Apple has made the new iPad dramatically better than its previous iteration by changing two things: the screen and the speed in which content is delivered – but is it enough to shell out £400 on Friday?
What’s new
The first thing you'll be taken aback by is obviously the new Retina Display - when you set eyes on it you'll be treated to something so sharp and vibrant it's like getting prescription glasses for the first time.
Everything you thought was sharp on the old iPad, frankly, just does cut it anymore - it’s the most impressive screen you'll lay eyes on in 2012 - a proper man on the moon moment for Apple.
Even more amazing is the new screen does not have a impact on the iPad's famed battery life. Apple has has raised the bar considerably - while maintaining its 10 hour battery life, regardless of what you doing.
Unfortunately there are some downsides, the new iPad is heavier than the iPad 2 weighing in 8% more than its previous iteration. It's also a bit thicker than the last iPad: it's 7% thicker than the prior model.
This means it is no longer the thinnest or lightest tablet on the market. Last year Apple boasted about these credentials - well they've traded them for the best screen in the world and in our book it's more than a fair trade-off.
The Display
No one really complained about the current screen technology on the current iPad – sales of 55 million are proof of that - but the new Retina Display is a massive step forward.
It's impossible for us to describe quite how good the screen is. You just have to see it for yourself. There are so many pixels that the human eye cannot distinguish between them. This display packs 264 pixels into every inch, twice as many as on iPad 2. Overall, the resolution is 2048 x 1536, versus 1024 x 768 for the iPad 2.
There are some downsides to the screen: Sunlight. That's right, the bugbear of any screen from Apple is how it performs in direct sunlight and unfortunately Apple hasn't managed to solve this issue - if you use the new iPad in direct sunlight it completely ruins the experience. Apple has improved the overall depth and intensity of colours by increasing the colour saturation by an impressive 44%.
The Speed
For those of you who are lucky enough to live in a country that has 4G networks, you'll be excited by the inclusion of 4G LTE. This new technology will give you download speeds comparable to a fibre optic line over wireless. It does seem odd that Apple would support a feature that has really been rolled out to many mobile networks - but it's a fantastic inclusion nonetheless.
There is another dimension to speed: the overall responsiveness of the device. The new iPad is just as buttery smooth to use as the iPad 2. Apple beefed up the processor, especially its graphics capabilities.
While it's going to take a while for App developers to get to grips with the extra power under the hood - you'll be seeing games in the near future that can hold their own with this generation's current consoles. Sure it's never going to compete with consoles with regards to gameplay, due to the naff touch controls, but if Apple ever decide to release a Bluetooth controller Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo should probably be worried.
The Battery
The best feature of the iPad has been battery life. We tried and tested many tablets over the years and nothing even come close. Except maybe the Asus Transformer, but that’s cheating as it’s achieves its stellar battery life through a keyboard dock.
Apple claims up to 10 hours battery life using Wi-Fi and 9 hours when you are savouring the delights of 4G – from our initial tests they’re are bang on the money. What makes the new iPad so impressive is the battery drain is the same whether you’re surfing or just checking email. Whatever you chuck at it – you’ll always get a minimum of 9 hours.
The Rear Camera
One of the new addition for this year’s iPad is the iSight camera. Now, were still to be convinced that consumers are actually going to use a tablet as a camera, but if you do – then you’ll be glad to know that the new camera performs admirably. It’s around the level of an iPhone 4 camera.
Other features
The new iPad is the first that can be used, like many smartphones, as a personal hot spot -- a base station to connect laptops and other devices to the Internet. In my tests, this worked fine.
It also allows you to dictate, rather than type, emails and other text. I found this surprisingly accurate. And Apple now has a brilliant new version of its iPhoto software that has been rewritten for the iPad.
Size matters
If you're planning to pick up and shiny new iPad on Friday you will need to choose wisely as reports are suggesting that Retina Display apps are up to three times the size of their previous iterations.
Now it won't be much of a problem if you download games like Angry Birds - as they aren't that big to begin with - but what about triple A titles like Fifa?
According the Vietnamese site Tinhte, who have have been trying out some of the Retina-compatible apps, they have noted that some apps are more than 3 times the size of there original counterparts.
For example the new Keynote application is up from 115MB to 327MB, while Numbers has more than doubled in size from 109MB to 283MB.
Some of the worst offenders so far are Pages, which has tripled in size from 95MB to 269MB, and iMovie is up from a humble 70MB to 404MB.
On the face of it, it would appear that the extra pixels provided from the amazing Retina display are to blame, and it's thought it's going to be same story across thousands of apps once they make the jump to Retina compatibility.
What this means for consumers is that the entry-level 16GB iPad is going to be filled up a lot quicker than before - meaning you should choose wisely when you buy one - as once you've chosen a 16GB version you can't increase the memory like you can with an Android tablet.
Another issue to consider is how long it will take to download apps - at the moment FIFA 12 is 1.06GB - meaning games in the future could be massive, and will obviously take quite some time to download.
Bottom Line
Since it launched in 2010, the iPad has been the best tablet on the planet. With the new, third-generation model, it still holds that crown.