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Apple recently launched its newest iPad in March this year. We look at how the new iPad, available to buy from the Carphone Warehouse, compares with its predecessor, the iPad 2.
Both the new iPad and the iPad 2 look extremely similar. The only real difference between the two table computers is the lack of a button on the front of the new iPad. It’s also slightly thicker and heavier than the previous machine. The main reason for the weight gain is the inclusion of a rechargeable battery double the size of that in the iPad 2.
Other than that, the two machines measure up almost identical to each other.
Now for the science bit: the new iPad features the latest A5X chipset with a quad core graphics processor – up to four times faster that Nvidia’s Tegra 3 tech which many Android competitors are using. The iPad 2, however, is a dual core setup with a 1GHz ARM Cortex-49 processor on Apple’s A5 chipset. This uses a PowerVR SGX543MP2 graphics processing unit and it has 512MB of RAM built in.
In layman’s terms, there’s no comparison: the new iPad is much faster than the iPad 2.
The new iPad is equipped with Apple’s new iSight camera. It has a five megapixel back-light illuminated sensor (BSI) with a five-stage lens. The result is photos and videos more typically associated with eight megapixel setups – proving the actual megapixel count isn’t as important as you may think.
The iPad 2, in contrast, has a very lacklustre camera setup at 0.7 megapixels.
The new iPad’s screen is just under 10 inches in length, but unlike the iPad 2 it features a full size Retina IPS LED-backlit display with a 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution at 264ppi which is outstandingly sharp. A noticeable feature is the clarity of text, which is ideal for people that use their iPad’s as an e-reader or who surf the web regularly. Which is most people.
Another upgrade is to the new iPad’s connectivity. The new iPad still has the traditional 30-pin proprietary connector, but it also comes in a 4G LTE model which means faster mobile internet than 3G in the future.
The features on the new iPad have been tweaked so that you can enjoy its company wherever you are – the new Retina display means that taking your iPad with you to the garden or the balcony on holiday is perfectly possible. The new iPad puts Apple far ahead of other Android tablets with the best functionality and design on the market.
