Apple iPad 3 Unveiled

The third generation iPad – the most anticipated tablet of 2012 – was officially launched this week at a special Apple event in California, and it certainly lived up to the hype. And the name ? Note iPad 3 but simply ‘The new iPad’

Journalists and analysts from around the globe were presented with an array of new features, including the much-rumoured retina touchscreen display, which Apple claims makes the iPad 3 the most ‘pixel packed’ tablet on the market.

The beautiful 9.7-inch screen hosts a total of 3.1 million pixels, rated at a resolution of 2048×1536 with a pixel density of 264ppi, and boasts an increase in both resolution and colour saturation, aimed at providing better contrast ratio. In fact, Apple says that the screen resolution is so crisp words on screen appear sharper than words in print.

Performance has also improved greatly thanks to the inclusion of a quad core graphics chip and a quad-core A5X processor, which can reportedly deliver four times the performance of NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 processor and is fast enough to handle intense 3D games .
Other standout features of the new iPad include super-fast 4G LTE connectivity and a new iSight Camera that is very similar to the one included on the iPhone 4S . Although the camera is rated at only 5MP, it boasts a five element lens together with an illuminated sensor, and can record video in full HD.

The style and design is pretty much identical to the iPad 2, although the frame is slightly thicker to accommodate the LTE chip. There’s also a slightly bigger 42.5 watt hour battery that provides an impressive 10 hours use on 3G and 9 hours on 4G.

The new iPad will go on sale in the US on March 16, with prices ranging from $499-$829 (£399-£659) – the same range as the iPad 2. A UK release date hasn’t been confirmed, but it should arrive on this side of the Atlantic by late spring/early summer. You can watch the TV add here.