this pre-unicorn era, we're stuck with the new iPad and a design that is virtually indistinguishable from 2011's iPad 2. The tablet's glass and aluminum construction is still 241.2mm tall and 185.7mm wide. Thickness is now 9.4mm, weighing in at 652g. You get the same home button on the bottom of the screen, and a volume rocker on the right side along with the mute switch/rotation lock. Up top you have the sleep/wake button and headphone output, and the bottom edge retains the 30-pin port.
Apple knocked the camera quality up to 5 megapixels with 1080p video recording and backside illumination. The front-facing camera remains the same.
The screen
Remember the first time you saw an HD television? You were probably excited about the future but also a little sad that your current TV's days were numbered. For tablet fans, a glance at the iPad's new screen may offer this same emotional cocktail of envy and loss.
But what did you expect? You take a product that is 90 percent screen and a company hangs its reputation on making the prettiest products around, and you're bound to arrive at this: The point when Apple ruins other screens for you.
And let's be clear, here. Not only does the new iPad's QXGA screen wreck your expectations for tablet screens, but your laptop or desktop computer screen will also look shabby by comparison. If you think we're making too much of it, you can see for yourself soon enough. But as you find yourself wandering the Apple Store aisles wringing your hands together, whispering, "My precious", don't say we didn't warn you.
Now, this isn't the first time Apple has played the resolution card with its product announcements. With the advent of the iPhone 4, Apple introduced its Retina Display, boasting a 960 x 640-pixel resolution that was remarkable at the time. But for all its beauty, the experience of looking at a 3.5-inch screen compared with the new iPad's 9.7-inch screen is like comparing a keyhole with a window.
As such, they lend themselves to different content. A Facebook update is no more convenient on the new iPad than on any smartphone, but the Maps app on the iPad confers a feeling of omnipotence no other mobile device can match. Games, movies, photos, and magazines all take on a realism that seems almost absurd on a handheld device. It's only a matter of time before someone gets motion sickness from this thing.
iPad Transfer
Forget all of the minor tweaks and incremental updates Apple has made to its third-generation tablet. The faster processor, the upgrade to 4G data, the improved camera--it's all housekeeping. It's the stuff it had to do. It's the stuff any manufacturer could have done.
Now, increasing the iPad's screen resolution to 2,048 x 1,536 pixels that exceeds any current tablet or laptop--that's a move only Apple has the scale and industry muscle to pull off. At this point, if Apple decides that the next iPad will be made from unicorn tears, we wouldn't bet against it.
But in this pre-unicorn era, we're stuck with the new iPad and a design that is virtually indistinguishable from 2011's iPad 2. The tablet's glass and aluminum construction is still 241.2mm tall and 185.7mm wide. Thickness is now 9.4mm, weighing in at 652g. You get the same home button on the bottom of the screen, and a volume rocker on the right side along with the mute switch/rotation lock. Up top you have the sleep/wake button and headphone output, and the bottom edge retains the 30-pin port.
Apple knocked the camera quality up to 5 megapixels with 1080p video recording and backside illumination. The front-facing camera remains the same.
The screen
Remember the first time you saw an HD television? You were probably excited about the future but also a little sad that your current TV's days were numbered. For tablet fans, a glance at the iPad's new screen may offer this same emotional cocktail of envy and loss.
But what did you expect? You take a product that is 90 percent screen and a company hangs its reputation on making the prettiest products around, and you're bound to arrive at this: The point when Apple ruins other screens for you.
And let's be clear, here. Not only does the new iPad's QXGA screen wreck your expectations for tablet screens, but your laptop or desktop computer screen will also look shabby by comparison. If you think we're making too much of it, you can see for yourself soon enough. But as you find yourself wandering the Apple Store aisles wringing your hands together, whispering, "My precious", don't say we didn't warn you.
Now, this isn't the first time Apple has played the resolution card with its product announcements. With the advent of the iPhone 4, Apple introduced its Retina Display, boasting a 960 x 640-pixel resolution that was remarkable at the time. But for all its beauty, the experience of looking at a 3.5-inch screen compared with the new iPad's 9.7-inch screen is like comparing a keyhole with a window.
As such, they lend themselves to different content. A Facebook update is no more convenient on the new iPad than on any smartphone, but the Maps app on the iPad confers a feeling of omnipotence no other mobile device can match. Games, movies, photos, and magazines all take on a realism that seems almost absurd on a handheld device. It's only a matter of time before someone gets motion sickness from this thing.
iPad Transfer
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