Apple presents 'the new iPad'
Apple has introduced a new model to its successful iPad range, which it calls 'the new iPad', rather than the iPad 3.
The device was launched on Wednesday in San Francisco and brings a number of new hardware features, such as a 5-megapixel camera, high-resolution 'retina' display and quad-core graphics processor for an improved gaming experience. It retains the same 9.7-inch display size.
The HD retina display has a resolution of 2048-by-1536 pixels and was described by Phil Schiller, senior vice president of marketing at Apple, as "the best mobile display that has ever shipped". It also has 44 percent greater colour saturation than the iPad 2's display, Schiller added.
The improved camera now provides 1080p video capture capability, as well as offering image stabilisation and temporal noise reduction features automatically.
Graphically, Apple has upgraded the A5 chip used in the iPad 2 to create the A5X, which adds quad-core graphics into the mix, improving the gaming experience. Schiller added that the A5X offers four times the performance of the graphics found on Nvidia's Tegra 3 chip.
Despite improvements to the graphics and screen, Apple said the new iPad will last 10 hours on a full charge, or nine if connected to a data network.
Data connectivity on equipped models has also been upgraded to support higher speeds. Where the service is offered, the new iPad will support DC HSDPA networks of up to 42Mbps and LTE services of up to 73Mbps, Apple said.
Aside of hardware upgrades, Apple has also redesigned some of the classic apps to take advantage of the retina display, such as Mail and Safari, as well as updating iMovie. It also introduced new ones like iPhoto for iPad which comes with a wealth of features that allow users to modify and edit photos.
It also brings a photo journal feature for easy sharing with friends via iCloud and a dictation feature for easy email composition or note-taking.
The device will be available in the same memory configurations as its predecessor, the iPad 2. The 16GB Wi-Fi only version will be available for £399, while the 4G + Wi-Fi version will start from £499. Regardless of the connectivity choice, adding internal memory increases the cost by £80, making the most expensive 64GB 4G + Wi-Fi version £649. It is available to pre-order now and will be released on 16 March.
As a result of the introduction of the new iPad, prices for the iPad 2 have been cut, meaning they now start from £329.
Photo credit: Ben Woods