I was fortunate to get my hands on a new iPad a little earlier than expected, and I’ve been playing around with it and comparing it to my iPad 2. I’ve read all the early reviews from the likes of Walt Mossberg and Joshua Topolsky, and I’m sure you have to, so I won’t waste your time rehashing what you’ve already read.
The new iPad is great. It really is. If you’ve never owned an iPad before, this third-gen iteration will blow your mind. It’s by far the best tablet on the market in every way. Nothing compares. It’s not perfect, but it’s about as close as you can get right now.
Here are some of the highlights I’ve gleaned from spending a little time with the new iPad:
The Retina display is gorgeous. You’ve likely heard this over and over, but the screen is definitely an improvement. You’ll notice it right away.
Some early reviewers have had a hard time putting the new iPad’s Retina display into words — they see it as being that amazing. I would say that they’re embellishing reality. The Retina display is simply a crisper version of the old display. It looks great and you can see the difference when look at text or zoom into a webpage on the old iPad and the new. After looking at the Retina display, you notice pixelation on the old iPad you didn’t see before. It’s exactly like when we made the switch from the iPhone 3GS to the iPhone 4’s Retina display. It’s like putting on a pair of glasses.
My second biggest feature of the new iPad is Siri Dictation. I’ve been wanting this since Siri was introduced, and it works beautifully on the new iPad. After testing it for 10 minutes I already know I’ll be using Dictation constantly. Email and word processing will be so much speedier.
Also, a little nuance I noticed: Apple automatically hides the Dictation mic in the iOS 5 keyboard when the iPad is not connected to a network. It magically reappears when connected. Very slick.
The new iPad’s cameras aren’t that exciting. They take slightly better pictures, and that’s about it. I do, however, love the new Camera app interface on the iPad in iOS 5.1.
The iPad I’m using right now is WiFi-only, I haven’t been able to try LTE yet.
Ultimately, the new iPad is Apple’s best iPad yet. That sounds cliche, but it’s true. As much as I don’t want to make this analogy, it feels like moving from the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 4S. Everything is better, but not earth-shattering. The Retina display is probably the biggest improvement, and I’m sure Apple will sell truckloads of these things because of the display alone. Personally, it didn’t knock my socks off like I thought it would — at least not yet. I think it’s growing on me.
Should you buy? If you have the iPad 2 and you’re more than content about it, I would wait. Unless you’re able to sell your current iPad to help cover the cost, you can probably wait for the fourth-gen version. If you’ve never owned an iPad, buy now.
Alex Heath is a journalist who works for Tech Insider. He’s the former co-host of The CultCast. He has been quoted by the likes of the BBC, KRON 4 News, and books like “ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation.” He lives in Lexington, Kentucky. If you want to pitch a story, share a tip, or just get in touch, additional contact information is available on his personal site. Follow him on Twitter.
18 responses to “My First Impressions Of The New iPad: Like Putting On A Pair Of Glasses”
“If you’ve never owned an iPad, buy now.”
Very good advice, sir. I am walking to the Apple Store now.
I got mine a bit earlier too. Retina display is quite good not that the iPad 1’s display is bad to begin with but you can tell the difference. Decided not to wait in line and went to my local Walmart and at 12:01 am they asked the 5 of us in line which models we wanted and off to the cash registers. It was that easy :-)
Congratulations you and your iPad were made for each other!
Walmart in Lancaster California had 5. i was number 5. and i deserve my own misery. they had the 16gb. i took it. now i am staring at the box because my 32 is scheduled to arrive today. so i guess in my greed to ‘scalp’ this one, i can’t enjoy the new screen yet. why doesn’t fedex deliver at 1am? so greed is not good.
I think the Retina display alone is worth the upgrade. One of the reasons I didn’t jump on iPad 1 or 2 was the screen resolution. I read a lot – not just ebooks but PDFs too – tonnes of it. The old 1024 x 768 just doesn’t cut it. Having a retina screen on iPhone just makes you want something better on your iPad. I tried Android/WebOS tablets too – It isn’t good enough for reading PDFs on the tablet!
Another thing would be the camera and 1080p video – i mean 5 Mpx versus 0.7 mpx on iPad 2 .. common. If you fancy data plan, then LTE from Verizon is worth every bit of it.
Retina alone worth the upgrade? I doubt that. The graphics on the original were fine and are still fine. My eyes arent upset with me because they cant see the ipad in higher res. Having Siri might have been worth the upgrade, but not a retina display. Maybe I would feel differently if I were a hardcore gamer who needed graphics.
I’ve been wondering… Won’t the retina display make the apps super bloated because of the ultra high resolution?
If “super bloated” means about twice as big…then yup.
How many did they have in stock? When iPad 2 came out, each ATT store, Target, Walmart, etc., only had 5 units each, which sucked big time. I had to run to 3 different stores before Going to Best Buy. Shoukd have gone to BB first!
I think they should be more like 4 times as big. I mean the code part won’t be bigger, but any embedded graphics images (the data part) will be four times larger, not two times.
Looks good! I didn’t get one today because I didn’t want to queue but I’ll definitely be buying one. Look at this guy who queued for 5 days outside the Apple store on Regent Street in London! http://yourscene.me/2012/03/16…
Apple really gave a lot just to install that display, we could have gotten more storage, better processor, thinner and lighter iPad, but they had to give all that up for a better display. This is why everyone is not that excited over the iPad 3. Its basically a better screen
Apple really gave a lot just to install that display, we could have gotten more storage, better processor, thinner and lighter iPad, but they had to give all that up for a better display. This is why everyone is not that excited over the iPad 3. Its basically a better screen
A. You have iCloud for all the storage you need, B. You have a quad core GPU and double RAM, C. .1mm thicker, D. Display is what you buy a tablet for; display is 99% of what you see when using a tablet.
I am really really happy with my iPad 2 So I refuse to upgrade.
And since there is no LTE Coverage where I live well the 2 is the way to go for me.
Congrats for buying the new iPad
I REALLY LIKE IT…
ITS LIKE MY OTHER SMARTPHONE – GALAXY NEXUS…
But dont worry my glorified APPLE – if u will steal, copy or buy another invention or innovation of other company they cannot sue you and if ever we have tons of lawyer to defend us..
I know that if someone will copy us even a very tiny hint of our paid patent, we will sue them hard…
So, yeah go ahead and put anything you want in our apple products even theres lots of companies had those from the past…
I love APPLE sp much, they are like god to me!!!
quit trolling and go hang out on cult of android
I would have to say that’s your fault for thinking that a Walmart or Target, where they sell clothes, toys, and yard equipment would have an electronic device over an electronics store like Best Buy