iPad mini or Nexus 7: Which is best for you?

Cheap and more than cheerful, the world of affordable tablets means now everyone can get in on a slice of slab action. Right now, the two tech big boys that are Google and Apple are both fighting it out for the money in your pocket.

But which tablet should you go for - the Nexus 7 or the iPad mini? Pocket-lint has had plenty of time playing with both. Read on to find out which is best for you.

Cost

The iPad mini starts at £269, whereas the Nexus 7 is £159. It's a big price difference. The Nexus 7 is getting close to generous stocking filler, but the little Apple tab over £100 more.

In the iPad mini's defence, pick it up and you still feel like you are getting a lot for your outlay. The premium feel is definitely there in the Nexus 7 but it's not in the same class as what Apple has come up with. Simply put, the iPad mini is a more expensive product and it feels it.

If you aren't fussed, then the cheaper price of the Nexus 7 is very persuasive indeed. At just £200 for a 32GB version compared to the equivalent iPad mini at £349, and a 3G option coming to the UK soon, you are getting a lot more memory for your money. Worth considering if you are the sort that likes to carry about a lot of movies and gaming apps.

Design

We've already mentioned the premium design of the iPad mini. The black version in particular, which looks like a big version of the iPhone 5, is a joy to pick up and hold.

Size-wise, the iPad mini is svelte enough to be easily slipped into a bag or rucksack. We want to say coat pocket also, but unless you have pockets 134mm wide, there isn't much chance. As for thickness and weight, the tablet is thin at 7.2mm and light at 308 grams.

The Nexus 7, while slightly varied on the spec sheet, really is the same in terms of pocketability. It is 198.5 x 120 x 10.5 mm and weighs 340 grams. Hold both tablets in either hand and you won't notice much of a portability difference, apart from the taller shape of the Nexus 7's 16:9 screen.

As for design, the Nexus 7 is still a very well put together product. Its dimpled matte back is grippy as anything you could need and the whole piece of kit feels very solid in the hand. There isn't all the metal and shine of the iPad mini, but then some might prefer that.

Processor and performance

We're not interested in what either of these leisure devices can bench. In terms of real world performance, neither are particularly slow.

Both the iPad mini and Nexus 7 handle standard tablet activities, like email or web browsing, absolutely fine. Project Butter and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean has done a good job smoothing Android out and iOS is as responsive as ever.

READ: iPad mini review

The differences come really when you take to gaming. In fact, this is the only time that we found performance to be distinguishable in any way. If you run a really demanding app, such as Shadowgun, then the iPad mini can start to lag up. Pushing games over AirPlay to an Apple TV can also cause the odd frame-rate drop. The Nexus 7 however, with its class leading Tegra chip, is very fast. Games are all a breeze on the tablet.

So for day to day activities then, both are neck a neck. If however you are serious about tablet gaming, then the Nexus 7 is most definitely the one for you. Do remember however, that some of the big titles might come out on iOS first.

Content: apps, films, music, books, etc

Android or iOS, that is the question. In terms of raw day to day performance, there is very little in it. Where the difference probably appears most regularly is with apps. Android is still a touch clunky in the way it manages applications on a tablet.

Let's take BBC iPlayer as an example. It runs on every version of iOS. However with Android and the Nexus 7, those who use Android 4.2 will find they have to sideload iPlayer to get it working; a complex process. The iPad mini guarantees support of every app on iOS, the Nexus 7 with Android, does not.

As for what sort of apps are on offer, we could argue all day about volume, but Apple still has a thin edge over Android in terms of the number of actually useful and exciting applications you can run on a tablet, however for most of the key app players, you really won't notice any disparity between the two.

Alongside apps, the other real differentiator is availability of music, books and movie content. Defining exactly what media is available on Google Play and iTunes is impossible. Think about it this way; there is a lot. If you're talking about in-house stores, then iTunes has it over Google Play. Google Music does launch next week, which helps, but there's the odd annoyance with the Android system like the fact that it's streaming rentals rather than anything you can actually download - potentially tedious if you're out of range of Wi-Fi or 3G.

