Should I Buy the New iPad?

Should I buy the new iPad? Let's take a look at the features of Apple's latest iPad tablet.

On Wednesday 7th March 2012 Apple announced the new iPad. That seems to be what they're calling it. Not iPad 3, iPad HD, iPad 4G or any of the other names that people thought they might use. It was also referred to as the third generation iPad.

The iPad 2 is still available with a price drop and this new model iPad will sit along side it as the high spec top end iPad.

I'm trying to decide whether to buy a new iPad or take advantage of the price drop on the iPad 2. In this article I'll run through the features of the new iPad and cover the price and specs.

The New iPad from Apple

Promotional Video

The new iPad: Retina Display

The new Retina display is one of the headline features of the new iPad. It's not a very descriptive name is it?

Basically, this means that the screen is very high resolution. The lastest iPhones have Retina displays but producing a large Retina display is expensive and this is the first iPad to feature this technology.

It means that you'll see smoother graphics and fewer jagged edges on images and videos.

The new iPad display has a resolution of 2048 x 1536 which higher than HD resolution.

The new iPad: iSight Camera

The new iPad camera has a 5-megapixel iSight camera (this is a big improvement) and can take 1080p HD video. Having a reasonable quality camera on a device that also offers image editing and movie editing software is useful combination.

It's not going to replace a professional camera, but for travel snaps and quick videos of the kids doing something cute, it's a nice feature.

The new iPad: 4G LTE (Optional)

The new iPad range includes 4G LTE options. 4G LTE is the latest mobile network standard with higher bandwidth and therefore much faster download speeds.

You'll need a network carrier for this feature and Apple have partnered with carriers in several countries for the initial lauch.

You also have the option of switching to a local SIM card when you are traveling. You also get Wifi support on the iPad 4G tablets.

You can choose a cheaper new iPad model with Wifi but no 4G support if you prefer. This is a tricky decision for me. I work from home and don't often need 4G, but it's handy when I do need it. I think I'd just cope with the Wifi version.

The new iPad: Quad Core Processor

The new iPad has an A5X chip with quad-core graphics. This means that although it has all those new pixels in the display, they can still be updated quickly.

This gives interesting options for new games, and games were one of the main features demoed at the press launch for the new iPad.

Now this is interesting to a lapsed gamer like me. I find it hard to fit gaming in to my life. Sure we have all the consoles, but often my partner will be watching TV when I would play, or I'm in a different room in the house, or I actually have time when we're on vacation - but no console with me.

The new iPad: Voice Dictation

The new iPad also offers voice dictation and has a microphone. I'm not sure how popular this feature will be, but it's an intriguing one for me. I've been trying to find a practical voice dictation solution for a while.

If the new iPad offers accurate voice dictation then this might actually be the killer app for me.

What do you think about the new iPad?

So, Should I buy the new iPad?

So, should I buy the new iPad? If I already had an iPad 2 I probably wouldn't rush to upgrade, there's nothing really earth-shattering here. (I've still got my iPhone 3GS and it's serving me well.)

But I don't have an iPad or other large tablet (just a small 7" tablet that I share with the kids and use to read books.) I'm still thinking about it. The new $499 16GB iPad is a lot of kit for quite a reasonable price.

The other important factor to consider is the price drop in the iPad 2. The iPad 2 is still a very well specified tablet. And it's prices have dropped by $100 with the release of the new iPad.

And of course there will be people selling their iPad 2's because they must have the absolute latest iPad. This should lead to lower prices for used iPad 2 tablets on eBay.

So it's worth checking the price of a used iPad 2 or refurbished iPad 2 on eBay.

Updated: 03/08/2012, TerriRexson

Thank you! Would you like to post a comment now?

What do you think of the new iPad?

Only logged-in users are allowed to comment. Login

Sam on 03/09/2012

Lol, is really that time again? It seems like yesterday that the iPad2 came out ;-) Looking at the feature comparison you did, it looks to me that getting a new iPad 2 is the way to go. The iPad3 looks nice, but the price drop for the older model looks nicer ;-)

Marie on 03/08/2012

I'm seriously thinking of buying a brand new iPad 2 because the price drop makes it much more viable. We already have ipods and I love how they work and the fact that I can read my Kindle books on it, download and listen to my audiobooks, watch youtube videos and surf the net. So I'm very tempted right now!

10 Best Kindle Fire Apps 2019

What are the Best Kindle Fire Apps? Here are 10 great apps to get you started...

iPad Alternatives for under $100

Granted, a real iPad is the bees-knes when it comes to tablet computers, but ...

Disclosure: This page generates income for authors based on affiliate relationships with our partners, including Amazon, Google and others.