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| iPad 3 / iPad HD Announcement at Apple Event (March 7, 2012) |
Apple, however, has not confirmed the name of its new iPad yet.
The press event invite for the Apple Event to be held today at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts space in San Francisco only shows a person touching the screen of what appears to be an iPad with the caption, "We have something you really have to see. And touch."
Tech sites have also been speculating of the features of the new iPad. Among its rumored features are the following: high-res retina display, 4G LTE, Siri, 1080p, improved (A5X or A6) processor, better camera, no major hardware redesign, marginally thicker design and same or similar pricing.
Let's see which of these rumors are true in a few hours.
Confirmed features of the new iPad based on today's announcement: high-res retina display, 3MP iSight camera, dual-core Apple A5X processor with quad-core graphics, 1080p video recording, voice dictation, 4G LTE, 10- hour battery life (9 hours on 4G), 9.4mm thick; and weighs 1.4lbs. Available in black and white starting March 16 at the following prices: $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32 GB and 64GB for $699 ($629, $729 and $829 for 4G). Pre-order starts today.
The new iPad is being called "The new iPad." Apple may come up a name soon but for now it is what they are calling it.
Live Updates: The Apple Event has just started.
Tim Cook: "We have a great morning planned... I'd like to get started by talking about the post-PC revolution.
"Apple is at the forefront of leading this revolution.
"We're talking about a world where the PC is no longer at the center of your digital world, but rather just a device. We're talking about a new world where the devices you use the most need to be more portable... and dramatically more easy to use than ever before.
"The iPad defined a whole new category. In many ways, the iPad is reinventing portable computing and it's out-stripping the wildest of predictions.
"Any company would be thrilled to have just one of these devices. At Apple, we're fortunate to have all three, and the momentum has been staggering.
"172 million "post-PC" devices were sold last year, 76% of Apple's revenue!
"Apple has its feet firmly planted in the post-PC future.
"It plays to our strengths. It's what we love to do.
"iPhone, iPad, iPod touch are all based on iOS and we have now sold an astonishing 315 million devices through last year, 62 million in Q4 2011."
(Cook also talked about Siri, App Store, iOS 5.1, iCloud, Apple TV)
Eddy Cue: (Demos iCloud, Photo Stream, playing video on Apple TV...) "That's the new Apple TV and we think you're going to love it."
Tim Cook: "We think that iPad is the poster child of the post-PC world.
"The momentum behind iPad has been incredible and it has surprised virtually everyone.
"When we set out to create the iPad we set out to create not just a new product but a new category.In order to do that the iPad had to be the best device for doing some of the things that you do most often.
"When we asked iPad users who had a notebook a desktop and a smartphone about their favorite device for email, they responded 'iPad.'
"This is remarkable for a device that has been on the market for less than two years.
"Over 200,000 custom apps specifically for the iPad... These apps are gorgeous and groundbreaking. They help you create or learn or do almost anything.
"You won't find these incredible apps on other tablets. In some estimates there were over 100 competitive tablets launched in the last year. You won't find that same competitive experience.
"Everyone's been wondering... who will come out with a product that's more amazing than the iPad 2?
"Everybody's been wondering, well stop wondering. We are.
"Today we're announcing the new iPad, and it is amazing.
"We are redefining the category that Apple created with the original iPad."
Phil Schiller: "You want to know about the new iPad?
"Until you see it you can't understand how amazing it is.
"To this day no-one has yet matched that display technology
"This presents a problem for us in presenting it to you. For the first time an iPad has a higher resolution than this entire display behind you... That's a fun challenge.
"Photos are just going to look amazing on that gorgeous high-resolution display.
Showing slides containing the following: 2048 x 1536, 3.1 million pixels, 264ppi, A5X processor, 44 percent greater saturation...
"...and that is enough to call it a retina display."
"Next Feature: iSight camera... 5-megapixel backside illuminated sensor on the back, 5-element lens, IR filter, and ISP built into the A5X chip."
"Third feature: 1080p video recording... Wherever you are, you want to grab a video for work or play or school you've got a great camera to grab that with.
"Fourth feature: voice dictation... The iPad like all great iOS devices has a great keyboard and now you'll see there's a new key on the bottom: a microphone. It supports US English, British, Australian, French, German and Japanese.
"Fifth feature: 4G LTE... 21Mbps HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA at 42Mbps, with LTE taking the cake at 73Mbps.
"Performance is amazing and you're going to love using it on these new high-speed networks.
"Verizon, Rogers, Bell, Telus and AT&T will be the LTE partners.
Other features mentioned: Battery Life: 10 hours, 9 hours on 4G ; Thickness: 9.4mm; and Weight: 1.4lbs. Available in both black and white.
Prices: $499 for 16GB, 32GB is $599 and 64GB for $699. For 4G, it's $629, $729 and $829, respectively.
The new iPad will be available on March 16
"If you want one as badly as I do you'll be happy to know that the pre-orders start today.
"The team has worked really hard to make all the software you use look gorgeous.
"Everything has been updated, but as you remember when the iPhone 4 went to the retina display, developers didn't have to do anything and their apps looked better.
"Today we're thrilled to show you our new flight sim game, Sky Gamblers.
"The extra graphics performance lets us increase the level of detail of everything in the game. Exclusive to iOS, launches later this month.
Chris Cheung from Autodesk introduces SketchBook Ink, a new drawing app that focuses on line art, which will be available in April exclusively on iOS. "Retina display is luscious. It takes it to the next level and creates an immersive environment. Professionals and everyday artists are going to love this device."
Mike Capps, president of Epic Games, announces Infinity Blade: Dungeons. "We have HDR graphics and tone-mapping. Lots of beautiful lighting and action."
Phil Schiller: "Garage Band now has Smart Strings, a Note editor and you can push through iCloud too... Major updates to iMovie -- storyboards and new editing chops.
"iPhoto for iPad... It gives you great new ways to browse through all those photos, and it has truly groundbreaking ways to edit those photos... New gestures, new effects, multi-touch editing, and you can beam photos directly between devices.
"iWork for the iPad updated to take advantage of the new iPad's Retina Display
"iPad 2 price drops by $100, $399 for a 16GB WiFi model.
Tim Cook: "The amazing new iPad. A new affordable price for the amazing iPad 2. Amazing software like iPhoto and the rest of the iWork suite.
"We have redefined yet again the category that Apple created just two years ago with the original iPad.
"Everything is more brilliant, because when a screen becomes this good, it's simply you and the things you care about. The stunning Retina display on the new iPad.
"Only Apple could deliver this kind of integration in such a beautiful, integrated and easy-to-use way.
"2012: There's a lot to look forward to. We are just getting started."