Of course, in real terms, there's little difference for films, books and music because of the available apps on both systems in the shape of Kindle, Amazon MP3, Spotify, Lovefilm, Netflix and just about anything else you'd care to mention along with whatever you're prepared to sideload from your PC.

Ecosystem

What is different, in terms of content, is what you can actually do with it. Apple has plenty of other products that you can play a track back on or, say, you own an Apple TV, then your music or movie can be played on you TV too.

There's an extent to which this is also true with the Nexus 7. Anything Google-running, and on which you can access the Play store, is a place where you can listen to or watch whatever bits and pieces of media you bought or rented from there. So, that's your PC sorted but where it can't quite keep up is with AirPlay music devices and AirPlay mirroring on your TV.

READ: Nexus 7 review

Yes, a touch of DLNA is great for movie playback but it's just not possible to mirror whatever is on your iPad desktop in quite the same manner - not without a fair bit of head scratching. Likewise, with music, there's plenty of wireless pieces of kit for Android that work over Bluetooth but the truly beautiful stuff is often at its most seamless with Apple.

So, if blending with your other devices and home set up is key, and you want that to be easy and smooth, then it's really the iPad mini that you're after. Just don't expect all that integration and accessorizing to come cheap.

Pictures, video and VoIP

With the iPad mini, Apple didn't go all out on the rear camera, which is a shame because at this size, taking photos feels a lot less ridiculous than it does on a full size tablet. What you get is a 5-megapixel camera on the back and a 720p capable FaceTime HD camera on the front.

For the Nexus 7, there is no rear mounted camera. Instead just a 1.2 megapixel 720p snapper on the front for video calling. So then, the iPad wins here just by the number of cameras alone. How good is that rear facing camera though? Well from the test shots below, it isn't bad by tablet standards. If you are used to using any current-gen smartphone, it's a big step back.

As for the VoIP end of the cameras, we tested some video calling on Skype on both tablets and the quality was good. There was no discernable difference between the two. Interestingly enough though, the picture was clearer on the iPad at our end. It's quite possible due to differences in connection quality at the time the calls were made but it's certainly worth noting.

Screen

This is the other major difference between the two tablets. In terms of resolution, the iPad mini is 1024 x 768 and that equates to a 163 ppi pixel density. The Nexus 7 is 800 x 1280 with a 216 ppi pixel density. What do these numbers mean? Essentially that text, video and images are sharper on the Nexus 7.

However the iPad mini has a 7.9-inch screen and that's larger than that of the Asus tablet. In practice, the 16:9 screen ratio of the Nexus means that watching movies on both tablets is nearly identical anyway. In fact, you also get higher resolution video on the Nexus because of the cropping on the Apple screen.

With other activities though, where screen estate is key, say games for example, Apple's bigger tablet surface is a bonus. Whether it's browsing the web or anything else, it's just nice to have a bit more space.

In terms of screen technology, both are IPS panels. The iPad mini is LED backlit and the Nexus 7 is straight LCD. What that ends up translating to is a brighter screen on the iPad with better colour reproduction and we would say deeper blacks, although the Nexus 7 is definitely very good.

Connections

In terms of connectivity, don't expect much. Apart from a 3.5mm headphone jack you won't find a single connection on either tablet other than the one you use to charge it. For the iPad, this is a Lightning connector. For the Nexus, a micro USB.

The latter is simply more handy, just because most people are privy to a micro USB charger, should you forget your connector. Apple's Lightning port means new accessories or an investment in the 30-pin adapter; a bit of an irritation if you ask us.

As for storage, neither offers and SD or microSD expandability, so whatever capacity you buy, you're going to be stuck with. As for mobile broadband access, at the time of writing, the Nexus 7 3G version was on the way but not yet available whereas the iPad mini comes with HSPA+ if you're willing to pay anywhere upwards of £369. An LTE version is also supposed to be in the pipeline for some time soon.

Which one should I buy?

It really comes down to a just few differences between these two mini-tabs. Are you a gamer? If so, the iPad mini gives you more screen to play with and a bigger library of apps in general. However, when it comes to processor pushing games, the Nexus 7 will fly.

