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.
