iPad Hangover: Hands-On Roundup

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The dust has settled and we now know everything about “The New iPad.”  Some lucky folks have been able to get their hands on it and here’s what they have to say:

Engadget:

There’s no doubt that this here tablet feels every bit like a $500 product, oozing quality from edge to edge and being as delightful as ever to use. Is it the second coming of the tablet? Of course not, but if we’ve learned anything from the iPhone 4S, it doesn’t need to be. Apple just put an insane amount of screen real estate in the hands of crafty developers, and frankly, we can’t wait to see what they cook up.

Wired:

The new iPad is a model of inspired industrial design, and its specs best the previous-generation iPad 2 in all the important areas. But while our hands-on time with the new iPad was admittedly brief today, we nonetheless left Apple’s demo room with an overwhelming sense of, well, “sameyness.”

CNN:

The truth is that the new Apple iPad probably falls somewhere in the middle. It’s neither dud nor game-changer.

The Verge:

We’ve just had our first in-person experience with Apple’s latest and greatest slate… and it feels good. It goes without saying that the screen on the device is absolutely stunning — while we haven’t had a chance to look through every possible app on the new iPad, the retooled stock applications and icons really do pop on the Retina Display. Just as when we first saw the iPhone 4 display, the New iPad’s 2048 x 1536 screen is stunning to behold. Simply put, there’s no other product like it on the market.

SlashGear:

Should you opt for the new iPad rather than the discounted $399 iPad 2? From our brief experience with the new Retina Display, it’s hard to imagine going back to less pixel-dense panels. When third-party developers jump on board and begin crafting Retina Display-compatible titles, the iPad 2 may start looking like a poor choice for anyone but those on the strictest of budgets. Make no mistake, the new iPad has reset the bar for the tablet segment, leaving Android and Windows 8 OEMs playing catch-up once again.

CNET:

Remember the first time you saw an HD television? You were probably excited about the future but also a little sad that your current TV’s days were numbered. For tablet fans, a glance at the iPad’s new screen may offer this same emotional cocktail of envy and loss.

Pocket-Lint:

Certainly, from our initial play, the stand-out features all deliver. The screen really is crisp, the new iPad (3rd generation) is super fast, and the experience is as lovely as always. Will iPad 2 users need to upgrade? Probably not. And, like we said when the iPad 2 replaced the first iPad, you’ll be able to get by without.

In the iPad 2, you’ve still got a great device and nothing changes on that front. But, if you’ve got the original iPad, it’s time to upgrade. You really will notice the difference.

TechCrunch:

I would love to read books and magazines on the iPad. I’d love to work from it, do my photo editing on it. But reading text and viewing images just wasn’t ever good enough. Now it is. The sharpness is as good as you expect, the device otherwise is more or less the same. Were you hoping for a redesign? That will happen eventually. Don’t be greedy.