If you want to take photos with your tablet, then the iPad mini is your only choice. For movies, things are evenly matched with the Asus arguably having the edge due to its higher resolution screen.

The ecosystem and usability of the iPad is more straightforward. Things like AirPlay, iTunes Match and the compatibility of apps all make for a device that is much more pick up and play, and perfect for those who might be making it their first tablet.

Then finally there is cost, which is tied in neatly with design and build quality. Simply put, you are paying extra for the Apple marque, but, with that, comes high quality materials and a thin and light tablet that's a joy to pick up.

So, which is the one to go for? Well, if you're all about style and cache, then it's the iPad mini that you should go for but you will be paying quite the premium for it. If you're about watching films, then we'd plump for the Nexus 7. Despite the better processing power, we'd advise gamers to go with the iPad mini, and if it's just about all round use then, if you can afford it, then it's the iPad mini once more.

The only other reason to go for the Nexus 7 is if it's a question of budget. It's a fantastic piece of kit with a fantastic price, but is the iPad mini a better tablet if cost is to be ignored? The answer - probably, yes.

© copyright Pocket-lint 2012

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First iPad mini teardown reveals Samsung display

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's iPad mini uses a display from South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, one of Apple's major suppliers and also its fiercest rival in the global mobile-device market that the two companies dominate.

Analysts say the Silicon Valley-based iPhone maker is trying to wean itself off its reliance on Samsung, as both giants are embroiled in a bitter international legal battle over mobile patents, for everything from microchips to displays.

In the first dismantling of the iPad mini, which will be sold in 34 countries beginning Friday, teardown and gadget-repair specialist company, iFixit, discovered a Samsung display driver chip, which indicated that Apple had picked the Korean firm's screen technology.

Like most producers of mobile hardware, the U.S. company typically employs several suppliers for the same components in its gadgets. Apple has been known to use screens made by LG Display, for instance.

"Though the markings on the back of the LCD (display) don't turn up much information, the Samsung display driver IC (chip) reveals that Apple, once again, went with Samsung in its display manufacturing," iFixit said, detailing the teardown on its website.

Supplying parts for Apple's iPhones and iPads - some of the industry's most popular and advanced gadgets - is considered a coup for chipmakers and other manufacturers.

The iPad mini also employs SK Hynix Inc flash memory, a Broadcom touch controller, and a number of microchips from Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc, according to iFixit, which acquired one early.

The 7.9-inch iPad mini marks the Apple's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment. The company hopes to beat back incursions into its home territory - carved out with the original iPad's launch in 2010 - with 7-inch slates that are popular with consumers, even as it safeguards its lead in a larger tablet space that even deep-pocketed rivals like Samsung have found tough to penetrate.

It has won mostly positive reviews focused on its ability to wrap most of the functions of its full-sized iPad sibling into a smaller package, but critics pointed out the higher price tag of the iPad mini and an inferior display relative to those of rival products like Amazon's Kindle Fire HD and Google's Nexus 7.

START YOUR ENGINES

A smaller tablet is the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under CEO Tim Cook, who took over from predecessor Steve Jobs just before his death a year ago. Analysts said it may have been Google and Amazon that helped influence the decision.

Online sales have run for a week, but Apple has not disclosed sales numbers so far. Friday's global sales rollout may offer a hint of demand for the gadget, which analysts expect to be strong.

Still, it will be playing catch up. Priced at $329 for a Wi-Fi only model, the iPad mini is more expensive than many analysts had expected. Amazon's Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7, both released at $199, have grabbed a chunk of the lower end of the tablet market.

Meanwhile, it is battling Samsung in the smartphone arena, which still yields the majority of Apple's revenue and profit. The Korean giant last year became the world's largest maker of smartphones as other rivals lost steam.

Apple and Samsung are engaged in patent disputes across several countries, and Apple is believed to be seeking ways to rely less on Samsung. But the Asian tech powerhouse remains a key supplier for Apple, manufacturing its application processors and providing other components.

Samsung has stopped supplying displays for Apple's iPhone, and plays a reduced role in the full-sized iPad, according to DisplaySearch. Apple is also buying fewer memory chips from Samsung for the iPhone 5, relying more on Hynix and Elpida Memory.

