An honest assessment of the new iPad

As all technology addicts know, the new iPad was launched on Friday last week. Thousands of people queued up outside stores and millions of units were sold in just a few days. Now at last the dust is starting to settle. And this makes it a very good time to provide an honest assessment of this new iPad. Is it as good as Apple make it out to be? Or will purchasers be disappointed?

This is a hard question to answer definitively. Perhaps the best we can do is cover a few of the pros and cons of the tablet and then leave it to the individual to make his or her own decision.

Let’s start with the positives. It seems that users of this new iPad cannot help but be impressed by its Retina display. Think about the iPad 2 for a second. Now think about the best HD TV. Well, simply put, the new iPad outdoes both of them by some distance. We’re talking about arguably the most powerful display on any current mobile device – images are sharp and fluid, the resolution is enhanced and the color saturation is vastly improved. In short, this new iPad provides stunning visuals.

In addition, Apple claim that the battery life is as good as it was on ipads of the previous generation. Fortunately, Cnet have done their own test and the results show that although the new iPad drained a little faster than the iPad 2, it still provided 12.8 hours of battery life, which is the second best result
cnet have recorded for tablets on a single battery.

So it is clear that we’re dealing with a tablet that not only provides stunning visuals but also lasts as long as almost any other tablet in terms of its battery life. Nobody could deny that this is highly impressive. On top of this, Apple have improved the built-in camera (so that the iPad is equipped with something comparable to the iPhone 4) and added a voice dictation option as well. Does this mean that people should stop asking themselves where to buy ipad 2 generation tablets and start considering where to buy the new model instead? Not necessarily. For along with all the improvements, the new iPad does come with certain flaws. Here we’ll consider just two of them.

Firstly, there are the dimensions of this new tablet. It would be an exaggeration to say that the new iPad is “clunky” (Apple are known to produce elegant, streamlined gadgets). However, it is a little heavier than its predecessor and a little wider or thicker as well. One might have expected a new release to improve things in this department.

The reality is that the tablet has arguably taken a small step backwards. Future tablet owners who are looking for the lightest possible model may want to consider the 2nd or 1st generation rather than the 3rd.

There other small “flaws” (if we can call them that) with the new iPad, including the fact that it does not come with Siri. The voice dictation element, whilst useful, cannot compare with Siri, which can of course be found on the iPhone 4S. This would have been an extremely handy and appealing feature on the new iPad, but for now users will have to make do without it (perhaps Apple will include it in the “iPad 4″ if ever that is released).

Hopefully this overview has given you an idea of the advantages and drawbacks in Apple’s new iPad. Whilst it may not be the perfect tablet, it seems that it’s improved display will appeal to certain types of user and its camera and voice dictation capability will no doubt impress others as well. It remains to be seen how and if Apple will improve on their latest offering in the months and years to come.