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The new iPad: the proof is in the pixels

Not one of Apple’s groundbreaking announcements, but the new iPad is like nothing you’ve ever seen

The new iPad was announced by Apple on Wednesday, and the reaction it’s getting from a lot of people is an “eh” and a shoulder shrug.

The announcement of the new iPad was expected, and it definitely wasn’t one of Apple’s top-secret revolutionary debuts. But, the new iPad certainly has some pretty amazing features.

Let’s get one thing straight right from the start. Do not, under any circumstances, dare to refer to this new tablet as the iPad 3. It is the new iPad.

While the new iPad looks pretty much like its predecessors, don’t be quick to judge an e-book by its cover. Actually, do judge it that way because the screen of the new iPad is what makes it so unique.

Apple claims to have quadrupled the number of pixels on an original iPad’s screen to give us a grand total of 3.1 million pixels on the screen of the new iPad. The total resolution is 2,048 by 1,536 pixels.

“Your retina in your eye cannot discern those individual pixels. The images on it look stunning,” Apple’s Phil Schiller said at the news conference.

What does a better screen mean, though? It means that your new iPad is perfect for watching movies, playing games, sharing photos and makes reading digital books much easier on the eyes.

Gaming and apps have also improved on the new iPad.

What good is that hi-def screen if your graphics don’t render quickly? The A5X “quad-core” chip was designed for that. Gamers can expect more realistic graphics than ever before seen on a mobile device as Apple proved in a demo at Wednesday’s news conference.

iPhoto is one of the new apps Apple has developed for the new iPad. With the high resolution screen, photo editing will likely be a key feature people will take advantage of.

While the new iPad wasn’t a groundbreaking release on the part of Apple, and certainly not awaited with quite as few breaths as the elusive iPhone 5 (maybe Apple will give it a non-numerical name, too), the new iPad is something like you have never seen before.

“It is astoundingly beautiful, but people are going to have to get it in their hands to see this,” Gartner analyst Van Baker said.

You won’t hear Siri’s soothing voice, or her curt responses, on the new iPad. There is a dictation feature, but if you want to know the meaning of life, you’ll have to look that up yourself.

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