How do you improve in something that's so good ? Well, Apple hasn't bothered. A hi-res screen, the same ploy as used on the iPhone 4s is the only carrot. Big deal. I can't really tell the different between my iPad 1 and my wife's iPad 2, apart from performance. The iPad 1 (the absolute top model available), despite being 3/4 empty no longer really works. Web pages are slow to load, movement is jerky and it crashes. Boy, does it crash... Every few minutes in all kinds of applications, especially Safari. Obsolescence has clearly been built in... It doesn't endear me to the world's most valuable cult, sorry, brand...
So, better screen res, better camera res, faster processor. Frankly, I shouldn't be commenting on these until I get may hands on one, but if the previous incremental improvements are anything to go by, these are marginal benefits.
Disappointments include no external storage options, no built in HDMI port, no 128GB storage, no mouse support. And still no bloody cursor keys, the lack of which renders the iPad pretty much useless as an input device - grrrrr... And the ignominy of iTunes as a walled garden.
And the new iPad is actually thicker than the iPad 2... If only slightly. The biggest damp squib since the iPhone 4s.... Apple is truly losing its touch.
Ironically, the really big announcement today was Apple's revamped Apple TV, which is fast becoming a device/service to contend with, as long as you live in the US. The tiny form and the ability to stream from the iPad make this an interesting cord-cutting option for those not interested in endless drivel punctuated with endless advertising.
I believe that today is a turning point for Apple. It's the day when, after a stunning stream of innovation, it has again become a me-too hardware company whose new product announcements are, well, just dull.... There's just a crack in the door to allow the erstwhile inventors of tablet computing back in. Let's see what Microsoft come up with!
So, better screen res, better camera res, faster processor. Frankly, I shouldn't be commenting on these until I get may hands on one, but if the previous incremental improvements are anything to go by, these are marginal benefits.
Disappointments include no external storage options, no built in HDMI port, no 128GB storage, no mouse support. And still no bloody cursor keys, the lack of which renders the iPad pretty much useless as an input device - grrrrr... And the ignominy of iTunes as a walled garden.
And the new iPad is actually thicker than the iPad 2... If only slightly. The biggest damp squib since the iPhone 4s.... Apple is truly losing its touch.
Ironically, the really big announcement today was Apple's revamped Apple TV, which is fast becoming a device/service to contend with, as long as you live in the US. The tiny form and the ability to stream from the iPad make this an interesting cord-cutting option for those not interested in endless drivel punctuated with endless advertising.
I believe that today is a turning point for Apple. It's the day when, after a stunning stream of innovation, it has again become a me-too hardware company whose new product announcements are, well, just dull.... There's just a crack in the door to allow the erstwhile inventors of tablet computing back in. Let's see what Microsoft come up with!