Software/Hardware Review by Al Giovetti first appeared in the Free State Accountant May 2012 edition
The New iPad
In case you haven’t noticed (it did occur during tax season, after all) the new iPad was released.
The successor to the iPad 2 was unveiled on March 7, 2012 by Apple CEO
Tim Cook at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. The
new iPad sports the new dual core A5X processor, with quad-core
graphics, and a Retina Display with a resolution of 2048 by 1536 pixels
(over 50% more pixels than a standard 1920×1080 high definition TV
screen). As with previous iPads, there are two models, in this case a
Wi-Fi-only model and a Wi-Fi + 4G LTE model.
The biggest
complaint about the “old” iPad 2 was that there was no upgrade to the
number of pixels on the display from the original iPad. Many people
(including my daughter) did not bother to buy it because of this. Apple
is saying that the new iPad has 50% more pixels – however, since the
old iPad had 1024 x 768 pixels, and the new iPad has 2048 x 1536, it
actually has two times more pixels in both directions, making it four
times (2 times 2) larger. Not unlike many of our clients, Apple is
math-challenged. Despite the lack of math skills, this was a
significant upgrade – enough for my daughter Allison to get the new iPad as a
birthday present recently.
Apple has abandoned the
numbering of the iPad name – although everyone thought the iPad (third
generation) would be called the iPad 3, it is not. It is just an iPad,
with two versions: the Wi-Fi (802.11) and Bluetooth 4.0-only version,
and the iPad Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G transitional LTE on 4G model. In
English, the first version only has Internet access where there is a
Wi-Fi network with Bluetooth; the second version, which some are calling
the iPad LTE, is similar to a cell phone, and can actually be used as a
phone for data and voice.
Yes, Virginia, you can use
the Apple Facetime application (called an “app” to the geek population)
to see and hear someone who calls you with another phone-enabled iPad or
iPhone with Facetime. Be careful to make sure you are presentable
before enabling the video function. (I think all the “I am not decent”
jokes were used way before vaudeville.)
The memory has
been increased from 512 MB DDR2 (double data rate version 2.0) to 1 GB
of RAM (that really is doubled), another significant increase to the
features.
The dimensions of the iPad 2 compared to the
new iPad (third generation) have changed slightly, from 9.5 x 7.31 x
0.346 inches to 9.5 x 7.31 x 0.37. This represents a 0.024 inch
increase in thickness – barely noticeable when you hold them in your
hand. The weight also went up, from ~1.351 lb. to 1.45 lb., for a
change in 0.1 lb.; also hardly noticeable.
The camera on the
iPhone is now a 5 MP (megapixel) model, with 1080p HD for still and
video capture. This is better than the iPad2 camera, which was 720p
(pixels) for still and video. Camera zoom is still 5x (times). The old
video camera was 0.7 MP. Both cameras are 30 frames per second.
The
new iPad is wonderful, and well worth a look or an upgrade. Not sure
how Apple will top this. See you next time – or drop by the house, give
me a call, fax, or email.