Apple Unveils New Higher-Resolution iPad
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Technology giant Apple unveiled a new iPad today that it said will take tablet computers to "a whole new level".
The computer will have higher resolution than ever before, a video recorder and a five megapixel camera with auto focus and auto exposure.
It will also have "voice dictation" which allows people to dictate straight to their computer rather than type.
Apple said the "retina display", which uses 3.1 million pixels on the 9.7 inch display screen, would have "the highest resolution display ever on a mobile device".
Another feature is a high speed 4G wireless network which will allow users to download pictures and films quicker than before.
Speaking via a video link from California, the company's CEO Tim Cook said: "It is amazing, we're taking it to a whole new level".
The tablet, which weighs 1.4lbs, will go on sale in the UK on March 16 for between £399 and £659.
Cook said: "We think that iPad is the poster child of the post PC world. The momentum behind iPad has been incredible and surprised nearly everyone".
Cook said the device was "showing up everywhere in the daily life of people, in their work life, in their play life, all around the world".
He added: "Everyone's been wondering who will come out with the product that is more amazing than the iPad2...well stop wondering. We are."
Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller, said the "retina display" technology would mean users would "see graphics and text sharper than you could imagine. Just beautiful".
Journalists at the event were shown examples of apps developed for the new iPad, which will have a 10-hour battery life, including photo editing software and games that use its enhanced display.
Cook said "gorgeous and groundbreaking" apps being developed for it would lead to more people using the iPad and in turn lead to more apps being developed.
He added that 2012 would see "a lot more of this kind of innovation, we are just getting started".
Apple also announced that the price of the iPad 2 would fall to between £329 and £429 after the launch of the new device.
Cook said it would mean "more people can afford to get into this ground breaking device".
Ernest Doku, tech expert at uSwitch.com, said the new iPad was "streets ahead" of its rivals.
He said: "With more horsepower under the bonnet, an all-new 5-megapixel camera and a mind-blowing display bringing higher definition images than the TVs in our homes, the new iPad certainly wows in the feature stakes.
"The addition of 4G capability is more relevant for the US market at the moment, but it shows how much Apple is really future-proofing its new tablet."
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First Posted: 7/03/2012 20:41 Updated: 7/03/2012 21:13