The New Resolutionary iPad.....To Buy or not to Buy ?
Most of us already read several reviews, even some already got their shiny new Apple toy and been using it for awhile. so many reviews that discussed the might of the screen and the unmatched experience, All good if you have an iPad 1or no iPad at all, but if you have an iPad 2, Is it worth upgrading? Is there any dark sides ??
As the new iPad sports the same 9.7 inch screen but with a resolution of 2048x1536 px, 4:3 aspect ratio (Higher than an HDTV by One Million Pixel ) and 264 ppi ( depends on the screen resolution, size & the viewing distance ).
So let's skip the technical details and focus on what we really got on hand and what we can see.... A Super sharp and detailed screen with 3.1 million pixels ( four times the number of pixels on iPad 2).
A real joy to the eye it is.
The 5-Megapixel still images iSight Camera on new iPad is quite a boost comparing it to the iPad 2's infamous 0.7 MP camera (not documented by Apple but only using Photo Shack Pro to get actual photo specs.) with options like Face detection, AutoFocus, backside illumination sensor and tap to set exposure functions, it really sweeps the iPad 2's camera. But.....Are you a compulsive photographer???
When it comes to the video recording, it offers it in a 1080p Full HD quality, which is not far from the late 720p on iPad 2, but adding the automatic video stabilization, it gets more edge over the iPad 2 capabilities.
As always, Apple doesn't rely much on Megapixel though it matters, but it relies on other things that determine photo quality like camera optics, signal processors & software and they did a great job.
An Ultra fast 4G LTE network connection, which is a huge boost to use supreme speeds on that device, though not the first company to tackle it, but the ability to access the majority of the fast 3G networks is awesome, especially that it support speeds up to 42 Mbps/sec on DC-HSDPA or 21.1 Mbps/sec on HSPA+
Blazing speeds is heaven on earth.
Apple did a great job increasing the frequency spectrum accessed by this iPad too, but you might need to consider two more things, who supports that kind of connections and in which countries? (if you are a traveler) as the 4G LTE carriers is not that widely spread as you might think, so be wise.
Now add to that the new 1GHz Dual Core CPU 512 MB A5X Chip, with it's new quad core GPU which drives 4 times the pixels of iPad 2 but still manages to run it as smooth as on the iPad 2 like a breeze.
All that without affecting the 10 hours battery life like the iPad 2!
The last but not least " The Dictation ":
Though a lot expected Siri to shine on that device, It didn't, instead you got the dictation option, by just dictating your new iPad what you want whether an e-mail or a note, a text or even search the web, your iPad will listen and transform your spoken words into written text.
It also supports third-party apps like Facebook & Twitter so you can tweet or update your status using it.
So in brief that's all about the new iPad .
Now let's move to the claimed darker sides
I - The Battery Charging :
When the new iPad arrived, battery life was a little criticized about it's almost similar to the older iPad 2,people ignored the huge difference in display quality and graphics processing, until it takes a more dramatic twist when DisplayMate analyst Ray Soneira noted that his testing showed the iPad not fully charged when it displayed 100 percent!!
Apple responded that the device operates in the same manner older iOS devices work.
And how is that? Apple VP Michael Tchao told AllThingsD:
"Apple does, in fact display the iPad (and iPhone and iPod Touch) as 100 percent charged just before a device reaches a completely charged state.At that point, it will continue charging to 100 percent, then discharge a bit and charge back up to 100 percent, repeating the process until the device is unplugged.
Doing so allows devices to maintain an optimum charge."
"That circuitry is designed so you can keep your device plugged in as long as you would like, It's a great feature that's always been in iOS"
No matter where in that cycle battery is, Tchao said, owners of new iPad can expect the 10 hours of battery life that Apple has promised.
The decision not to keep changing the battery status was designed so as not to distract or confuse users.
Reasonable talk that I totally agree with, as all I care is whether it will last 10 hours or not, regardless of what's showing, I will still get what I want !
For full in-depth details, check the original article here.
II - The WiFi Model Issues:
Symptoms include, but not limited to: Intermittent connectivity, slow WiFi speeds, WiFi networks not seen.
Apple is currently investigating the issue, and released an AppleCare document according to 9to5mac.
The document instructs retail stores & centers to capture the units exhibiting this issue, which is not a confirmation yet as Apple always does early field failure analysis on new products.
So we have to wait and see what turns up as no solid evidence on hardware failure.
III - The Warmth-gate :
According to thermal images from Dutch site Tweakers.net (via Google Translate ) first discovered by
Engadget, Apple's third-gen iPad is heating up 10 degrees hotter than the iPad 2.
Using an infrared camera, Tweakers measured the temperature of each tablet side by side after 5 mins of running GLBenchmark, The pictures shows that the new iPad hit 33.6 degrees centigrade while iPad 2 reached a cooler 28.3 degrees centigrade.
Apocalypse then!! The blogosphere was swirling like a whirlpool about that issue as if almost all of our gadgets never get hot!! it's a 33.6 degrees temperature and that won't burn us to death or fry our hands !
Especially when Apple responded to AllThingsD that it's within the normal thermal specifications.
But may be it's just because it got hotter than the iPad 2.
If you are into statistics, Here's a lovely article I read on BGR that addresses the Dislikes about new iPad and how it affects buying decision, simply Stunning :D
So simply, back to my the main issue, To Buy or not to Buy ??
In my humble opinion:
If you don't have any iPads yet or got the first iPad and wanna pump it up a bit and spend some extra cheese, go for the new iPad with no hesitation but avoid the WiFi model for now, if running tight, get an iPad 2 and I guarantee it will deliver.
If you are an iPad 2 owner already, it's up to your budget whether to go nuke or just stay put, considering also that you can use all the features as discussed above.
Sources& Images:
http://www.apple.com/ipad/
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/index.htm
http://allthingsd.com/20120327/apple-ipad-battery-nothing-to-get-charged-up-about/
http://9to5mac.com/2012/04/04/apple-investigating-new-ipad-wifi-issues-tells-applecare-to-replace-affected-units/
http://news.yahoo.com/apple-investigating-ipad-wi-fi-issues-report-051931338.html
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401809,00.asp
http://allthingsd.com/20120320/apples-chilly-response-to-ipad-heat-complaints/
Comments
Great Job.