On Tuesday, March 7, Cupertino-based Apple Inc. announced their newest iteration of the widely successful iPad tablet and Apple TV set top box.
Apple Flourishes in Post PC Era
An influx of post-PC era devices, such as the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, has contributed to a large portion of Apple’s success. According to CEO Tim Cook, Apple sold 172 million post-PC devices last year, which accounted for 76 percent of Apple’s revenue. Cook describes their iOS platform as one of the “world’s most advanced mobile operating systems.”
Mobile apps, such as Nextag’s Shopping App for the iPad, set the tablet apart from the lackluster Android devices. Last week, iOS received their 25th billion app download, which occurred in China, nonetheless. With over 200,000 iPad apps and 585,000 apps overall, the App Store is the centrifuge of innovation.
Apple Launches New 1080p Apple TV
The previous generation Apple TV could only play 720p video, which isn’t “full 1080p HD.” Fortunately, today Apple announced an updated version of their set top box. Using the same hockey puck design, the Apple TV supports 1080p Full HD and has an updated, simpler interface. The receiver supports iTunes Match and Photo Stream, which integrates your entire iOS ecosystem with your home theater. Available March 16, the Apple TV costs the same price as the previous model, $99.
Apple Unveils “The New iPad”
Apple sold over 15.4 million iPads last quarter alone. The number is even more representative when compared to the 15.1 million PCs HP sold worldwide during the same timeframe. With over 100 competitive tablets last year, Apple’s iPad 2 won the hearts of consumers by a wide margin. Plus, the iPad is preferred amongst gamers over console gaming devices, such as the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.
Retina Display
As analysts expected, the new iPad will sport an HD Retina display, measuring 2047 x 1536 pixels. It will also offer a 264 PPI. Basically, the new iPad will have one million more pixels than a typical 1080p HDTV.
“To this day no one has yet matched that display technology on any mobile device. We’re going to bring it to the 9.7 inch screen of the iPad. This presents a problem for us though… for the first time an iPad has a higher resolution than even the display behind me,” said Phil Schiller, senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing for Apple.
“Or, to put [it] another way, you all have an HDTV at home, 1080p — an iPad has more pixels. That’s incredible,” Schiller continued.
Essentially, you won’t be able to see individual pixels. This means the graphics will look “natural,” like you’re viewing them in a magazine.
New A5X Processor
Powering such a dense, crisp screen requires extra horsepower. The new iPad will run Apple’s latest A5x processor, which offers the same dual-core A9 chipset coupled with quad-core graphics; presumably the PowerVR SGX543MP4 GPU.
Apple says the new processor is twice as powerful as the A5 processor found in the iPad 2. Plus, the company claims the new chipset outperforms the new Tegra3 chipset by Nvidia, which has a quad-core processor and graphics. This isn’t surprising, seeing as Apple’s A5 chip also outperformed the Tegra3, even though it is more powerful “on paper.”
The New iPad’s New Camera
The New iPad boasts a new rear camera that’s comparable to the lust-worthy lens found on the iPhone 4S. The camera features a 5-megapixel sensor, backside illumination, 5-element lens, Hybrid IR filter, and Apple-designed ISP. Plus, the camera will have built-in autofocus, face detection, and auto exposure. In terms of video, The New iPad can record 1080p Full HD and has built-in image stabilization.
“Speak! I Say SPEAK!”
If you have trouble tapping on the iPad’s keyboard, luckily Apple added a Dictation feature, which allows you to speak your emails or documents. Users can activate the dictation function by tapping the Microphone button on the keyboard. It’s safe to assume it leverages Siri’s technology, but there is no trace of the personal assistant on the device, unfortunately.
4G LTE Technology
Good news: the new iPad is equipped with Verizon and AT&T 4G LTE technology for ultra-fast data connectivity. The bad news? Data plan pricing is yet to be announced, and it will most likely put a large dent in your wallet.
According to Apple, theoretical data download speeds are 21Mbps on HSPA+ networks, 42Mbps on DC-HSDPA, and 73Mbps on LTE. Although, keep in mind these are theoretical, and by no means represent daily performance.
To Infinity… And Beyond!
Apple doesn’t like to reveal the “guts” of the iPad – that’s typically reserved for the folks at iFixIt to tear down after the fact. Alas, the new iPad will have Bluetooth 4.0 and all of the “sensors” found in the iPad 2.
Presumably, it will have 1 GB of RAM to keep up with the Retina display, but it could also maintain the 512 MB module found in the iPad 2. Similar to the iPad 2, you’ll get around 10 hours of battery life over 4G, which is due to a possibly larger battery to take on the power hungry components.
The New iPad is slightly thicker than the current iPad 2, measuring 9.4 mm thick and weighing 1.4 pounds. But really, what are a few millimeters, anyway?
Apps and Games Galore!
During the press conference, Apple debuted several new, updated apps for the new iPad. First, the company launched iPhoto for iPad, a powerful photo editor that leverages the iPad’s wonderful touchscreen. Designed“for someone who wants to do even more with their photos,” iPhoto lets users crop, resize, adjust, browse, and edit photos without using a Mac.
Not to be outdone, Apple updated versions of GarageBand and iMovie to fully leverage The New iPad’s 1080p video capture and Retina display. With GarageBand, up to four iPads can “collaborate” to create tracks like never before.
And the new version of iMovie allows users to create “Trailers” like they could on the Mac equivalent. The updates are free to existing users, or $4.99 apiece for iMovie and GarageBand for new users.
Cook proudly exclaims the iPad is designed with both content consumption – and creation – in mind. “Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you can’t create on an iPad,” said Cook.
Gaming, though, is the true “shining star” of The New iPad. Using the full Retina display, games supposedly offer better performance than on leading consoles. According to Schiller, “this new device has more memory and higher screen resolution than an Xbox 360 or PS3.”
What’s It Called?
You may be wondering why we’re referring to the new iPad as the new iPad. Apple didn’t give the new device a catchy moniker this time around. Rather, it’s apparently being called “The New iPad.” Perhaps they did this on purpose to kibosh the iPad 3 or iPad HD rumors… who knows!
Pre-Orders and Pricing
Okay, I’ll admit it. I pre-ordered the new iPad before writing this post. Pre-orders start today and the new iPad will be available on March 16. Pricing remains the same across all models:
- $499/$599/$699 for 16/32/64 GB Wi-Fi Only Models
- $629/$729/$829 for 16/32/64 GB Wi-Fi + 4G Models
Bargain hunters rejoice – the iPad 2 will live on like the iPhone 4. The iPad 2 receives a $100 price cut, reducing the entry price to $399 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi model and $529 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi + 3G model.
That’s a wrap folks… now go and preorder the new iPad!
-Joe-
Nextag Blog
