Apple unveils "The new iPad"

After aeons of speculation and rumours, the officially named "new iPad" has been revealed to the world in all its shiny glory. It's been one hell of a ride, but now we know the facts you can sit back, relax, and join us in lapping up all of the delicious facts about the Apple's latest addition to its iFamily.

Overview

Apple's third-gen iPad might still be packing a 9.7in screen, but its whopping 2048x1536 resolution makes it an industry-leading super-sharp retina display. While the body remains roughly the same as its predecessor, it's host to a souped-up A5X dual-core processor (which apparently packs in four times the graphical grunt of Nvidia's Tegra 3 processor), and an upgraded 5MP camera with full HD video recording.

Screen

The new iPad has Apple's biggest retina display yet, whose 2048x1536 resolution packs in so many pixels that you won't be able to distinguish between them with the naked eye, just like the iPhone 4S' display. That's a total of 3.1 million pixels at 264ppi, with a 44 per cent increase in colour saturation. The end result is an astounding screen that squeezes in more pixels than the projector that it was shown off on.

Processor

The new Apple iPad will be powered by a dual-core A5X processor, but don't let that put you off – it also features quad-core powered graphics, supposedly four times faster than Nvidia's Tegra 3 offering, which Apple claims will wipe the floor with the latest games including the newly announced Infinity Blade: Dungeons. Time will tell how the new iPad will match up against its Tegra 3 quad-core toting Android rivals, but it's a battle that we can't wait to witness first hand in our reviews.

Camera

The new iPad will be toting a 5MP camera (sans flash), as opposed to the 8MP snapper that was on the cards, although an big improvement in performance over the iPad 2's paltry camera is still expected thanks to auto-exposure, noise reduction and image stabilisation tech. Full 1080p video recording is another upgrade and both video and photos should look spectacular on that drool-inducing retina display.

Design and build

The new iPad doesn't stray too far from the iPad 2 in the looks department but it does measure in at 9.4mm, slightly thicker than the iPad 2's svelte 8.8mm body. The home button, volume and power buttons still remain, as does Apple's proprietary 30-pin dock connector, which, to be honest, was always a given.

4G and 3G

The new iPad will be hitting US shelves with 4G capability. Australians will not be able to access 4G/LTE on their new iPad, as it only supports 700MHz and 2100MHz spectrum bands. Telstra's 1800MHz 4G network is not supported.

iOS 5.1

Siri makes a cameo appearance in the new iPad, with voice dictation cooked straight in to the iOS keyboard, activated by a new microphone key. Apple has also introduced updates for iPhoto, iWork, iMovie and GarageBand. iPhoto's bezel gestures, photo beaming and multi-touch editing look particularly tasty.

Battery

The new Apple iPad will serve up the same 10 hour battery life as its iPad 2 predecessor, with 9 hours of use reported with 4G turned on. Not too shabby, considering the extra processing power and pixel-cramming retina display on offer.

Price and release date

The new Apple iPad will be available worldwide from March 16th in black or white. The Wi-Fi model starts from $A539 for the 16GB model, $A649 for the 32GB and $A759 for the 64GB. For Wi-Fi + 4G the 16GB will set you back $A679, the 32GB $A789 and 64GB $A899. 

The original iPad 2 will continue to be sold alongside the new iPad and has had its price slashed down to $A429 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model and $A569 for Wi-Fi + 3G.

First impressions

It may not have an actual name, but the new Apple iPad packs in plenty of improvements to get excited about. From the glorious retina display and powerful A5X processor with quad-core graphics, to the improved camera and same great battery life, the new Apple iPad offers a very compelling package for new tablet owners. As more and more apps begin to cater to the new iPad's insane screen resolution, it will also look like a very tempting upgrade for existing iPad 2 owners too. 

This article originally appeared at Stuff.tv