New iPad 3 review: the good and not so good specs

March 16, 2012 | Filed under: Business | Posted by:

It is being sold like hot cake. Almost all units on sale have already been snapped up by eager Apple fans. Here is a short new iPad 3 review and specs analysis

Apple’s latest iPad being called new iPad or iPad 3 is hogging the limelight. After months of speculations and long wait, the tablet is finally in people’s hands, though millions of people will have to wait for another few weeks till Apple streamlines the supply chain to cope up with the huge demand.

Notwithstanding the fact that the Cupertino based tech giant has not made any change with the outer body of latest version of its top class tablet, there is still a mad rush of Apple fans who want to grab the product. The most important improvement (and Apple haters are saying that it is only improvement) that has made people sit up and take notice is in its display. A retina display improves the quality of the tablet to an all new level.

Apple’s latest retina display takes the display quality of the new tablet to an all new level. For Apple competitors this will be something hard to beat and may certainly take time. But to be true, Apple failed in one thing. It had tried desperately to make the new tablet thinner than the previous iPad 2, but it failed and the latest model is thicker. A Digitimes report well before the launch of the tablet said, “Since Apple demands that the new iPad model will need to be thinner than the iPad 2, while raising the machine’s screen resolution to 2048 by 1536, upstream component makers have been working aggressively to adjust the device’s LED and panel module designs to satisfy these demands, but the work has affected the launch schedule of the new tablet PC”.

The improvement in screen has ensured that the general Apple fans who go out to check the tablet will instantly like it, given the fact that improvement is visible since the word go. A reviewer while writing in Guardian has this to say, “The essential thing about a tablet – particularly a “slate” like the iPad – is that the screen is pretty much all there is… But on its own, the screen is what you deal with. So if that’s better, you should benefit”.

iPad 3 comes up with impressive 2048×1536 resolution improving the display of the new iPad by at least four times. Many have said that the quality has been so much improved that now it matches the HD quality.

Though the Cupertino based tech giant has been boasting that its latest processor in the tablet has improved the functioning of the new iPad significantly. But in my view, it is one of the weakest point in the tablet’s overall functioning. Many have said that they didn’t experience a significant improvement in the functioning of the Apple tablet. A reviewer rightly says, “Overall, the device doesn’t feel a huge amount faster, though – the new processor clearly has its work cut out just keeping the screen going…And despite Apple’s boasts, the games still don’t look a patch on titles on Xbox 360 or PC – but as developers get to grips with the new hardware, that will change”.

Another major improvement that has excited iPad users is its 5 mega pixel camera. It is a huge improvement over its previous version. But Apple could have put in an 8 mega pixel camera instead of the 5 mega pixel camera that has been installed in the new iPad. When iPhone 4S can have the 8 mega pixel camera, why not iPad 3. And by the way it wouldn’t have been the first tablet to have an 8 MP camera. ASUS Transformer Prime besides many other tablets already have 8 mega pixel camera. So the disappointment is but natural.

Nonetheless the camera is still a lot improved than what iPad users had so far. A reviewer while writing in the The Verge says 5 mega pixel camera on the new iPad “will actually produce pretty favorable results…Thanks to that improved sensor, pictures you take on the iPad now look relatively respectable, with a depth of field shallow enough to pull off rather artistic looking images.”

Meanwhile an Android fan while telling us his impression of iPad 3 has this to say, “iPad 3’s screen resolution today is higher than Android tablets, from last year, but Asus and others already have similar resolution Android tablets coming real soon, so that’s really a moot point. The iPad3′s cameras are still lower resolution than most good Android tablets from last year. iOS is pretty much unchanged, so no features like desktop widgets (can people really use a tablet that doesn’t have widgets?). When you compare the iPad3 to say the Asus Transformer Prime, with it’s USB ports, SD Card slots, proper (detechable) keyboard, stunning and fluid Android 4, and 5 core GPU, the iPad3 looks like a poor purchase, with only the display as it’s only real plus point”.

Shortlink:

Posted by on March 16, 2012. Filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
  • Taylor

    The Asus Transformer is a quad core NVIDIA Tegra… There’s no such thing as a 5 core -___-

  • Harold

    There is technically, a 5th “battery saver” core which functions as a scheduler of sorts for the other 4 cores on Tegra 3 which helps throttle things for maximum power efficiency.

    http://www.nvidia.com/object/tegra-3-processor.html

  • Ben

    Tegra 3 is a quad core cpu with a 5th companion core and 12 core gpu.

