One small step for Apple. One not-so giant leap for tablet technology

Now I hate to say I told you so but…well, you get it!

San Francisco yesterday was host to the next phase in the evolution of Apple's tablet technology and with the announcement of the ludicrously titled New iPad the guys and gals down at Cupertino officially put yet another stamp on the market whilst of course simultaneously attempting to belittle and undermine the progress of their competitors.

Now at first glance you may look at the new iPad and think to yourself that not much has changed. But take another look and…well…you'll probably still think the same thing. The chassis is similar enough to it's predecessor but let's face it, there was never going to be a radical redesign in that department. Where the true change lies (at least according to Apple) is inside the beast.

The new iPad introduces Apple's A5X dual-core chip which is said to have a greater knack for graphical output with Apple stating that it's on par with quad-core chips. I'm expecting the new iPad to fall in line with its predecessors and sport the same Imagination Technologies Power VR SGX-based chip.

Now here's where it gets interesting! Apple believe their new A5X chip to be, and I quote "twice as fast" as NVIDIA’s coveted Tergra 3 chip and say it will boast for times the graphics performance. Now if you know anything about this stuff you will know that the Tegra 3 chip GPU with it's 12GeForce graphic cores is an absolute monster when it comes to performance which leads me to believe that Apple are starting to believe their own hyperbolic marketing bullshit. I doubt it's even possible that their dual-core chip exceeds NVIDIA’s own at all let alone by such an epic margin. Hey, if I'm wrong and they have indeed invented the superchip then fair dues but it's crap like this that really winds me up about Apple in general.

I'll admit that a significant leap forward has been made in regards to the New iPad’s screen technology. Apple have moved away from the previous iPad’s 1024 x 768 LED-backlit display and upgraded to a 2058 x 1536 resolution display that incorporates 264 pixels per inch. This is pretty awesome regardless of how you look at it and it's something I can't wait to lay my peepers on. I think Tim Cook said something about it having like a million more pixels than the HDTV in your home but I'll chalk this up to the usual Apple hyperbole/bullshit.

The new iPad does also have 4G LTE connectivity for you lucky guys out in the states which apparently isn't too much a drain on the devices battery. It also sports a 5MP camera with something called iSight (sigh) and 1080p recording with video stabilization. It sports the same height and width as it's predecessor but comes in a tad thicker at 9.4mm as opposed to the iPad 2's 8.8mm.

So that's it really. I'm guessing they stayed away from calling this thing the iPad 3 because it really isn't that much of a leap forward over the iPad 2. It's conventional fare and is exactly what everybody who is familiar with this industry expected. Better screen. Faster processor. Siri (Which apparently isn't as vocal as it's iPhone cousin.) Better Camera and whatever else.

In this blogger’s opinion, there's nothing to suggest that the average consumer need purchase this above the more than adequate iPad 2. This is a device for tech junkies and elitist douchebags. Unfortunately, more so for the latter.

iPad SchmiPad!

I for one am not terribly excited about the news that the iPad 3 is likely to be officially announced on the 7th of March and slated for a release date of the 16th. Now before all the Apple fanboys out there decide to plant their fingers on the home row and fire out a series of nerdy retorts, let me explain. This is a blog and not a news site so I'm free to lace each post with my opinions, however irrevocably biased they may be. I don't hate Apple. I just don't hold them in the same esteem as the majority of my peers.

Ipad 3 Back panel

The mere fact that people are getting overly excited simply because the leaked picture of the device's alleged back panel has floated onto the net says it all really. Sure, the tech geek in me is salivating at the chance to see a new toy demonstrated but unless Apple pull something entirely unexpected out of the bag I'm guessing the whole thing should prove to be pretty conventional fare.

The iPad 3 will be a necessary evolutionary step in an ever more competitive tablet market. It will likely incorporate the Retina display, possible LTE connectivity, Siri, improved camera functionality and perhaps the rumoured A6 chip (whether it be dual or quad core remains to be seen) but taking even these things into account I see little evidence as to why this product should be thought of as anything more than the iPad 2s.

My hope is that the design differs slightly from what we've already seen although if I have to submit to Apple's superiority in any regard it would be in the design department as their hardware innovations have been nothing short of (he says begrudgingly) revolutionary.

There is also rumour that Apple could possibly be releasing a smaller 8-inch budget friendly iPad alongside the iPad3. If this unlikely speculation proved true then I would have a lot more respect for the people down at Cupertino. Despite the fact that it would be interesting to see what Apple's idea of 'budget friendly' is, it would still mean that the tech giants are actually toying with the idea of moving away from solely making elitist devices for people with more money than sense and maybe, just maybe, considering the average consumer……pppfffftttt hahahahahahaha!!

All of this and more remains to be seen however until I'm proved wrong I still maintain my stance that the iPad 3 is nothing to get that excited about