You’ve been waiting for it and it’s here.
Apple on Wednesday announced its next-gen iPad, the new tablet featuring a 2,048-by-1,536-pixel resolution Retina Display that fits 3.1 million pixels into its 9.7-inch display, along with voice dictation and LTE 4G, coming on March 16 to 10 countries.
Per AppleInsider, the new screen on the iPad has more pixels than a 1080p television and fits in 264 pixels per inch, the pixels cannot be distinguished by human eye at a distance of 15 inches.
The tablet also boasts a much-improved, 5 megapixel camera as well as voice dictation, allowing users to input text by speaking rather than typing.
Other new features include the following:
– High-definition Retina Display
– New A5X chip with quad-core graphics
– 5-megapixel iSight camera with advanced optics, shoots 1080p video
– 4G LTE models allow for connections to faster wireless networks
– Still offers the same 10-hour battery life.
The wireless models now 4G connectivity, allowing users to connect to long-term evolution networks from providers like AT&T and Verizon. The new iPad will offer download speeds of up to 73Mbps over LTE and can communicate with international 4G LTE partners such as Rogers, Bell and Telus.
Another improvement highlighted by Apple Wednesday was battery life, as the new iPad will support 10 hours of battery life on Wi-Fi and 9 hours on 4G LTE.
The new tablet is slightly heavier than the iPad 2, weighing 1.4 pounds with a 9.44mm thickness.
The launch will be Apple’s biggest roll-out ever, debuting in the U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. Quick highlights from Wednesday’s event:
The new iPad features an A5X processor with quad-core graphics.
Compared to the Nvidia Tegra 3, Apple says the A5X is twice as fast with four times the performance.
Other interesting tidbits:
– The new iPad also has 44 percent better color saturation on its screen.
– An improved 5-megapixel camera is on the back of the device. The tablet includes an infrared filter and ISP built in to the A5X chip.
– The new iPad’s camera also features auto-focus and auto-exposure, and uses the same optics system found in the iPhone 4S.
T
– he new camera can also record video in 1080p.
– There will be two different versions of the LTE-capable iPad models: one for AT&T and one for Verizon. Both will be able to roam worldwide in 3G.
– The iPad can also act as a personal hotspot, if supported by a carrier, and can connect up to five additional users via this feature.
– It will also continue to be available in both black and white models.
– The new iPad will be available at the same price points and capacities: US$499 for 16GB, US$599 for 32GB and US$699 for 64GB. 4G models will be an additional US$130 for each capacity.
The new iPad Wi-Fi models will be available in black or white on Friday, March 16 for a suggested retail price of US$499 for the 16GB model, US$599 for the 32GB model and US$699 for the 64GB model.
iPad Wi-Fi + 4G for either AT&T or Verizon will be available for a suggested retail price of US$629 for the 16GB model, US$729 for the 32GB model and US$829 for the 64GB model.
iPad will be sold in the US through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores, and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iPad will also be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Switzerland, UK and the US Virgin Islands on Friday, March 16.
Customers can begin pre-ordering their new iPad today, and the iPad 2 is now offered for US$399 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model and US$529 for the 16GB Wi-Fi + 3G model.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.