New iPad - review

 
22 March 2012

New iPad

From £399, www.apple.com or on sale at 8am Friday at Apple Stores

With blanket media coverage, there can be few people in the world unaware that at 8am on Friday, Apple is launching the latest iPad (known simply as iPad, or the new iPad at its introduction).

To existing iPad owners it feels very familiar - it’s a little thicker (9.4 millimetres compared to 8.8 millimetres for the iPad 2), but otherwise looks pretty much the same - after all, why mess with a form factor that has changed the way we think of computers.

However, switch it on and it instantly becomes apparent that this is more than a minor evolution. The screen, known as a retina display, is a genuine step forward in display technology. It crams in over 3 million pixels (3.1 million, to be exact), making the display higher resolution that your living room high definition TV, and making individual pixels invisible to the naked eye.

However, for users all you really need to know is that this is the best display on any device. Watching high definition films and TV shows is astonishing, with colours brighter and more detailed than anything you’ve seen before. The biggest problem is that going back to your laptop or living room TV is a little bit of a disappointment - here’s hoping Apple soon rolls out the technology to its computer screens and much rumoured range of TVs.

However, the display does create a slight chicken and egg problem in the short term. App developers are currently rushing to take advantage of the screen, so be prepared to see some of your favourite apps looking a little low resolution on the screen compared to their retina enabled counterparts. To drive the screen, there’s a much faster graphics processor, and it shows with games really racing along.

Connectivity on the new iPad is something of a sore point in the UK. Here in San Francisco, it can use the blazingly fast LTE network which lets you easily watch high definition videos at speeds much faster than most UK broadband connections.

 However, in the UK, users are stuck with the slower 3G networks until the government give out licenses for 4G networks - although the iPad does support higher speed HSPA (high speed packet access) and DC-HSPA (dual-cell HSPA) connectivity, which some networks in the UK are rolling out. Dubbed 3.5G, these offer UK customers much faster connections than the iPad 2, of up 42mbps - if your phone network supports them.

It’s a real shame, but realistically one suspects a lot of iPads never leave the living room anyway, so are likely to be unaffected. Overall, the new iPad is a stunning example of just how far ahead of the competition Apple is. While competitors have still got nowhere near the ease of use and range of apps for the original iPad, this third generation shows that Apple, as new boss Tim Cook said at its introduction, ‘has only just got started’.

For those considering an iPad for the first time now is definitely the time to buy. For those who already have an iPad 2, while you’ll still be getting the same experience, the lure of the retina screen is likely to mean an awful lot of iPad 2s are set to become family hand me downs in the coming weeks.

Tablets - the best of the rest

Sony Tablet S - £349

9.4inch screen and unique design make this the best Android (Google’s software) tablet on the market.

Blackberry Playbook - £269

The 7inch screen means you can (just) fit it in a pocket, but the Playbook is let down by poor software and a lack of apps.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 - £399

A good screen and superb build quality from Samsung, but again the Android software is hampered by a lack of apps.

Sony Tablet P - £499

Unique design with a clamshell double screen that folds together so the tablet can fit in a small handbag. It’s a clever idea, but the dual screens are a little on the small side for serious work (or play).

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime - £499

Neat design with a clip in keyboard turning it into a mini laptop, the Prime runs Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of Google’s tablet software.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in