Many analysts believe Apple will also gradually phase out Samsung as the main producer of the mobile micro-processor and shift business to rival supplier TSMC.

(Editing by Matthew Lewis, Tim Dobbyn and Bernadette Baum)

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20 Best iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows Phone games this week - The Guardian (blog)

It's time for our weekly roundup of new games for smartphones and tablets, this time covering iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

The week's pick of new and notable games includes Peter Molyneux's mobile comeback, Angry Birds getting The Force, ponies, hobbits, rope-cutting, magic, knights and word puzzles. A good night in, you could say.

Prices apply to the initial download, so when a game is "Free", it may well include in-app purchases. All prices are correct at the time of writing (8 November), but may have changed if you're reading this at a later date.

This is veteran games designer Peter Molyneux's big new idea for smaller screens: a giant virtual cube that players around the world are chipping away at, trying to discover "the life-changing secret" buried in its centre. Is it a good game? Is it even a game? That's being fiercely debated, but it's true that the actual chipping is rather moreish.
Android / iPhone / iPad

You can read our full review for an explanation of why Angry Birds Star Wars is the best Angry Birds game yet, but as a guide: it does a good job of integrating Star Wars characters and weapons, provides plenty of depth with its 120 available levels, and isn't over-aggressive with its in-app purchases.
Android / iPhone / iPad / Windows Phone

If you've been keeping up with the 'bronies' phenomenon, you'll know that My Little Pony isn't just for young girls these days. That should be good news for Gameloft's official game, which sees you rebuilding the town of Ponyville, playing mini-games, and connecting to friends. It's a freemium game, which parents of younger fans should be aware of when downloading.
iPhone / iPad

Peter Jackson's new Hobbit trilogy hasn't made it to cinemas yet, but there's a new game from social developer Kabam. It sees (in theory) thousands of players teaming up to drum the goblin hordes out of the Misty Mountains. Expect elves, dwarves, lots of diplomacy, and in-app purchases to fund your ambitions.
iPhone / iPad

EA has already turned FIFA into a social mobile game, but now another of its big sporting franchises is following suit. Madden NFL 13 Social has been launched across Facebook and iOS, and sees you building a team and taking on friends, all based on real-world NFL players.
iPhone / iPad

Windows Phone got two Angry Birds games this week, with Angry Birds Space finally making its way onto Microsoft's Marketplace. The game sees you firing birds through gravitational fields across 150 levels.
Windows Phone

And here's one more huge mobile gaming brand making the leap onto Windows Phone. Cutesy monster Om Nom has brought his rope-cutting action to the Marketplace, with 300 physics-puzzle levels and the promise of "more to come".
Windows Phone

Describing itself as a "visceral whack'n'smash action-adventure", Wraithborne uses the Unreal Engine 3 to deliver spiffing graphics alongside its fantasy ("wraiths, goblins and werewolves stalk the lands...") plot. Your job is to kill as many as possible with spells and weapons, while exploring the landscape.
iPhone / iPad

Less a pure game (although that's its App Store category), and more a "GPS-triggered treasure hunt" around the capital city. This is based on a 1908 map of London, and a book by folklorist Edward Lovett. The game involves wandering around London looking for 64 of Lovett's amulets, while listening to audio readings, looking at images and reading the text.
iPhone

Atari is busily updating a number of its famous games from the late 1970s for the apps era, with Outlaw following Centipede Origins and Super Bunny Breakout onto iOS. This takes the Wild West theme of the original Outlaw game and runs with it: a variety of locations, weapons and a freemium pricing structure.
iPhone / iPad

Air Patriots is an inventive take on the line-drawing genre that made Flight Control such a hit: while planes figure here, it's as much a tower defence game than a copy of its predecessor. It's also the first mobile game from Amazon Game Studios – yes, that Amazon – available on its Kindle Fire tablets, but also iOS and Android.
Android / iPhone / iPad

Wreck-It Ralph is the new animated film from Disney, but it's also crashing onto the App Store in game form. In fact, there are three mini-games based on the movie to play here: fixing, blasting and climbing along with characters from the film.
iPhone / iPad

