As you know the resolutionary iPad (3) was released last week with several new features from its predecessor (which will still be for sale). The iPad 2 will be sold along side the new iPad at $100 less.

Let’s discuss in detail what those updated features are and what it means for Apple’s next iPad, and really, Apple’s overall future path. And one more thing.. what is up with that name?

But first the features of the new iPad:

Retina Display- This was one of the features I was really hoping for. The screen display is very crystal clear. The display is 3.1 million pixels. There is no screen in your living room that has this many pixels, not even your TV. It’s like you’re looking at a page of a book instead of a screen. Of course, the screen resolution in the iPad 2 is really great but the new iPads screen is insanely great. The screen will provide for crisper graphics and better text. The display is powered by the new A5X chip.

A5X chip- The A5X chip provides for more functionality in the device. Finally, there is a gig of ram. It was upgraded from 512 MB in the iPad 2. It has been known the more ram on a device the faster the battery will die out but Apple has promised that with a new battery that they put in, you will still get the same 9 hours you got on iPad 2. The chip, along with the retina display, will make graphics 2 times faster and 4 times better than the iPad 2. The chip is twice as fast as its predecessor making it into the 2 ghz range (the iPad 2 was 1 ghz). The graphics will be quad-core The graphics are just amazing, they could even be comparable to gaming consoles. This chip is the reason tablets can put up a fair fight against PCs because of their ever-improving functionality. I mean, can you imagine how fast these chips will be in a few years.

5MP camera- Not bad but not as good as it could be. But, I shouldn’t be complaining, at least Apple puts cameras on their tablets (hint hint tablets without cameras). The iPad 2 has a whopping 0.8 MP camera on the back, capable of recording 720p video. The MP on the front camera is just too bad to say. Apple has yet to comment on the front camera of the new iPad. The 5MP camera is for the back. Another thing they did mention was that I can record 1080p video with it, I believe a first in tablets, furthering the death of the digital camera industry (I’ll discuss that in another article). The camera also has a feature that will allow me to take good, I-can-see-what-I-took-a-picture-of pictures. Even in the dark, yes in the dark. It uses an advanced background lighting enhancement to allow you to see what you are taking a picture of, even in less than ideal circumstances. It’s just great, and like I said earlier it will only get better.

4G LTE- Thank God, I was almost worried that Apple wasn’t going to put 4G in the iPad (3) since they didn’t put it in the iPhone 4S. This will basically confirm that iPhone 5, whenever it is released, will have 4G. 4G can be up to ten times faster than 3G ( thank goodness, 3G was just too slow). This means you can watch your YouTube videos, surf the web and many other things a lot faster on the road. 4G has been a feature most wanted by Apple users and now they finally have it.

Technical stuff- The new iPad will be offered in Black and White (right away, yes white is here to stay) just like the iPad 2. New cases will be made for this iPad, but current iPad 2 cases could probably work as the new iPad (3) gains .11 pounds and .02 inch in thickness. As expected the smart covers work for the new iPad. It is just about the same as iPad 2 in this field. The prices are the same as iPad 2.

On a budget?- Don’t worry Apple (finally) has you covered. Apple has reduced the price of the iPad 2 $100 so if you want a cheap tablet but don’t want to settle to a volume-control less Fire you can get an iPad, trust me it’s worth it. I have one.

One thing that got me about Tim Cook’s presentation was that he went through a quite a bit of talking before he revealed the new iPad. He talked a lot about the Post-PC market and how it has shaped Apple to where it is today and really it has shaped the world. It has been taking off with great strength and with this great strength the desktop, not necessarily the laptop, but the desktop sales have actually been in decline. I feel that Apple has finally pushed out a product that can seriously compete with desktops and laptops, just PCs in general. With that being said, what is up with the name of the iPad, it’s just iPad, it’s not iPad 3 or iPad HD. Well, knowing that Apple wants Post-PC devices to eventually replace PCs they will want them to have as much honor as PCs have. So let me ask you this. Have you ever seen Apple advertise an iMac as iMac 26 or MacBook Pro as MacBook Pro 27. No. You see them by themselves. You see them as just Macbook Pro and the year. They want people to know that iPads are not toys and that they can be as proficient at tasks as a PC and I believe this is a good way to start. People will, in time, have to start naming off iPads as Early-2014 iPad instead of like iPad 4. Apple wants people to think that tablets are actually better than actual PCs. Who knows? Maybe they will get to be better than PCs. Technology only progresses. And in speaking of progressing, stayed tuned for one of my future articles, I will be discussing what features Apple should and could bring to Early 2012 iPad.

Thanks for reading,

Joe