The New iPad 3: Hands-On First Look and Comprehensive Review

By Vincent Funaro, Christian Post Reporter
Friday, March 23, 2012

The new iPad launched last week here in the U.S. and tablet has gone on to sell over three million units during its initial release.

So is the tablet worth all of the hype that is surrounding it? Some critics of the third generation iPad have complained that Apple did not make enough changes in order to make it exciting. However, we here at The Christian Post found that the new iPad is really impressive and the high-definition Retina display is a great selling point of the device. Here is a review along with a first look at the third generation iPad that is sure to solidify Apple's place as the dominant force in the tablet market.

Display

Some Apple would critics would say, "So what the iPad's new Retina display is full high-definition, what is the big deal? It is not that great of an update." Well those people are seriously wrong. This new display almost makes you feel like you are holding a high-definition television in your hands. Pictures look incredible and the detail is not compromised when you zoom in on an image.

As you can see in our video there is no blurriness at all when you want to get a closer look at a part of an image. This is really impressive. New iPad owners can also watch movies in full high-definition. CP checked out some HD movie previews via YouTube. Watching coming attractions for films on the new iPad gets you really excited for some of the summer's upcoming blockbusters including "The Dark Knight Rises" and "The Amazing Spiderman."

Gaming is also quite enjoyable on the device. Playing any title in HD on the tablet looks identical to playing on a PS3 or Xbox 360 on a quality HD TV. This is dangerous for the console business since games can be instantly streamed to an iPad and now the quality will not be compromised. Fonts jump out at you and the tablet actually makes the reading experience more enjoyable.

The new iPad's HD Retina display is home run for Apple and pushes the company far ahead of its competitors.

Speed (4G LTE, A5X)

The third generation iPad is incredibly fast and the A5X chip adds a quad-core graphics processor for gaming that makes playing titles on the device smooth and detailed. 4G LTE is a great addition for the tablet, allowing customers to download apps at ten times the speed of 3G. The only issue we found with LTE is that certain areas that do not have it make you switch over to HSPA+ on AT&T. The internet is still quick on the tablet, but videos on YouTube will no longer be available in HD. If a Wi-Fi or LTE connection is unavailable, so is HD video on the internet with the new iPad.

Battery Life

On a full charge, the new iPad's battery life dropped down to 50 percent in one day with moderate usage including gaming and watching videos. The device did take quite long to acquire a full charge. It took about 5 hours to get the iPad from 30 percent to a full charge. The various reports of the device taking extremely long to charge are definitely accurate.

Design

In order to accommodate some of the new hardware, the new iPad is slightly heavier than its predecessors. Its design is mostly the same as the other iPads. The tablet also runs hot, but, this did not affect the device's performance.

Conclusion

The new iPad is a spectacular device. Its high-definition Retina display has set the new standard for tablets. This will definitely solidify Apple's place as the market's leader. If you are looking for the best and are not afraid to spend the money, than the new iPad is definitely for you.

TO SEE THE CHRISTIAN POST'S VIDEO REVIEW OF THE NEW IPAD CLICK HERE.