More tower defence here, but with less planes and more shambling undead monsters. Based on the famous movie from the Evil Dead trilogy, it sees you fending off 50 waves of zombies with the help of various characters from the film, with power-ups to help you stay unbitten.
Android

It's a good week for app-based warmaking, with Gameloft joining the fray with its freemium strategy game World at Arms. It sees you building a base, training up troops and then battling other players from around the world, like a modern-warfare (as opposed to Modern Warfare) take on the currently-popular Clash of Clans.
iPhone / iPad

Square Enix's Mensa Academy game started life as a Wii, 3DS and PC title, but has now been ported to iOS. It promises more than 1,000 questions spread between numeracy, language, logic, memory and visual, with shades of Nintendo's famous Dr Kawashima in its tracking and testing features.
iPhone / iPad

More zombies here – a week without any new mobile games featuring zombies remains an unfeasible prospect – but they're joined by robots and ninjas, at least. The game sees you boarding a train to have at them all with a range of weaponry and gadgets, with virtual coins (and thus in-app purchases) fuelling the destruction.
iPhone / iPad

League of Heroes is a charming, social hack'n'slash adventure that sees you slashing (and hacking) your way through monster armies while earning coins, upgrading your character and connecting to Facebook friends.
Android / iPhone / iPad

As elite iOS word-game players mull whether to ditch Words With Friends for Letterpress, Electronic Arts enters the fray with its own literate game, Word Smack. It involves trying to find as many five-letter words as possible over three rounds, playing against individual friends asynchronously.
iPhone / iPad

Here's another interesting puzzle game designed for online multiplayer action, this time splicing poker with match-three puzzles. Friends can be challenged through Facebook or Game Center, as you swipe to match pairs, straights and other cardy combos.
iPhone / iPad

This looks great fun: an Android version of an existing Flash web game called Coign of Vantage, which has been out on iOS for a while. Each level presents you with a cloud of pixels, which you have to rotate until you uncover an image. More a "zen exercise" than a pure game, but still good.
Android

That's our selection, but what are you playing this week on your smartphone or tablet? Make your recommendations, or provide feedback on the games we've chosen, by posting a comment.

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What Will the iPad Look Like in 10 Years? [CONTEST]

Apple ImageApple revealed the new iPad Wednesday, as an upgrade to its tablet line. While the new device boasts some anticipated new features, like the HD retina display and 4G LTE capability, it left some disappointed.

However, while it may not have been the revolutionary leap that we've come to expect from Apple product launches, the new iPad does offer some key upgrades. And judging from the response we received yesterday to our question, "What would you with a new iPad?" people aren't as concerned with the name of "the new iPad" as they are its features.

[More from Mashable: What New iPad Feature Are You Most Excited About? [POLL]]

We received hundreds of responses, from people looking to incorporate it into their schoolwork, business or travel lifestyles. Plenty of people want to edit photos with the new iPhoto for iOS. Others want to stay connected to their friends and family, while lots of people simply want to be able to enjoy the fruits of the web -- music, movies and games.

We've decided that the winner of yesterday's contest is Amanda Grondahl of Intrepid Pens, a women's literacy program in Vancouver, Canada. She wrote:

[More from Mashable: U.S. Accuses Apple, Publishers of Ebook Price Fixing [REPORT]]

She also tweeted a response:

@mashable Why am I looking forward to a new iPad? I'd be able to better support efforts to promote literacy for women in the 'hood #mashtech

— Intrepid Pens(@intrepidpens) March 7, 2012

If you didn't win, fear not: We're giving away another $500 Apple gift card and Belkin prize pack today. Today we're asking you to look further down the line and tell us what you think the iPad of the future will look like. Read on to learn how to enter.

Today, we're asking: What do you think the iPad will look like in 10 years?

Tell us in the comments: What will the iPad look like in 10 years? ORTweet your response with the hashtag #mashtech.Submit your response by 12:00 p.m. EST on Friday, March 9.