    Sent from my Transformer Prime

  • Trigger

    So what do you all think about the new iPad? Is it worth the asking price? I have the iPad and iPad 2. I am looking at getting something new but I am really split between the iPad and a good Android tab. The Android tab tools to meto be a much better bang for the $ as well as being a better tab in every way. But I am really interested in what any one has to say on the matter. I know ther are people out there that are more into the new tab’s then me. So any info will help, thank you

  • Dave Cannon

    With exception to the cameras the new iPad lives up to expectation. Photos in mid to poor light (on the rear camera) are grainy compared to the iPhone4S or my Motorola Xoom. The absense of a flash has much to do with this. Given the emphasis on iPhoto and graphics in general Apple could have done much beter on the camera. It’ll do fine outdoors with plenty of light. Speed of the device on LTE and in general is very good and the display is high quality. I give it a A- due to the camera. While you wouldnt buy an iPad purposefully to use the camera when moments happen you want something as good as the iPhone 4S. Battery life with the “new battery” technology has been every bit a good as the iPad 2. I enjoy the new iPad, but am left wanting for a better camera…to the point I don’t I’ll ever use it.

  • Gil

    Apple put a 5MP camera on the iPad 3, because they needed some kind of feature to cause the big rush to get the iPad 4 next March. That feature will be the 8 or maybe 10MP camera. Knowing Apple, it will be 8MP and if they do come up with 10MP, that will sell the iPad5 in 2014. The 2048×1536 screen resolution is complete & total overkill. Why would you need that kind of resolution on a 10 inch screen. I have the Asus Transformer Prime with 1280×800 which is perfect for a 10 inch screen for graphics but makes it very hard to read standard 12pt text. You actually have to zoom everything to read it. I was an iPad2 owner who was anxiously waiting for iPad3 until I ran into a guy in a restaurant who had what I thought was a very tiny Laptop but when I saw him detach the monitor from the keyboard, I said “what hind of laptop was that?” I went over and asked him about it and he explained the Transformer Prime to me. So I went home, did my homework on reviews and comparisons. Other than the screen resolution specs, the Asus beat the iPad2 out in every way. the 2048×1536 is great on paper, but not nearly as great to the eyes as it sounds on a 10″ monitor. Most of the comparison reviews I read said that the 1280×800 screen on the Asus appeared sharper in someways and said that they saw some things on the Asus sreen that didn’t even show up on the iPad3 screen. The Asus screen is well capable of showing 1080p video. What more do you need in a 10′ monitor? It’s already been proven that you can’t tell the difference in 720p & 1080p until you get to a screen size of 42.” I’m a professional photographer and the Asus screen is more than sufficient for me. I don’t need all of the overkill resolution, I’ll take the many extra features any day.

  • Gil

    Apple put a 5MP camera on the iPad 3, because they needed some kind of feature to cause the big rush to get the iPad 4 next March. That feature will be the 8 or maybe 10MP camera. Knowing Apple, it will be 8MP and if they do come up with 10MP, that will sell the iPad5 in 2014. The 2048×1536 screen resolution is complete & total overkill. Why would you need that kind of resolution on a 10 inch screen. I have the Asus Transformer Prime with 1280×800 which is perfect for a 10 inch screen for graphics but makes it very hard to read standard 12pt text. You actually have to zoom everything to read it. I was an iPad2 owner who was anxiously waiting for iPad3 until I ran into a guy in a restaurant who had what I thought was a very tiny Laptop but when I saw him detach the monitor from the keyboard, I said “what hind of laptop was that?” I went over and asked him about it and he explained the Transformer Prime to me. So I went home, did my homework on reviews and comparisons. Other than the screen resolution specs, the Asus beat the iPad2 out in every way. the 2048×1536 is great on paper, but not nearly as great to the eyes as it sounds on a 10″ monitor. Most of the comparison reviews I read said that the 1280×800 screen on the Asus appeared sharper in someways and said that they saw some things on the Asus sreen that didn’t even show up on the iPad3 screen. The Asus screen is well capable of showing 1080p video. What more do you need in a 10′ monitor? It’s already been proven that you can’t tell the difference in 720p & 1080p until you get to a screen size of 42.” I’m a professional photographer and the Asus screen is more than sufficient for me. I don’t need all of the overkill resolution, I’ll take the many extra features any day. I had the email address wrong the first time.