New iPad First Impressions: How Does it Compare to iPad 2?

Apple's third generation iPad - named 'New iPad' - has been unveiled finally. The new tablet boasts of Retina Display, A5x chip, 4G LTE and 5-megapixel Rear-Facing (iSight) Camera, among other things.

Generally speaking, the new iPad is as good as what the rumors suggested, but it doesn't pack Siri and LED flash. However, its Voice Dictation can recognize English, French, German and Japanese languages.

The new iPad will be available in two color options for the customers - black and white. Pre-orders have begun and the tablet will hit stores on March 16, retailing at the same price as its predecessor, iPad 2. Meanwhile, Apple has decided to continue the iPad 2 line, but has slashed the price across the board by $100.

The big question is - how does the new iPad compare to iPad 2? Will the potential tablet buyers choose to buy the new iPad or pay $100 less for the iPad 2? The following comparison might help first time buyers make the decision.

1. Display:

Without doubt, the Retina Display with 2048x1536 pixels resolution will never disappoint Apple fans. Thanks to the high resolution screen, the new iPad will become unbeatable in the tablet world. That is a crazy amount of pixels in a 9.7-inch screen. The individual pixels are impossible to distinguish at normal viewing distance. It means over a million more pixels on your iPad than on your HDTV.

In comparison, the original iPad and the iPad 2 feature a 1024 x 768 display resolution with 132 pixels per inch, which are good for viewing basic videos and photos. However, the new one sports four times the number of pixels.

2. Processor:

The new iPad comes along with a superior, faster processor - A5X chip. The X is for quad-core graphics, rather than a quad-core chip. Due to the quadruple graphics power of the device,the new tablet can offer twice the graphics punch of the iPad 2's A5 chip. Schiller said at the event that the new iPad's A5X processor runs four times NVIDIA's Tegra 3 processor.

One thing to note is that the A5X chip isn't a quad-core processor. More specifically, it has a dual-core processor with a quad-core graphics processing unit.

3. Camera System:

The 5-megapixel camera of the new iPad borrows the optics sensor from iPhone 4S. Furthermore, the camera can be used for full HD 1080p video recording. It also comes with face detection and auto focus features. However, the iPad 2 includes rear camera that only can capture 720p HD video at 30 frames per second and the front-facing VGA camera for video chat is mediocre at best.

4. Network

The new iPad is Apple's first device to tap into the super-fast 4G LTE network. During the media event, Apple's Phillip Schiller gushed about how much better LTE is than 3G. The 4G version will work with Verizon Wireless and AT&T. In case the users are in some area, where 4G isn't available, both of them will scale back automatically to 3G. How can we expect iPad 2's 3G to match with the super speedy 4G?

5.Battery Life:

The new iPad packs 10-hour battery life for Web surfing and video watching over a Wi-Fi connection. But the 4G LTE network will leave only 9 hours of juice.

6. Size?

If you don't look closely, you probably won't be able to distinguish the new iPad from the iPad 2, for the size of the new one is the same as its predecessor, but the new on is slightly heavier and thicker. The Wi-Fi only new iPad weighs 652 grams, whereas the same model of the iPad 2 is 601 grams. And the new iPad now has a depth of 9.4 mm, compared with 8.8 mm for the previous model.

7. Price:

The new device will hit the market on March 16 with the same price as its predecessor's, and two color options for the customers - black and white. The 16 GB model with Wi-Fi will be sold at $499 while the basic Wi-Fi + 4G model will retail for $629.

The iPad 2 will now only sell 16 GB models - the Wi-Fi model will cost $399 and the Wi-Fi + 3G model will cost $529.

MUST READ - iOS 5.1: Top 5 Features Explained

MUST READ - iPhone 5 Release Date Rumors: Top Exciting Guaranteed Features That Will Blow Away Competition