If you've not commented before, it's easy: Just sign in to Mashable Follow with your existing Facebook or Twitter account and start posting! Please use your real identity in the submission so that we may contact you via email, Twitter or Facebook to let you know you’ve won. This contest is limited to residents of the U.S., UK, Canada (excluding the Province of Quebec), France and Germany who are 18 or older.

We look forward to hearing your responses!

Read our full contest rules here.

The new 9.7-inch iPad has 2048 x 1536-pixel retina display, 5-megapixel camera (with the same optics sensor from the iPhone 4S) and 1080p video recording. It is available March 16 in black and white, powered by A5X chip (with quad-core graphics) and supports 4G LTE networks. It's 9.4 millimeters thick and 1.4 pounds.

Wi-Fi only iPads cost $499 for 16 GB, $599 32 GB and $699 for 64 GB, while 4G versions cost $629 for 16 GB, $729 32 GB and $829 for 64 GB. Pre-orders start today, and the devices will be in stores March 16 in these 10 countries: U.S., UK, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, France, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia.

Credit: Apple.com

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[wp_scm_ipad_event]

Image courtesy of Flickr, Tim Cleary.

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iPad 2 Price Drops to $399

After Apple announced the new iPad Wednesday, the company dropped the price of its predecessor, the iPad 2, to start at $399. Previously the device had been sold starting at $499.

Apple will offer the iPad 2 in two configurations, a 16GB Wi-Fi only model sells for $399. A 16GB Wi-Fi and 3G model (available on either AT&T or Verizon) sells for $529. The iPad 2 will continue to be available in either black or white.

[More from Mashable: What Would You Do With a New iPad? [CONTEST]]

This isn't the first time Apple has continued to offer older versions of its products. When the iPhone 4 was released in 2010, the iPhone 3GS continue to be available for $99 (and later $49). After releasing the iPhone 4S, an 8GB version of the iPhone 4 became available for $99.

The price of used iPad 2 devices is also likely to drop as gadget enthusiasts rush to sell their current devices in preparation for adopting the newly announced model.

[More from Mashable: New iPad Available March 16 Starting at $499]

After and leading up to the iPad 2 announcement last year the resell price of the original iPad dropped significantly. Ebay, for instance, charted more than a 20% decline in the price of the iPad within the three months leading up to the iPad 2 release.

Some resell sites have already noticed an increase in the number of customers who are now looking to sell their iPad 2 devices.

NextWorth, a company that buys and resells electronics saw a 760% increase in the number of requests to sell used iPads in the five hours following Apple's invitation to Wednesday's press conference. Gazelle, a similar service, saw a 500% increase in trade-ins during the same timeframe.

The new iPad has 2048 x 1536-pixel retina display, a 5-megapixel camera and 1080p video recording. It is available March 16 starting at $499.

Those new specs are a far cry from the laser beams and flying car that Mashable's Alex Fitzpatrick said would still fail to convince him to buy a new iPad instead of an iPad 2.

Will you also be opting for a cheaper iPad 2 instead of an new iPad? Let us know in the comments.

The new 9.7-inch iPad has 2048 x 1536-pixel retina display, 5-megapixel camera (with the same optics sensor from the iPhone 4S) and 1080p video recording. It is available March 16 in black and white, powered by A5X chip (with quad-core graphics) and supports 4G LTE networks. It's 9.4 millimeters thick and 1.4 pounds.

Wi-Fi only iPads cost $499 for 16 GB, $599 32 GB and $699 for 64 GB, while 4G versions cost $629 for 16 GB, $729 32 GB and $829 for 64 GB. Pre-orders start today, and the devices will be in stores March 16 in these 10 countries: U.S., UK, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, France, Hong Kong, Singapore and Austria.

Credit: Apple.com

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Apple unveils new iPad, Apple TV box

Apple unveiled a third-generation iPad enhanced with features aimed at keeping it on top of the booming tablet computer market.

The new iPad boasts a more powerful processor, eye-grabbing resolution on par with that of an iPhone 4S, and the ability to connect to the latest 4G LTE telecom networks that move data faster than their predecessors.

"We think that iPad is the poster child of the post-PC world," Apple chief executive Tim Cook said, noting that iPad sales topped those of any personal computer maker during the final three months of last year.

