The Long Awaited iPad 3

Okay, we admit it, the guys and gals in the web design Berkshire team are great fans of Apple devices. So, it was with great excitement, and not a little trepidation, that we awaited the latest incarnation of the world’s favourite tablet. But, now we can see it, was it worth all the hype?

Well, yes and no. There was little as to what this new beauty is being called, whether its iPad 3, or iPad HD (it actually goes by the name of new iPad), but it really is aimed at the high resolution brigade. In other words, this one is being sold for its graphics ability, as well as its increased functionality of course.

The screen resolution is 2,048 by 1,536 pixels and the new onboard A5X chipset improves the graphics capability and performance. It features a five-megapixel camera sector, comes complete with 4G capability and can act as a Wi-Fi hotspot for other nearby devices. Bottom of the range model (with 16GB) will set you back around £399 and it’s some £659 for the 64GB model (that comes with Wi-Fi and 4G).

The new iPad is 9.4mm deep, which makes it a fraction thicker than the iPad 2 (at 8.8mm). Battery length remains at around ten hours, although that gets lessened by about an hour when the 4G is being used.

Perhaps most excitedly for many people, is that the new iPad will be accompanied by a TV Box, upgraded, which can handle the 1080p video.

And it is the enhanced screen which excites us most. It means that Apple are handing developers a really powerful tool which will stretch their creative imaginations.

Okay, on the business front, Apple already controls 62% of the tablet market, one which it effectively created by itself, and that the new iPad, and the cheaper prices for the iPad 2, mean that they are likely to increase that to around 70%.

There are a few hiccups on the horizon though, not least the good following that the Android tablets are creating and that tablets running the full Windows 8 operating system will soon be out.

Also, quite a few fans were disappointed that there is no access to the iPhone 4S’ voice-controlled Siri intelligent assistant, nor haptic touch-feedback technology.

So, in general, the new iPad has had a good welcome and as Apple themselves say this is an evolution of the iPad, rather than a revolution. And who can blame them for that.

Cynics might suggest that this is just another machine to generate even more money for the company, but the better screen and wi-fi functionality is a great sign.

So, yes, well worth hype, but, the next iteration is going to have to blow our socks off.

 

Attribute to:  Biljana Dimovska, Cayenne Red.

Biljana Dimovska is a member of the web design Windsor team at Reading based agency Cayenne Red. She is a regular contributor to the media on how companies market themselves in the digital age.