Apple Announces the New iPad … On Sale March 16 … Preorders Already Underway

As expected, today Apple announced the next generation of the iPad, which they are simply calling iPad (3rd generation).  Much speculation has been circling for the past few months leading up to today’s announcement on just what Apple had in store for the next generation of the best selling tablet.   After it was all said and done, Apple once again reclaimed its title of king of the tablets.

Below are all of the details about Apple’s next generation iPad …

Retina Display.  As expected, the new iPad will include a Retina Display, and from the looks of it, it is going to be gorgeous to look at.  Packing 264 pixels per inch (ppi) with 3.1 million total pixels in the display, and carrying a resolution of 2048 x 1536, this 9.7 inch display outdoes even your 1080p HDTV in your living room.  The display remains an IPS LED backlit LCD display.

A5X Processor.  As we predicted, Apple did not introduce an all new quad-core A6 processor like many hoped for, but instead went with the A5X processor to power the next generation iPad.  The A5X processor is no slouch, especially in the graphics department, boasting twice the graphics capabilities of the iPad 2.  Epic Games even went on to say that the new iPad packs more graphics power than the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 when showing off the next iteration of its Infinity Blade series.  We can’t wait to see how the graphics look on this machine especially on this beautiful display.

Updated Cameras.  Apple has made the iPad cameras relevant again, essentially placing a similar sensor found in the iPhone 4 into the new iPad.  Packing a 5 megapixel sensor with IR filtering, face detection, ISP, and 1080p video recording with its rear shooter, this iPad is better designed for you to be able to shoot and view HD quality videos.

LTE.  Apple’s first 4G LTE capable device will be the new iPad, hopefully paving the way for the much-anticipated iPhone 5 with LTE.  Supporting both AT&T and Verizon’s 4G LTE networks, along with HSPA+, DC-HSPA, and EV-DO 3G bands, Apple states the new iPad can reach theoretical speeds of up to 21 Mbps on HPSA+, 42 Mbps on DC-HSPA and a mind-blowing 73 Mbps on AT&T’s LTE network.  LTE support for Bell, Telus, and Rogers for our neighbors to the north will be included as well.  The new iPad will also be a global device, supporting 3G bands from any country on the planet, although you’ll pay an arm and leg for it if you’re not using a local SIM.  One disappointment is that there are two different models for AT&T and Verizon, meaning don’t expect to be able to flip-flop back and forth between Big Red and the Death Star with your new iPad.  Apple states its due to different bands of LTE, but we’re still kind of bummed that it wasn’t one device that gave us that freedom.

Dictation.  Ever since Siri’s “birth” with the iPhone 4S, the talk has always been, “why can’t we have Siri on the iPad?”  Apple has partially given us what we want by including Dictation in the new iPad from the keyboard.  This will work just like the dictation on the iPhone 4S, but is not Siri.  Sort of a disappointment, but again may be not such a bad idea since Siri always requires an internet connection to work, and there may be instances where you can’t get the internet on your iPad. However, we would like to see Siri in the future on the iPad.

Other goodies include the ability to use the iPad as a personal hotspot, a 10-hour battery (the same even with the upgraded guts), iOS 5.1 out of the box, and the new iPad will automatically scale existing apps and text to Retina Display levels.

Apple has also managed to keep the price the same for the new iPad as it was for the iPad 2 when it launched, $499/$599/$699 for the 16GB/32GB/64GB Wi-Fi models, and $629/$729/$829 for the same models with LTE capability.

The third generation iPad will be available next Friday, March 16, and preorders are already up now, although the Apple site has been bogged down all day due to high demand.  You can order your own third generation iPad here.

Stay tuned for Mind Of The Geek’s full review as ours is on the way!

Images courtesy of Apple, Inc.