Apple iPad 3

Editor's Review of the iPad 3

The New iPad - as Apple like to call it - or the iPad 3 - as us ordinary people like to call it - has been not-so-long awaited by Apple fans for the past several months now. In the build-up to its release, its most touted feature was its retina display, which looked set to be one of the most pleasing screens humans have ever laid eyes on.

In addition, the new iPad houses an updated graphics processor, 5MP camera, and improved wireless connectivity. Was it worth the short wait? Absolutely!

Design & Build

What's there to say here? It's an Apple product. It's a tablet. Of course it's going to be one of the most beautiful pieces of gadgetry in existence. The iPad 3 is about 50g heavier and 0.6mm thicker than its predecessor, but that doesn't make it any less appealing. The curvy, glossy black-and-chrome look just never gets old.

The major news here though is the crystalline 9.7" Retina Display. With a 'better-than-Blu-Ray' 2048 x 1536 px resolution, this really is one of the best screens out there. Text, photos, internet browsing and gaming are all hugely enhanced by this, and using any of them feels like an optical massage.

Graphics

The new A5X processor may just be an update on the iPad 2's A5 processor, but the graphical detail is phenomenal. As apps increasingly update themselves to take full advantage of the Retina display, the visual difference will be clear without any discernible performance hits.

Multimedia & Storage

While Apple tend not to flood their devices with their own-brand apps, there are several apps out there that complement the iPad 3's new and improved photo functions. Apple's very own iPhoto offers high-quality image editing, allowing you to do things as simple as cropping, to more techy tasks like shadow control and skin smoothing. Apple's own music production software, GarageBand, meanwhile, is all the more user-friendly thanks to the large, bright and super-responsive touch-screen.

The iPad 3 comes in 16, 32 and 64GB models. Non-expandable unfortunately, but if you purchase and SD card reader it'll allow for the easy transference of photos and videos to your computer and other devices.

Battery Life, Connectivity and the Rest

Despite being considerably more powerful than the iPad 2, Apple's new Golden Child doesn't noticeably rinse its battery life quicker. How Apple pulled this magic off, we don't know.

The average user will be able to get a good 4 days use out of their iPad 3, while streaming HD movies from the internet can knock its life down to as little as 5 hours.

The fact that the iPad 3 comes in both Wi-Fi and 'Wi-Fi plus 4g' models has stirred some controversy, for us humble folk here in the UK don't have 4G, and won't have it until 2013. Furthermore, even when we do get it we probably won't be able to use it with the current iPad 3 stock because their wireless frequencies won't be synced. Shame on you Apple! Or just a very foolish oversight.

Conclusion

Apple have once again shattered the perceived limitations of handheld devices. The Retina display and quad-core graphics processor are a testament to the idea that handheld devices will soon match PCs for all our technology-related needs. Not much has changed in terms of software and OS, but when it's all so user-friendly, who needs drastic changes? And it all looks so damn bright and colourful, it makes you wonder just how much better it can really get? We'll probably find out in a year or so...