The New iPad; A Missed Opportunity?

The new iPad was Apple’s BIG chance to continue keeping their position at the top of the tablet market and perhaps guaranteeing it will stay that way before Windows 8 comes out. Regardless of W8 being a success or a flop, there will be a big shift in the tablet computers market as pretty much all the companies competing will put out a device running Redmond’s latest. From what we’ve seen so far W8 will marry the touch interface with an option to access the classic windows desktop interface, a very attractive concept, the idea that will sell enough devices to shake Apple’s dominance. So did Apple release the right product given the upcoming battle? Not even close!

Focusing on the wrong upgrades!

Don’t get me wrong! This is a stunning display! Just imagine holding 2048 x 1536 resolutions, 3.1 million Pixels in your hands! That’s fantastic, necessary? Nope! You can barely tell the difference at the first glance! Did we even need a bump in resolution? Not really! Maybe Full HD but there’s not much multimedia content available for this resolution and even if it did, it won’t be that impressive on a 9” display.

Still the same CPU but an upgraded quad core GPU which is mainly there to handle the retina display! There’s no big performance improvement between iPad 2 and the new iPad when it comes to online surfing, gaming and day to day use.

Ok! by now everyone knows using your iPad to take photos is not the best idea! But having the camera for video calling is of course required so any upgrade in that department is welcomed, but why the front camera is not improved?! With all the faster internet connections Apple surely we can have added a HD front facing camera for a better Face Time experience!

It’s great to have the latest mobile connection technologies, but many countries don’t even support 4g yet! but it’s a good upgrade nonetheless.

What should they have focused on instead?

Product design is without a doubt one of Apple’s main strengths, so why releasing the same design again? A thinner, lighter and more portable device would have guaranteed iPad 2 owner’s upgrade as well as expanding Apple’s reach to Androiders! Something attractive that leaves you with no doubt whereas now all Apple’s done is leaving people with questions and second guessing wehtehr they should upgrade.

A Quad Core cpu to stay at top of the hardware race. The technology is there so why hang on to the dual core? Apple tends to provide a good balance between and the Hardware and Software and usually ignore the hardware race but this time it was different, they should have foreseen the future better and make a device that will stand the aftermath of W8. The most desired SD card reader and HDMI output would have been a great addition too. We know apple will never add USB or Stylus support! But this is something that they could have done.

iPad’s current battery life is great, can easily last a day but this is the area where apple could again make a huge jump and leave the completion behind, instead all they’ve done is trying to keep the same 10hrs which has caused the new device to become slightly warmer perhaps the side effect of the retina display.

When iPad came out I gave it a few months to see how the reviews will turn out and when I finally got it I was very happy with my experience and thought this is a great bridge between my desktop and phone. When iPad 2 came out I was very excited and got it right away! The hardware upgrade was the key factor for me and again I was pleased with the product. When the new iPad was released however, for the first time I had no desire what so ever to get it! It took me just three weeks to find time to go check it out and it was disappointing and really made me wonder whether if Steve Job was still alive had he done the same? On the other hand, I’m looking forward to Windows 8 slate and the opportunities that Microsoft will bring to the table. Where Apple failes to hear customers voice, Microsoft usually listen!