Hands-on Apple's new iPad (photos)

It isn't called the iPad 3, or even the iPad HD, like we thought. Apple's third-generation tablet is just officially known as the "new" iPad. We got our hands on the new device at Apple's launch event in San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Here's our First Take.

The new iPad is all about the screen, with a Retina Display that features 2,048x1,536 pixels. Starting March 16, it'll cost $499 for a 16GB Wi-Fi model, with 4G LTE versions for Verizon and AT&T starting at $629. Preorders are open today.

Physically, the new iPad is relatively unchanged. Its glass and aluminum build remains 9.5 inches tall and 7.31 inches wide, though it now measures 0.37-inch thick and weighs 1.5 pounds.

The 5-megapixel camera features a backside illumination sensor, auto-exposure, and auto-focus. There's also auto-face detection. It includes 1080p HD video recording, just like on the iPhone 4S.

There's that familiar Apple logo.

A closer look.

As with the iPad 2, this iPad comes in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models.

Heavier than the original, the new iPad is a solid piece of personal technology.

Apple called its voice actions feature "voice dictation," not "Siri."

We pull up CNET to check out how all those 3.1 million pixels, or 264 pixels per inch, look. Not too shabby, Apple.

An even closer look at the lettering crispness.

CNET's logo on the new iPad's Retina Display.

We can't get enough of CNET on the new iPad.

iPhoto for iPad especially caught our interest, with its multitouch editing and filters.

The larger form factor makes organizing and editing photos much easier than on a 3.5-inch iPhone screen.

The busy app is chockablock with editing tools like brushes, filters, cropping, and exposure adjustments.

Icons look vibrant, detailed, and crisp on the Retina Display.

There's iBooks, right where we left it.

Yep, the browser is still there, too.

The new iPad is still compatible with the Smart Covers that Apple trotted out during the iPad 2 launch, one of its most versatile accessories yet.