Garmin

Apple personally invited select members of the press to announce its new iPad which it called “awesome” and “revolutionary”. At the conclusion of the 90-minute Apple love fest, it was obvious from many tech blogs and traditional outlets that the Kool-Aid had been liberally consumed with posts of something amazing. I wasn’t fooled.

Let’s take a look at what was really updated in the next-generation iPad. The CPU was bumped from the A5 to the A5X which includes a quad-core graphics processor. The camera was upgraded to 5-megapixel with an ƒ/2.4 aperture and a five-element lens. The Retina display with 2048-by-1536-pixel resolution was added which now supports 1080p video. Bluetooth 4.0 technology and a microphone were also added. If you’d like, you can also now opt for “4G” LTE. So it’s obvious, let’s list this:

A5X with quad-core graphics5-megapixel with an ƒ/2.4 aperture and a five-element lensRetina display with 2048-by-1536-pixel resolutionBluetooth 4.0LTE

In contrast to the Droid offering from ASUS, Toshiba, and Samsung, Apple has not set a wide distance between it and the competition. Certainly, the Retina display is impressive, I will not discount it, but revolutionary? Maybe two years ago with the release of the original iPad or even possibly last year but not this year. No, I think the word Apple missed was expected.

Speaking of expected, LTE showed up and Apple’s PR machine tried to spin that by stating it supported more networks than any other device in the world. To a world that only knows one new one, um, LTE, that claim means little. No, I think the proper word needed here was tardy.

Well, what about the camera you ask? 5-megapixel. ASUS’ announced Transformer Pad Infinity 700 will sport 8-megapixel, LED flash, HD video, and f2.2 aperture. Let’s see, that is 3-megapixels better, some light for dark situations, and a wee bit more light to let into that lens. Even Toshiba’s Excite X10 LE matches the new iPad plus an LED flash. Heck, Apple even beat itself with the iPhone 4S optics. Let’s see, the word Apple needed to describe the camera was…lackluster.

One would point out the quad-core system-on-a-chip graphics A5X and it’s stellar performance for video games. The demos given were striking to say the least and I would agree. The graphics are stunning and even breathtaking at times but in light of Apple’s amazing and dazzling marketing skills in whole, again, it’s not profound enough to warrant the show given it. My choice word here is overblown.

That leaves Bluetooth 4 and ironically it’s my favorite feature. I have been completely dismayed by previous incarnations of Bluetooth and Apple’s implementation of it. Since purchasing my iPhone 4S, Apple has finally nailed it. Connections are precise and consistent. Audio quality is dramatically improved in both sonic and clearness. In short, Bluetooth 4 rocks and only the iPad has it for tablets. Is that far-reaching? No but impressive just the same. My selection here is well-done.

The summary of the findings here, if we are to be honest, is that the new iPad has no true innovation. It is a mere small step in improvement. I will not discount the screen, the graphics, and retained battery life, but I also will not join the silly dernier cri as it struts down the Milan runway.

Apple is well crafted down to who it chooses to cover these events. It leaves nothing to chance and does very well for itself by controlling everything. Unfortunately, the man behind the current will be revealed and many will remove the Apple Illusion Glasses from their nose and see clearly. I fear for Apple that it will carry on with this pace while Google does what Microsoft did to Apple in the 80s and pass right by it while – gasp shall I even write this? – Microsoft innovated. Sure, it copied the Mac but Microsoft did push the envelope while Apple kept patting itself on the back. Google, too, has copied Apple and it’s hungry. It has successfully overtaken the smartphone market and now it can concentrate on tablets. True innovation is coming.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 9th, 2012 at 9:57 and is filed under Analysis & Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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