Perhaps the biggest question surrounding the launch of the ‘new iPad', as Apple calls it, is “What's so different from the iPad 2?” Granted, the differences are barely obvious, at least physically.

You still get the same 9.7-inch slate with no changes to ports, the magnetic cover or dimensions. However, the new iPad does seem to have put on a bit of weight.

Bit of weight

Thickness is now slated at 9.4mm, going up from the 8.8mm of the earlier avatar. The new iPad now weighs in at 1.44 pounds for the Wi-Fi version as compared to the iPad 2's 1.33 pounds. The 3G version sees a similar weight difference.

So now that we've established that the outside is still pretty much the same, what about the inside? To start off with, the dual-core A5 chip has been replaced with a faster A5X chip, but full details are not out.

The new iPad also gets a graphics upgrade in the form of a quad-core GPU, four times the performance of the iPad 2. It will run on an updated version of iOS, 5.1 which is also available for download on existing iOS 5 devices.

The camera has undergone a huge change too, so the measly 0.7-meg clicker is now a hefty 5-megapixel with autofocus, face detection and the ability to shoot Full HD 1080p videos, something Apple calls the iSight camera. The front VGA camera (for Face Time) remains unchanged.

But the screen is what really got everyone talking. The iPad 2's 1,024x768 pixel screen has been replaced by Retina Display with a resolution of 2,048x1,536 pixels. Saturation has also increased by 44 per cent, so expect amazing HD video playback on it.

Iphoto feature

Big news for iPad apps is the introduction of iPhoto, with professional photo editing features. Dictation is also a new addition and you can create notes, type messages and even browse the Web by dictating into the inbuilt microphone.

Connectivity options have improved with the new iPad now supporting 4G and LTE networks, although Indian users won't feel the benefit for a while.

Despite the brighter screen and enhanced connectivity, battery life remains 10 hours.

There is no word yet on Indian pricing or availability, but the iPad 2's speedy entry into the Indian market leaves us hoping that we'll be able to get our hands on a unit in the next couple of months.

> ketaki@thehindu.co.in

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