Mar 8, 2012
Apple’s latest iPad sports a crisper display and an array of technology advances that, while less than revolutionary, may prove enough for now to keep rivals like Amazon Kindle and Samsung Galaxy Tab at bay.
Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the new iPad: But the '4G' device is built on technology that is not available in many countries
Chief Executive Tim Cook, presiding over his second major product launch after debuting with 2011′s voice-enabled iPhone 4S, introduced the highly anticipated third iteration of the tablet.
But he stumped many in the audience by breaking away from the tradition of calling the third-generation tablet the iPad 3, as some had expected, referring to it simply as the “new iPad.”
Wall Street had anticipated many of the features Cook showed off on Wednesday, including a higher-definition “retina display” screen – containing several times as many pixels within the same area – and a better camera.
Third generation iPad features
Screen size: 9.7 inches Weight: 653g Thickness: 9.4mm Screen resolution: 2048×1536 Processor: 1Ghz Apple A5X Storage: 16GB-64GB Camera: 1080p, 30 frames per second Connections: 4G LTE Wi-Fi (Verizon and AT&T), Bluetooth 4.0, Apple 30-pin connector
Apple TV
Also launched during the event was Apple’s new Apple TV set-top box, which offers full HD films, television and web channels such as YouTube. The device offers built-in access to Apple’s iCloud offering users online access to films they have purchased on other apple devices such as iPhone.
Apple announced that films and TV shows in iTunes store would now be available in 1080p, or full high-definition.
The company also revealed a new, cheaper ‘entry level’ iPad 2 for $399 – cheaper than any previous model. Mr Cook also left the door open for ‘a lot more’ innovation in the next year – possibly a reference to the new iPhone 5 widely expected to launch later in 2012.
The new iPad and Apple TV devices will be available on store shelves on March 16 in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. They are already available for pre-order in the local Apple websites.
