Apple announced the new iPad at their media event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco on Wednesday. The much-rumored tablet has finally seen the light of day and all the speculations about its new name have been put to rest. There is no iPad HD, no iPad 3, just the new iPad.
In a series of demos, Apple executives, including CEO Tim Cook and Senior Vice President Phil Schiller took the time out to demonstrate the features and capabilities of the new iPad.
Here are the top ten things you need to know about the new iPad.
1) Stunning new displayThe new iPad features a retina display with a resolution of 2048x1536 (264ppi).
2) Faster processor
The iPad runs on an A5X processor, with quad-core graphics. Apple claims it to be four times faster than the Nvidia Tegra 3.
3) Bigger and better cameraThe rear camera, called the iSight, is a 5-megapixel shooter with a back-illuminated sensor and a 5 element lens. The front camera is now called Facetime camera.
4) Full HD recordingThe iPad is capable of shooting full HD videos.
5) 4G/ LTEThe iPad is now capable of speeds up to 42 Mbps using dual-carrier HSDPA and 73 Mbps on LTE. (Update: Read
Apple's new iPad not compatible with India's 4G network.)
6) Voice DictationA new key at the bottom that activates the microphone - tap and speak.
7) iPhotoiPhoto comes to iPad, offers image editing and processing with multi-touch support.
8) iPad 2 staysiPad 2 not phased-out, gets $100 price-drop across the line i.e. $399 for 16GB Wi-Fi only model. (Update: Read
iPad 2 now available at Rs. 24,500.)
9) PricingThe new iPad inherits the iPad 2's original pricing, starts at $499 for 16GB Wi-Fi only model. (Update: Read
Apple's new iPad in India on April 27, starting Rs. 30,500.)
10) AvailabilityThe iPad will be available on March 16 in US and other select countries,
with no word on an India release date yet. (Update: Read
Apple's new iPad in India on April 27, starting Rs. 30,500.)