Now the wait is over and the dust has settled, we take a closer look at the latest incarnation of Apple’s iPad…

So, no iPad 3. No iPad HD – in name, at least. Just a plain old, simple, ‘new’ iPad. However, names aside, there is plenty to get excited about with the new Apple tablet – and plenty of thinking to do for the other makers of tablet PCs, who will be a little concerned at the latest arrival from Cupertino.

Retina Display

As expected, the new iPad gets a razor sharp Retina Display; the 9.7″ screen sports an impressive 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution, meaning the iPad is likely to eat further into the market for portable entertainment. Movies and games will look stunning on this display and it will even give a wonderful sheen on the most mundane tasks. We Likey!

New Processor

There was some debate about whether Apple would go quad-core for the new iPad: they haven’t, but they still promise super-fast performance with the dual-core A5X ARM base chip. (although the graphics are quad-core) In principle, this sounds great, but we want to have a play with one before calling judgement. We Waity!

New OS

A very big welcome to iOS 5.1, the latest iteration of Apple’s tablet operating system. There are some cool highlights: the new dictation feature which lets you speak into the iPad’s mic and translates your words into notes, messages or search requests looks ace – although there are bound to be some teething problems. We Talky!

New Camera

We’ve always been bemused at using the iPad as a camera – it’s a little on the big side for our tastes – but clearly it’s a popular feature as the Cupertino crew has gone to some length in improving things for photography/film fans with the latest version. The main camera – now called iSight – now features auto focus lock, auto face-detection and image stabilisation for video recording, which has been boosted to 1080p HD. We Snap Happy!

New Price

A new pricing structure for the latest iPad sees price-points at £399 (16GB), £479 (32GB) and £559 (64GB) for the standard Wi-Fi-only version and the new 4G models – fairly useless in the UK at the moment! – will cost you an extra £100 on top. The big news, for other tablet PC manufacturers, at least, is that the iPad 2 gets a price drop; they are keeping the 16GB version on sale for £329 or £429 with 3G. We Completely Skinty!

And that’s about it for major new features, save for some cool-sounding AirPlay Mirroring to Apple TV. Nothing revolutionary here – although as Apple say, its ‘resolutionary’ – but everything Apple have addressed will appeal to the mainstream user – and that’s kind of the point. Excellent video, super-quick gaming, speech-to-text for tasking: the new iPad may have only boosted Apple’s share price by 0.08% with its unveiling, but its hitting the sweet spots for an entertainment device all right.

The new iPad is available for pre-order now, and gets its release on the 13th March.

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