Apple released its new iPad on March 16, with an improved camera lens, a sharper display, and up to 64 gigabytes of available memory.
Entering the market just over one year after Apple introduced the iPad 2, the new iPad much praise from the faster network speed and its ability to shoot video in high definition. The new “Retina Display” screen, as Apple has coined it, has a million more pixels than high definition television.
Compared to the iPad 2, “the camera is even better, the screen resolution is even better, and the apps are even better,” Jamie McIntyre, journalism professor and newscaster for NPR, said. “It’s become clear to me that the tablet computer is the device of the future,” McIntyre said, and will one day replace the laptop computer.
McIntyre’s multimedia course at the university currently uses Kodak video cameras, but he predicts that it won’t be long before all equipment, including point-and-shoot cameras and audio recorders, is replaced with iPads.
“To say that it’s the Swiss Army Knife of devices is an understatement,” McIntyre said. “It puts the Swiss Army Knife to shame.”
But Kirsten Peterson, sophomore journalism major, disagrees with McIntyre’s assessment. Even though journalists are learning to be “one man bands,” as she put it, the size of an iPad can make reporting and taking pictures awkward. The Honors College gave her an iPad 1 last year, which she enjoys using. “Updates can be really exciting,” she said, “and it helps you organize.”
The new iPad has the same dimensions as the previous model, 9.5-by-7.21 inches, but weighs 0.11 pounds more, negating the Apple mantra of “the smaller the better.”
Other reported criticisms have centered around the heat dispelled from the new iPad. However, several investigations, including one by Wired magazine, have revealed that the heat doesn’t differ much from the Kindle Fire, a tablet released by Amazon.
The iPad 3 is available at Apple Retail Stores for prices starting at $499.00.