"We have redefined once again the category Apple created just two years ago with the original iPad," Cook said at a press event in San Francisco, the first major product release by Apple since the death of founder Steve Jobs.

The new iPad will go on sale March 16 in Canada, France, Germany and the United States at the same price as the previous models, which start at $499 for the most basic iPad featuring wireless connectivity only.

An iPad with 16 gigabytes of memory and with both Wi-Fi and 4G connectivity will cost $629 in the United States while a 32GB Wi-Fi/4G model will cost $729 and a 64GB version with Wi-Fi and 4G will cost $829.

In a bid to cater to budget-minded shoppers, Apple will sell a 16GB version of the iPad 2 at a trimmed price of $399.

The new iPad screen was billed as the best display ever on a mobile device. The tablet also features a five-megapixel camera and high-definition video recording.

Apple said the latest model has the same 10-hour battery life as its predecessor, with the span cut by about an hour with constant use of high-performing 4G telecom networks.

The third-generation iPad weighs 1.4 pounds and is 9.4 mm thick, slightly heavier and slightly thicker than the previous model.

Apple showed off an enhanced suite of iPad applications for tasks ranging from movie editing to making music or managing one's life.

A new iPhoto application turns the iPad into a slick tool for editing pictures with simple touches or automated features.

Epic Games president Mike Capps joined Cook to show off a version of the Infinity Blade videogame for the iPad, contending the quality was comparable to videogame console play.

"It is an evolutionary upgrade with a lot of revolutionary features," said Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg. "It is going to put a lot more pressure than before on iPad competitors.

"The updates to GarageBand, iMovie, and the new iPhoto will drive this going forward," Gartenberg said.

"At the end of the day it isn't going to be Tim Cook that sells the iPad, it is going to be the iPad that sells the iPad; and they are going to sell a lot of them," he said.

Apple's App Store has more than 200,000 mini-programs, or "apps," tailored for the iPad with offerings including books, games, and software designed for getting work done.

Apple has dominated the tablet market since launching the iPad two years ago and few expect that to change anytime soon.

IMS Research predicted that Apple would increase its tablet market share to 70 percent in 2012 from 62 percent in 2011 and it will ship 70 million iPads this year, up 71 percent over the previous year.

"Apple's insistence on blending hardware innovation with services innovation will keep the iPad at the front of the tablet pack for the foreseeable future," said Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps.

Apple real-world stores will be "critical" since the high-resolution screen is the major improvement in the iPad, and it needs to be seen to be fully appreciated, according to Gartner analyst Van Baker.

"It is astoundingly beautiful, but people are going to have to get it in their hands to see this," Baker said.

A new dictation-taking feature could be a stumbling point for the iPad, since that type of technology has proven to be a bane to other companies, according to independent analyst Rob Enderle of Silicon Valley.

The California-based gadget-maker on Wednesday also released an updated Apple TV box used to stream movies, television shows and other content from the Internet to high-definition TV sets.

The new box features a streamlined new user interface and will sell for the same $99 price as the previous model.

Apple TV was synched with iCloud, on online content storage service that lets people buy films or television shows on the box but have the options of watching them on iPhones, iPads, iPod touch devices, or on computers.

Apple released the first version of Apple TV in 2007 but it has never really caught on with the public.

The iPad event was the second Apple product launch by Cook since he took over for Jobs, and both events showcased improved versions of products.

"Let's wait and see if Apple can bring an astounding new class of product to market," Baker said. "Ultimately, they need to do that."

Investors appeared unsurprised by Apple's announcements, with the company's stock price inching up slightly to $531.05 a share in trading on the NASDAQ.

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Hands on iPad Reviews: Brighter, Faster, Slightly Heavier

After yesterday's iPad announcement, some lucky tech bloggers got to touch Apple's newest device and their first impressions pretty much confirm the overall first reaction: The same, but better. 

RELATED: Check Out Apple's 'New iPad'

We won't see full blown reviews until Apple ships the tablets to those same lucky tech bloggers. And, the rest of us won't get to touch the thing until the official March 16th release. But from these early tastes of the iPad, it looks like Apple pulled an iPhone 4S, upgrading but not revolutionizing its gadgetry. 

