Apple has revealed the latest version of its iPad, featuring high speed 4G broadband and a high-definition screen that’s sharper than the average HD TV set, with prices starting from £399.
Apple is calling the new tablet device the iPad (rather than the iPad3). This could confuse buyers since the older model, the iPad 2, will still be sold at a new lower price of £329. The lack of a new name is consistent with Apple’s practices for the iPod. New models have been simply called ‘iPod’.
The tablet device lets users record and edit high definition video, and features a Retina display feature which has 3.1 million megapixels that will provide more deep, detailed and clear images. Apple also upgraded its Apple TV with high definition content.
Chief Executive Tim Cook, presiding over his second major product launch after debuting with 2011’s voice-enabled iPhone 4S, introduced the highly anticipated third iteration of the tablet, which is available for pre-orders from Wednesday and will hit store shelves March 16.
The firm has also introduced a 5 megapixel rear camera which it has named as iSight camera in the product. This camera will enable user to capture photos and high definition video.
This device supports iCloud service which means that an user can store content in a remote storage facility created by the company instead of storing in the device and connect using wireless network to access these contents which can be music, video, electronic documents and others.
“The new iPad now has the highest resolution display ever seen on a mobile device with 3.1 million pixels, delivering razor sharp text and unbelievable detail in photos and videos.” Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing Philip Schiller said in a statement.
The company unveiled two models of iPad namely iPad wifi and iPad wifi with 4G. While iPad wifi has been priced between £399 and £559, buyers will have to pay between £499 and £659 for iPad with 4G.
During the launch, Cook again spoke of what he called a “post-PC world,” in which users move increasingly away from traditional desktop and laptop computing and toward an array of portable devices, including tablets.
Smartphones and tablets are starting to eat into PC sales as mobile technology gets more advanced and available content expands.
Some experts believe mobile devices, as they get more powerful, will eventually displace PCs in many markets, hurting business for the likes of Hewlett-Packard Co and Dell Inc.
The global tablet user base reached 67 million in 2011, according to researcher Strategy Analytics. Analysts expect double-digit growth in tablet sales in coming years.
Cook also announced that the company’s new $99 Apple TV set-top box, a concept that late CEO Steve Jobs had called a “hobby,” now supports high-definition 1080p screen technology.
“Last year alone we sold 172 million post-PC devices,” Cook told the audience at the Yerba Buena Center in downtown San Francisco, Apple’s preferred venue for product unveilings.
“And this made up 76 percent of our revenues. This is incredible.”
