The New iPad: Our review and everyone else's too
The new iPad is already on sale. In Australia, that is. And while the enthusiasm for the product was lessened by the fact that the Aussie’s 4G network isn’t quite ready to play with the iPad, people still lined up for the latest “magical and revolutionary” device from Apple.
In fact, if pre-order numbers are to be believed, this may well be the most successful iPad ever. But before you get all carried away by the hype, check out our own Marc Saltzman‘s video review of the new iPad. He’s had a week to play with it and here’s what he thinks…
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Now, if you’re still wondering if this device is worth the $519 entry price, we’ve taken the liberty of rounding up some of the web’s leading reviewers so you can take a survey of the various opinions (spoiler alert: it’s all about the display)
The Wall Street Journal (Walt Mossberg)
It has the most spectacular display I have ever seen in a mobile device. The company squeezed four times the pixels into the same physical space as on the iPad 2 and claims the new iPad’s screen has a million more pixels than an HDTV. All I know is that text is much sharper, and photos look richer.
The Verge (Joshua Topolsky)
Yes, this display is outrageous. It’s stunning. It’s incredible. I’m not being hyperbolic or exaggerative when I say it is easily the most beautiful computer display I have ever looked at.
TechCrunch (MG Siegler)
What we have is a 9.7-inch slab of aluminum and glass that when illuminated, becomes an absolutely stunning display of light and color.
New York Times (David Pogue)
If you’re in the market for a tablet, here’s the bright side: For the same price as before, you can now get an updated iPad that’s still better-looking, better integrated and more consistently designed than any of its rivals.
CNET (Donald Bell)
The iPad’s new screen is a stunner. That’s really all you need to know about the new iPad
Excitable 
For $300 less you can get a playbook. So it doesn’t have 3G or 4G. Tether it to your phone. My wife has an IPad 2 and it doesn’t go anywhere it’s too big. The Playbook does fine and it works great with an Otterbox case.
Back to the IPad 3…Is it worth the price…nope Is the IPad 2 worth the price….Nope Is the playbook worth the price yep. Give Apple some competition and you won’t see any more incremental changes. Yes the display is nice but only for content that is produced for it. Websites and such look the same.
Anyhow my piece is said.
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That really depends how you use a tablet. If you are an artist, and like sketching on a tablet, then yes, it would be worth it. If you like watching HD movies, it is indeed worth it. Playbooks are just good because they are cheap. I mean, it doesn’t even have a netflixs app.
The same thing is going to happen as it did with the iPhone 4. People are going to realize that their display is crap, and all the companies will have to run out and pump out new products. Granted, I don’t buy the “innovation” prop. that Apple is spewing out. It’s just a good product. Nothing more.
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I totally disagree on the Playbook Comment. I have a playbook and it is better in every way than the IPad except maybe the sketching you talk about. Apple I concede is really good at that. My wife has an IPad and its OK. I like the playbook cause I can stream any type of video to it. The IPad can’t. You need a paid app to do it at best. By the way the display is HD on the playbook. I have a media server and the playbook plays really nice with it. The IPad only likes the Apple format content.
In addition the interface too on the Playbook is much more intuitive. My son had a choice between the IPad and Playbook her got a playbook. He has an IPod and he no longer uses it.
The calendar app…Second to none and I really mean it. I showed a few people in a meeting we had today as we were working through a project plan. They were wowed. The integration with all me emails facebook and linked in is awesome.
Yes the playbook lacks in apps but the majority of them are pretty good. The IStore I say the majority of them are mediocre at best.
But back to the story. My wife has an IPad 2 based on what I have seen I wouldn’t go rushing out to get an IPad 3.
You are right there I just can’t figure out that changes like this create such a frenzy.
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The big question is,”What does it cost you to run this new Ipad per month?”
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If you don’t use the 4G LTE connection, the answer is “nothing.”
If you want to use the 4G LTE connection it will cost you whatever your carrier charges you on your data plan. Same as a cellphone.
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I am still on the iPad First Gen. I love the tablet form functionality. Though I am an avid supporter of BB, I must admit, it’s not their realm. The Playbook has nothing against the iPad. In more ways than just the display. But I’m not about to get into that.
The New iPad… I am not sold :-( I see the advantages, but still do not see me leaving the one I own. I use Skype alot and I love reading from the iPad. But the way I look at it is this…
Skype…
iPad 2 is lighter and has the same camera. (I own an iPhone 4S which works well using Skype); New iPad slightly heavier same camera (therefore Video feed will still be pixelated)
Advantage iPad 2
Reading…
iPad 2 is again lighter with no real use for higher graphics.
New iPad is heavier, amazing display…
I’d say the winner by a slight margin, iPad 2
I believe the New iPad is for those who prefer to game or use lots of graphical tools that will take advantage of the Quad-Core and the Retina Display. For practical uses, iPad 2. Or wait for the much speculated 7″ iPad which will fit my needs much more than the iPad. (if in fact it’s real)
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i’d disagree on the reading part, ID. with the higher quality display on the new iPad, text is so much crisper and easier to read (i don’t have an iPad, but i do have an iPhone 4, and have used the books app on that). there are also a number of other performance improvements that make an upgrade worthwhile for some (but certainly not all, yourself included!)
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Do any of the “professional” opinions have anything else to say besides it’s great blah blah blah, besides the screen, give me something else. The screen does’t justify the price.
Everyone I talk with that has both the Playbook and the ipad 2 cannot justify spending the money on the ipad2 (if they had to again)never mind the 3rd gen. That by itself tells me something.
For me the lack of flash media is still my problem with apple, and the camera part is still weak, should have upgraded that. And for any real art or video work you still need a real computer.
For me the ipad 2 isn’t worth it, and the 3 is the same. I’m still looking at the playbook, its affordable and they are not invovled in any price fixing on the ebooks like apple, I hope Amazon and the others win!
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Get the playbook. I have had mine almost a year. The first OS was OK but it was lacking. With OS 2 I love it they nailed it its what it should have been at the beginning. The apps are coming along and I find it very portable with the otterbox case its great. I saw the new keyboard and that may make me leave the laptop at home and use the citrix receiver.
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I am so glad i went the Playbook way, this is a total rip off for a screen upgrade, and end up kissing Apple’s ass for ever?
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Simon, get it right. It is not the iPad3. It’s still called the “New iPad2”, or something like that. Where do you get your information from? Do you make things up, or is it wishful thinking? All hype without substance. The Apple website does not make any mention of iPad3, so do a little research before your hype.
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You meant “Stephen, get it right” yeah?
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The math sounds terrific..more pixels than your big screen HDTV WOW!
Reality is quite something else..I compared my iPad 2 to a new iPad on the same web site and it is pretty much impossible to tell the difference unless you look carefully at some of the smaller print..It is a bit more obvious if you zoom the screen to make the letters huge..then you notice the difference in sharpness…not something that happens in normal use.
Bottom line, I am not going to replace my iPad 2 with the “new” iPad
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Understandably, Leor, when you read from a 4 you need to zoom. I have a 4S and do require zooming as well. Get a tablet and you’ll notice it has a bigger screen and you wouldnt need to zoom. So unless you have difficulties reading normal size text on a tablet, extreme zooming is NOT necessary.
And read my lengthy explanation. Clearly I stated that it is not worth it for ME.
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the answer is android
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