RELATED: Why iPhone Rumors Will Never Be the Same

Let's see what reviewers had to say. 

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The display is good as the iPhone's, says Wired's Jon Phillips:

To be sure, the new iPad’s display is drop-dead gorgeous, as well as notably bright. We scrutinized a bunch of high-resolution images pulled from Apple’s new iPhoto app, and found display quality on the new iPad to be sublime. Just one problem, though: All its brilliance notwithstanding, the iPad Retina Display didn’t show us anything that iPhone 4 and 4S users haven’t seen before.

Actually, it's better, counters GDGT's Ryan Block:

Amazing. Seriously amazing. I really love the Retina Display on the iPhone 4/4S, but this feels like a step forward even from that. Not because it's a better display (which it may well be), but because the much larger scale of the screen makes it feel transformative to the experience of looking at a Retina Display and using an iPad.

Even the apps "pop," explains The Verge's Joshua Topolsky:

 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.  

It makes everything better to look at, adds Mashable's Chris Taylor:

But what I can confirm is how incredibly gorgeous that resolution looks. You can’t tear your eyes away from it. Photos and videos are far more life-like. Games feel closer to reality, too. And books? With a retina display, books seem more attractive on the iPad than in any other format. And I’m not just comparing them to the Kindle, the Nook or the iPad 2; my frame of reference includes physical books, too.

Just, whoa, says Laptop's Mark Spoonauer:

We just picked up the new iPad, available March 16th starting at $499, and could sum up the visual experience in a word: whoa. 

Everything runs quickly, but so did the iPad 2, notes Slash Gear's Vincent Nguyen:

Performance from the A5X dual-core processor – with its quadcore GPU – is swift, with apps loading and multitasking flipping through with zero lag. That’s pretty much what we’re used to from the A5, admittedly; we’ll have to wait and see how the heavy-duty games hold up, though, when more developers begin to test the limits of the iPad’s abilities. 

What seems fast now, though, might end up disappointing, adds Topolsky:

Performance seemed snappy (though we had few complaints about performance on its predecessor). It's probably going to take some time (and serious gaming) to see what the new A5X is capable of.

Philips seconds that, calling it "blissfully zippy":

[W]e found performance in Safari web browsing and Infinity Blade Dungeons to be blissfully zippy. But, again, without some semblance of comparative testing, it’s difficult to comment on what performance bumps, if any, the new processor provides.

The added weight isn't an issue, claims Nguyen:

Physically, it’s 0.11 pounds heavier than the existing iPad 2, though it’s hardly noticeable. In the hand the brushed aluminum chassis feels much the same as before, but the picture quality is so crisp it looks like a promotional mock-up. Viewing angles are huge, too, certainly on a par with what we’ve seen from Super AMOLED panels in recent months.

Other than the thicker shell, the whole thing feels very familiar, adds Phillips:

At first glance, the new iPad exudes familiarity -- and not just because most of its features were telegraphed via leaks and rumors during the last four months. The new slate’s physical design is nearly identical to that of the iPad 2, and nothing about its Appley comportment screams, “I’m an entirely new tablet!”

That said, it will sell anyway, says The Loop's Jim Dalrymple:

The form factor of the iPad itself hasn’t really changed much. It’s still sleek and light-weight, but with all of the new features this is going to sell like crazy.

Apple didn't allow testing of the new 4G LTE offering, explains Phillips:

The new iPad supports 4G data speeds, but demo units were locked down to Wi-Fi during Apple’s event, so we can’t comment on the 4G experience.

It could suck up battery, warns Nguyen:

That brings us neatly to 4G LTE, and we’ll be very keen to see during our review whether the battery claims – 9hrs of active LTE – pan out.

And, Taylor can't wait to test that out:

As for the 4G speeds and the battery life, which Apple says is still in the 9-10 hour range: these claims will also require more extensive testing than Apple would allow in its hands-on area. We’re looking forward to playing battery-hogging games for 10 hours at a time to properly test it out.

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