9.7" LED-backlit IPS LCD touchscreen, 2048 x 1536 pixels; scratch-resistant, oleophobic coating
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity, carrier-dependent hotspot support
Optional LTE connectivity(data only)
Optional GPS with A-GPS support(for the 3G model only)
Apple A5X SoC with 1 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor
PowerVR SGX543MP4 quad-core GPU
1GB RAM
iOS 5.1 with iCloud support and activation
16/32/64GB of inbuilt storage
Weight of 652 grams(662 grams for the LTE version)
Bluetooth 4.0
11, 560 mAh battery
Accelerometer, compass and three-axis gyro-sensor
The cheapest version costs less than a SIM-free iPhone
5MP auto-focus camera
1080p video recording at 30fps
VGA secondary camera capable of FaceTime calls
Four and five-finger gestures
1080p TV-output with the Apple Digital AV Adapter(purchased separately for$39), 720p video streaming
Supports magnetic cases
Main disadvantages
iTunes still required for uploading most of the content
Reflective screen struggles outdoors
Same CPU as the iPad 2
Heavier and thicker than the iPad 2
No Flash support in the web browser
No standard USB port
Non replaceable battery
No stereo loudspeakers
No GPS receiver in the Wi-Fi version
No memory card slot
No Siri
Can get uncomfortably hot at times
No charging while in use
Lack of basic iOS apps - weather, stocks, clock, calculator, voice memos
The three iPads look almost exactly the same but, to be fair to the new iPad, it brings a massive upgrade. The 2048 x 1536 pixel Retina display has four times the resolution of the previous model. The bar is yet again set too high for the competition. And it’s a leap worth several generations. Apple did well to make sure the monstrous screen is well covered in terms of graphic processing with some extra GPU cores too and the performance is flawless.
The 5MP camera is an improved version of the one on the iPhone 4 and the video recording is duly upgraded to 1080p. There’s Wi-Fi hotspot support too but that’s carrier-dependent and our Wi-Fi-only iPad naturally doesn’t have it.
The long list of cons shouldn’t come as a surprise. Some of them are down to Apple’s way of doing things but we’ll look closer at the screen outdoor performance and the reported overheating in gaming or video playback