Apple hosted the world’s tech journalists in San Francisco to show off their new iPad this week, the device is pretty much as many had expected – with 4G the only feature that probably wasn’t expected.
But how does the new iPad really compare to the iPad 2 - which after the new announcement is substantially cheaper - we’ll give you the low down in a Gaj-it face-off to see which tablet is most suitable for you. We'll look at the display, graphics, processor, memory, communications, camera, size and weight, pricing, battery.
New iPad vs iPad 2: Display
The major headline-grabbing feature for the new iPad is the screen. You might think: it’s just sharper, it’s so much more than that. Close up you cannot see the individual pixels. Jakob Nielsen of Nielsen/Norman Group has been predicting the convergence of high-density screens for a while now. A screen with this amount of pixels has the ability to fool the eye and , in theory, means that you can read as fast as on paper. It’s been suggested that when you read a Kindle Fire you’re reading at half the speed as you would if it was paper.
The iPad 2 inherited the 1024 x 768 LED-backlit display from the original iPad. The new iPad ups this significantly, with a 2048 x 1536 resolution display that has 264 pixels per inch. Both are 9.7-inch displays and have a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating.
New iPad vs iPad 2: Graphics
Where Apple has concentrated its upgrades is the graphics capabilities. The new chip is quad-core graphics processor. Apple as usual waxed lyrical about the capability of the GPU, declaring it as "twice as fast" as it main rival Nvida Tegra 3. Nvidia have since poured cold water over these claims.
Ken Brown, a spokesman for Nvidia, said the company was actually flattered to be called out by Apple. But as most have already agreed, the claims are “sketchy” without additional hard evidence.
“We don't have the benchmark information,” said Brown. “We have to understand what the application was that was used. Was it one or a variety of applications? What drivers were used? There are so many issues to get into with benchmark.”
“At some point it will become more clear what the performance really is,” he added, indicating that Nvidia plans to get its hands on an iPad 3 when it becomes available on March 16 to perform its own benchmarks. “For now, Apple has a really generic statement.”
New iPad vs iPad 2: Processor
The power increase that Apple introduced for the iPad 2 was massive. The ability to output at 1080p onto a second screen showed that the A5 chip can pack a real punch. Unfortunately the new iPad has the same A5 chip, although Apple is calling it a A5X chip – there are no details on what clock speed Apple manages to squeeze out of it then new chip – but it's thought that it's the same as the iPad 2.
New iPad vs iPad 2: Memory
Like the original iPad and iPad 2, the new iPad comes loaded with 16GB, 32GB or 64GB. iPad 2 packed 512MB of memory, but we don’t yet have details on the new iPad, though we reckon it has to be 1GB considering the extra screen resolution.
New iPad vs iPad 2: Communications
For the first time in an Apple product is the inclusion of 4G LTE. It's interesting as there are very few places in the world where you can actually get 4G coverage. It's making its way to the UK sometime next year - so if you do buy the new iPad you'll be waiting a while until you get the benefits of super-fast mobile broadband. It's available in certain US cities, but with its inclusion it’s bound to speed up the roll out across the world, which is a good thing. We have no doubt in a couple of year’s that we’ll crediting Apple with bringing 4G to the mass market. If you’re a UK resident there’s absolutely no reason to get the 4G model for it’s 4G capability – make sure you check with your local network to see when you might 4G in your local area.
New iPad vs iPad 2: Camera
The iPad 2 was all about Facetime. This year the new iPad introduces something different. On the back of the new iPad is the newly branded iSight camera. It's a 5-megapixel camera which is capable of 1080p video recording and features some impressive tricks over its predecessor including: auto-exposure, auto-focus, auto-face detection, great edge-to-edge detail and AF-lock.
New iPad vs iPad 2: Size and Weight
iPad 2
Height: 241.2 mm
Width: 185.7 mm
Depth: 8.8 mm
Weight: 601g for Wi-Fi model, 613g for the Wi-Fi and 3G model
New iPad
Height: 241.2 mm
Width: 185.7 mm
Depth: 9.4 mm
Weight: 601g for Wi-Fi model, 622g for the Wi-Fi and 4G model
New iPad vs iPad 2: Battery life
Both offer up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video or listening to music while there’s also a month of promised standby time. If you’re using the new iPad on 4G, this drops to 9 hours. There’s now a 42.5-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery in the new model.
New iPad vs iPad 2: Pricing
The iPad 2 is now available in a 16GB version for $399 (Wi-Fi) and $529 (Wi-Fi+3G). iPad 2 will be £329 or £429 in the UK.
As for the new iPad, for Wi-Fi + 4G, it’s $629, $729 and $829 respectively, or £499, £579 and £659 – though the faster data will be of limited use in the UK of course.
For the Wi-Fi only it’s 16GB for $499, 32GB for $599 and 64GB for $699. That’s £399, £479 and £559 in the UK.
One thought on “Gaj-it Face-off: iPad 2 vs The New iPad – Which One is Right For You”
Hey Andrew great info on iPad and iPad2. Now it’ll be easy of any one for selection.