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Mahesh Kumar is a Mumbai-based corporate lawyer who travels often but didn’t own a tablet yet. So, on his trip to Singapore recently, he brought the new iPad — or the third generation iPad, and not iPad 3 — because it was out of stock in his city. (But we hear, there’s plenty of stock still, perhaps because vendors expected faster sales, and that did not happen).

And since there is no 4G in Mumbai — and most of India — yet, he brought back with him the 32 GB; 4G and Wi-Fi version.

What’s the Retina Display about?

Now, the New iPad looks pretty much the same as the iPad 2, except that the New iPad is 0.6mm thicker. The reason: the fancy new Retina Display, that calls for a bigger battery to keep up the 10-hour battery run like its predecessor, the iPad2.

The much talked-about Retina Display, with a resolution of 2048 by 1536, makes the images and videos look super crisp and sharp, making for an unmatched viewing experience. The colour saturation has also been upped. On its 9.7-inch screen rest a whopping 3.1 million pixels, and that’s why text is four times more clearer on the New iPad, which is mostly used by professionals like Mahesh to track news via apps or read eBooks or scan maps.

The iSight camera for low light still shooting and HD video

The New iPad now has a 5 megapixel camera that gives you f2.4 aperture, that allows shooting in low light conditions. And while holding up a 9.7 inch iPad to click a photo may feel silly, the new iPad gives you one more reason to do some more of that; it shoots video in HD ie 1080p, all thanks to the A5X chip with quad-core graphics, that is also responsible for jacking up pixel count to get the 2048 x 1536 resolution Retina Display. The A5X also makes possible automatic video stabilisation, so hand-held recording is not as jerky as without it. .

Even the camera on the front has been bettered for improved Skype and Facetime interactions, that Mahesh uses frequently while travelling or to connect with his clients.

Apps — old and rewritten

Many of the widely used iPad apps have been rewritten to match the megapixel boom so the clarity remains intact. But there are instances where old apps have not been able to match up the expectations set up by the updated apps. It may be a minor disappointment, but hopefully developers are working on it.

The rewritten apps, however, consume more of the iPad’s storage than older apps.

Browsing

Though the new iPad is both 4G and Wi-fi compatible, Mahesh right now can use the second option, and on that the iPad does well. It picks signals quickly and browsing speeds are optimised. The new iPad also has the Personal Hotspot feature, that lets you create a Wi-Fi network on the iPad for at the most five other devices, like your phone.

And you don’t really have to wait for 4G because the new iPad also works on the 3G-mode.

Notes and scribbles

Mahesh uses the iPad as his white board to explain structures, ideate and brainstorm with his clients using the new iPad-friendly stylus, and using an app called Notability. Mahesh also uses the device to record conversations.

It is also great for calligraphy, or sketching — as some sort of a digital moleskine.

Some of the apps that let you go crazy creative are:

Notes Plus
Notability
Note Taker HD
WritePad
Ideate
Penultimate
SmartNote
Scribbie Basic

That said, the new iPad is neither markedly faster, or lighter, than the iPad2. It’s the graphics and the camera that really set it apart. And it is certainly not cheaper. Plus, India still waits for 4G.
Product: iPad Wi-Fi + 4G, 32GB

Price: Rs 44,900 (without the magnetic leather cover and stylus)

Mahesh paid, for the new iPad, magnetic cover and a stylus: 1,100 singapore Dollars