When Tim Cook unveiled the latest edition of the iPad, there were distinctly two types of remarks – either those who exclaimed in awe or those who wanted much more. There were far too many expectations on the iPad last time around so it is fair to say that people were not looking for extravagant features. So now let us determine which of the two categories of observers were justified in their reactions.

New iPad – Screen Resolution & Display:

On judging the iPad, the focus will always be on the screen because there is not much else to it in terms of design and the look. The ‘new iPad’, as Apple itself refers to it, has a resolution of 2048×1536 that is about four times the pixels present in the iPad 2. All these colors are packed inside a 9.7-inch screen with Apple giving it the title – Retina Display. Surprisingly, iPhone 4, also having the Retina Display, has a sharper display with 330 PPI as compared to the iPad’s 264 PPI. In reply to this question, Apple has come out and said that the iPad is supposed to be held out at 15 inches from your face while the iPhone should be held at about 10 inches from your face. To be honest, you could try as you like pushing pad close to your eyes but you won’t notice any pixilation.

New iPad – Dimensions & Size:

As far as the dimensions are concerned, the new iPad is slightly thicker and heavier than its predecessor but if you forget about the latter, you definitely would be wowed by it. That is not all it has to offer in appearance, the glass is scratch proof and beautiful curved edges have left competitors with no other option but to embrace it.

New Features of iOS:

The operating system as expected has been upgraded to the iOS 5.01 and although there are not drastic changes, certain much needed tweaks are noticeable. Taking a leaf out of the Android book, the notification bar, accessed by swiping down, has been incorporated. The multitasking feature has remarkable improvements as by using multiple fingers, you can alternate between different screens. It might not be the best interface out there but its ease of use is definitely a delight.

New & Improved Hardware:

There isn’t a great deal of improvement in terms of the processing power on paper but the RAM has been upgraded to 1GB which Apple are unlikely to admit. The storage space flavors remain the same and there is no upgrade to the 128GB which a lot of people were expecting. The battery capacity has risen by about 70% and that too using the same technology apparently. This seems slightly impossible due to the fact that the size of the device hasn’t increased. The major reason for extending the capacity is to accommodate the 4G LTE connectivity – a feature useless outside the United States for the time being.

New iPad – The Best as Usual:

However stylish and impressionable the iPad may be, it still is lacking a SD slot, a USB connection and a HDMI out. There are adapters who can be used as a workaround but it isn’t the same thing. The iPad still cannot play the AVI and FLASH files but they are not necessary features. You can identify other missing features but at the end of the day, those features won’t be found in any Android tablet. The iPad 3 is miles ahead of its competitors at the moment and with little improvements like camera details, graphics enhancements and wireless connectivity, Apple is the one to beat.