Last night (South African time) Apple unveiled their third generation iPad. A few things were done yesterday that were very different to the old Apple. When Steve Jobs was still CEO it seemed that Apple did not listen to their customers regarding features for a new product. The new iPad interestingly features a few things that can been seen as solutions for deficiencies from previous iPad’s.
“The new iPad redefines the category Apple created less than two years ago, delivering the most amazing experience people have ever had with technology,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The new iPad now has the highest resolution display ever seen on a mobile device with 3.1 million pixels, delivering razor sharp text and unbelievable detail in photos and videos.”
The first major thing that caught my attention is the fact that this iPad is not called the iPad 3. I still cannot really understand why this was done. The only thing that would make sense is that Apple does not want to dilute from the iPad brand. A new version will always be more sought after than the existing product but the marketing of this new product can potentially hurt the brand. One thing that is very clear is that the iPad is a very important product for Apple. They want to sell millions of these devices and thus take market share away from their competitors.
The new iPad features a powerful A5X processor which is going to be used to power the great graphics the device will have. The processor will deliver a fast, responsive user experience while supporting the incredible Retina display.
The Retina display (a feature that Apple created exclusively for the iPhone and iPad), I think is going to be the main selling point.
The new iPad’s Retina display delivers four times the number of pixels of iPad 2, so dense that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels when held at a normal distance, making web pages, text, images and video look incredibly sharp and realistic.
The one feature that I did not expect is the much better camera that is found on the new iPad. The better camera adds another reason to use the device in the work environment as FaceTime chats and Skype is now a real possibility.
The 5 megapixel iSight camera features advanced optics for taking stunning pictures and recording full HD video. Backside illumination allows you to take great photos in low-light conditions and a new video image stabilization feature removes the bumps and shakes typically seen when filming with a hand-held device.
As much as this may seem to be a below the radar product launch from Apple, I sense that the new iPad is going to lead to lot of sales for Apple. This reality is that the other competitors now need to respond with better tablets…
