Third Generation iPad Vs Second Generation iPad – Fight!
With a brand new model just announced that’s the one everyone is preordering and who can blame them, we’ve ordered ours too and can’t wait for March 16 to come around quickly enough. But, Apple expected that response and in return still need to shift their multitude of iPad 2 models, so cleverly they dropped the price, significantly.
Now, really is an excellent time to pick up a brand new iPad 2, if you’ve been sitting on the fence for a while and whilst we adore our iPad 2 we as tech journalists really can’t wait to get our hands on the third gen iPad.
We have tried to help you come to the right decision too by clearly showing the differences between the third generation iPad and the iPad 2, take a look below…
Chip
The new third generation iPad comes with a quad-core ultra fast A5X chip, in comparison the iPad 2 comes with a dual-core A5 chip – it’s still fast, but won’t be as fast. The A5X chip with quad-core graphics drives four times the pixels of the iPad 2.
Display
This is one of the areas that we are particularly excited about regarding the new third generation iPad as it comes complete with a high-resolution Retina display. 2048×1536 pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi). That’s double the iPad 2 resolution as that comes in at 1024×768 pixels at 132 pixels per inch. Both displays come with fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating and support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously.
The third generation iPad is the winner here, no question.
Camera
This is the other area that we are super excited about regarding the third generation iPad. It comes complete with an iSight camera with 5 megapixel AF, tap to focus, face detection in still images, video recording, HD (1080p) up to 30 frames per second with audio; video stabilization. There’s also FaceTime camera with VGA-quality photos and video at up to 30 frames per second and of course photo and video geotagging.
Compared with the iPad 2, it has a back camera with video recording, HD up to 720p with 30 frames per second with audio and a 5x digital zoom still camera. The front camera can also be used for video recording with VGA up to 30 frames per second with audio, VGA-quality still camera. There’s tap to control exposure for video or stills and again photo and video geotagging over Wi-Fi.
The third generation iPad is the winner here too.
Weight and Dimensions
Both devices are the same height and width but the depth is slightly deeper on the third generation iPad and consequently it is slightly heavier.
iPad 2 wins this round
Wireless
The third generation iPad has superior Bluetooth 4.0 technology compared with Bluetooth 2.1 in the iPad 2.
Third generation iPad, wins here.
Battery Life
Still the same performance for both, which is up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video or listening to music. Or up to 9 hours of surfing the web using mobile data network. Considering the higher retina display of the third gen iPad though, in many ways this model has to win here.
Sensors
The new iPad comes with an Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor and Gyroscope. The iPad 2 doesn’t have any of these.
3rd generation iPad wins here.
Price
iPad 3rd generation prices for Wi-Fi + 4G
16GB £499/$629
32GB £579/$729
64GB £659/$829
The iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G
So despite the iPad 2 only being 3G you can still save £70/$100.
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter, creator of the world’s most popular mobile photography and art website— TheAppWhisperer.com— TheAppWhisperer platform has been a pivotal cyberspace for mobile artists of all abilities to learn about, to explore, to celebrate and to share mobile artworks. Joanne’s compassion, inclusivity, and humility are hallmarks in all that she does, and is particularly evident in the platform she has built. In her words, “We all have the potential to remove ourselves from the centre of any circle and to expand a sphere of compassion outward; to include everyone interested in mobile art, ensuring every artist is within reach”, she has said. Promotion of mobile artists and the art form as a primary medium in today’s art world, has become her life’s focus. She has presented lectures bolstering mobile artists and their art from as far away as the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea to closer to her home in the UK at Focus on Imaging. Her experience as a jurist for mobile art competitions includes: Portugal, Canada, US, S Korea, UK and Italy. And her travels pioneering the breadth of mobile art includes key events in: Frankfurt, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Brazil, London. Pioneering the world’s first mobile art online gallery - TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com has extended her reach even further, shipping from London, UK to clients in the US, Europe and The Far East to a global group of collectors looking for exclusive art to hang in their homes and offices. The online gallery specialises in prints for discerning collectors of unique, previously unseen signed limited edition art. Her journey towards becoming The App Whisperer, includes (but is not limited to) working for a paparazzi photo agency for several years and as a deputy editor for a photo print magazine. Her own freelance photographic journalistic work is also widely acclaimed. She has been published extensively both within the UK and the US in national and international titles. These include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Popular Photography & Imaging, dpreview, NikonPro, Which? and more recently with the BBC as a Contributor, Columnist at Vogue Italia and Contributing Editor at LensCulture. Her professional photography has also been widely exhibited throughout Europe, including Italy, Portugal and the UK. She is currently writing several books, all related to mobile art and is always open to requests for new commissions for either writing or photography projects or a combination of both. Please contact her at: [email protected]
One Comment
Akhil S
Just a quick thing, the iPad 2 does have both an accelerometer and a gyroscope…just for anyone wondering if they would be able to play Temple Run or not.