ONE MORE ARTICLE ON New iPad: Worth a buy?

New iPad: Worth a buy?

It’s probably the best tablet in the market, but if your needs are simple, you can avoid spending Rs. 30,500 and make do with the iPad 2.

  The new iPad has finally arrived in India, and as usual, it comes on a wave of sales records, hype and controversy. There are those who insist that it does not represent a huge step forward, even as others believe that it redefines the tablet category. The truth lies somewhere between these two extreme views. We have been using the new iPad for a while and here’s what we think of Apple’s latest tablet.

Style and substance

The new iPad is as sleek as its predecessors even though it has gained a bit in terms of thickness and weight—it is 9.4 mm thick and tips the scales at 652 g (the iPad 2 was 8.8 mm thick and weighed 601 g). But the device really impresses when you switch it on. The 2,048 x 1,536 pixel display is easily the best we have seen on a portable device. Forget the figures, there are more pixels on this device than you get on an HDTV. The result is dazzling, not just in the case of videos and games, but also in something as mundane as text. We have not been as surprised by a display since Samsung launched the Super AMOLED-borne Galaxy S.

    There is some very good hardware beneath this display—a dual core A5x processor with quad core graphics processing. No, it is not the fastest we have seen, but it managed the wonderful display and processing with buttery smoothness. There is 4G connectivity, which is of little use in India (we can use 3G and GPRS though), and the usual Bluetooth-GPS-WiFi combination on the connectivity front. It also comes with an upgraded 5-megapixel camera, which is capable of shooting 1080p video. It did perform extraordinarily well, but the heavy weight strained our wrists after some time, especially since the new iPad weighs more than many DSLRs. A more pleasant surprise is the battery. It ran for almost 11 hours on Wi-Fi with push mail and social networks running, even as we browsed and played some Angry Birds and YouTube videos.

The app advantage

The iPad phenomenon has not really been about hardware or design. What makes it click are the thousands of applications that one can run on it. These range from free image tweaking apps and casual games to more intense stuff like office suites and video editing software that rival those seen on desktops. We actually found ourselves editing images and videos a lot faster on the device than we did on Apple’s own iMac since the touch interface and zippy performance makes a huge difference. Watching videos and playing games is an absolute joy, especially if you go for apps that have been optimised for the ‘retina display’. The screen makes reading a pleasure, while the processing power ensures that you perform most tasks at a good pace. All this runs on the smooth and intuitive iOS5, an operating system that is the easiest to use in the world. The rows-and-column arrangement of the icons remains incredibly easy to use and everything is just a tap away.

Achilles’ heel

However, the new iPad retains some flaws of its predecessors. The storage 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB remains fixed (16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB) and there is no support for memory cards. This is going to pinch even more in the latest version because applications designed to make the most of the magnificent display will take up far more storage space. Our 64 GB unit filled up in no time at all. There is no support for Adobe Flash either and Bluetooth connectivity remains rather limited. The camera is a trifle difficult to use and those who invest in the 4G version will be paying for a facility they cannot use. Though the arrival of iCloud and over-the-air updates have lessened the dependence on iTunes, you still need to use it for transferring music and videos to the device, which is tedious. And you still cannot buy books, videos and music on iTunes in India, which is irksome. The 10-inch size means that it has to be used mostly with two hands unlike the smaller seven-inch displays in some tablets.

Worth a buy?

The past year has seen a lot of change in the tablet market and, if all you want is a portable device for mail, browsing and the odd bit of social networking, there are lots of options available. Some of the devices that are cheaper than the iPad and have competitive specifications are the Motorola Xoom, the BlackBerry PlayBook and Samsung’s range of Galaxy Tabs, even the hybrid Galaxy Note. However, only the Android tablets come close to matching Apple’s undisputable app market. If you want something that blends the best bits of a notebook, smartphone, media player, e-book reader and gaming console in one sleek, flauntable unit, the iPad is your best option.

    The real question is, should you go for the new iPad or buy the cheaper iPad 2? The difference in prices for similar models is around 6,000, enough to buy you a nice cover and a sound dock. For instance, the 16 GB Wi-Fi iPad 2 now costs 24,500, while the same model for the latest iPad is priced at 30,500. If you are going to use the device only for browsing, checking mail, playing a few simple games and reading e-books, you should buy the latter. The retina display or faster processor will only be beneficial if you intend to play high-definition games and videos or use heavy software like video editing. Besides, most of us have better cameras on our smartphones, which are easier to carry than the heavyweight iPad.

Forget the new iPad if ...

... you are looking for the most powerful hardware on a tablet. The Asus Transformer Prime packs in more.

... you do not need to play around much with applications.

... you do love to play with apps, but do not utilise the high-definition ones too much.

... you just want a device for browsing, e-mails and social networking.

... you have an iPad 2 and are not much into multimedia and gaming. Relax, it’s not getting outdated for a while and most apps will work fine.

... you think cameras have no place on tablets.

NIMISH DUBEY ET120430