For those of you who know, I had pre-ordered the new iPad on the second day of the Apple Announcement; however I was one of those unlucky folks who’s purchase order got stuck in the “processing items” status.
So on Launch day, I decided to head down to the Apple store in Toronto just to play around with the iPad and see if they have any iPads in stock.
Surprisingly, there were no lineups and they had ample stock! I guess most folks decided to just pre-order. Anyway, I decided to cancel my pre-order when I got home and purchased the 64Gb, Wifi, Black iPad in store. I also purchased the Apple Care Plus and a black leather Smart Cover (still looking for the perfect cover).
Here are my first impressions of this new gadget:
1. Display/Screen
No doubt, the retina display on the new iPad is amazingly beautiful! If you’re a photographer and like to use your iPad to showcase your photos like I do, then you’ll love the display on this. The colours are vibrant and the text is super crisp.
2. Size and Speed
This iPad is definitely, lighter, slimmer and faster than my original iPad. In fact, I started setting up my blog using my desktop computer and then continued tweaking it using just my iPad. Having said that, I do want to point out that the iPad is not a replacement for your laptop (at least not yet). If you require a tablet that can handle flash, the iPad doesn’t allow for that.
3. Camera
The iPad has a 5-megapixel iSight camera and allows you to shoot 1080p HD video. I have tested out some images (to be posted later) and they are pretty good. I have to admit holding an iPad to take photos is a bit awkward. The other day I was trying to make a video of my nephew and he couldn’t see my face because the entire iPad was covering it. Of course, he thought I was playing a game of hide and go seek with him so he kept trying to tilt his head to the side to see where I was. So you can imagine how difficult it was to actually make a video of him.
4. 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution)
The new version now has the long-awaited 4G LTE (reported as being much faster than 3G). Personally, I have not tested the 4G speeds so I can’t talk much about this. Since I already have a 3G data plan for my iPhone which allows me to create a personal hotspot, I stuck with the Wi-Fi iPad. Quite frankly, the 4G wasn’t really worth it for me. If you do not have a data plan for your phone and feel that you will need to have access to the Internet at all times, then purchasing the Wi-fi + 4G might be a good option (of course, that does mean paying a monthly plan for data).
If you’ve never owned an iPad, I would definitely recommend it. However, if you already have the iPad 2, I would suggest holding off as you may not notice a huge difference. Now, if having the retina display is important to you and you can’t wait until the 4th generation iPad, then go ahead (you won’t regret it).
If you have questions and would like to know before you purchase it, feel free to leave me a comment.
