Should You Upgrade to the New iPad?

[Ed Hardy]

With the release of the third-generation iPad, those who already own an earlier version are asking themselves, "Should I upgrade to the latest model?" The answer depends on whether you have the original or the iPad 2.

TabletPCReview already published an article on this topic, but I wanted to share my own thoughts. If you haven't read the TPCR article:

Are the Old Apple iPads Really Obsolete?

General Improvements
The screen on the new iPad is still 9.7 inches, but it has four times the resolution of its predecessors. This makes it ideal for displaying high-res photographs and playing games that are designed for this screen.

The third-generation iPad also has 4G LTE, while the two earlier models have 3G. This means it's generally faster when downloading web pages, emails, etc.

The change that I find *the most useful though is the increase in RAM -- Apple's latest tablet has 1GB (twice that of its predecessors). The earlier models had an irritating limitation: in the web browser, if you were switching between two large web page, *there often wasn't enough RAM to hold both, so each page would have to keep re-loading every time you switched back to it. This does not happen with the new iPad.

I have on occasion experienced the heating issue that has been so discussed, but to me it's no big deal. In certain circumstances, like when watching video for long periods of time, the corner of my device with the processor will get warm, but not hot. Most of time it doesn't happen. For example, I'm writing this post on my tablet, and there is no trace of the processor heating up.

Apple iPad (2010)
Apple's first tablet is just starting to show its age. It's still quite capable of handling basic tasks, like email, web browsing, and many games. But its 1GHz single-core processor is not up to handling the most advanced games and apps, which were created for a dual-core CPU.

If you are looking for a tablet for just accessing the Web and keeping in touch with your friends and/or coworkers by social networking for email, the first-generation iPad is still a good option. But if you want to do more, *you should consider upgrading.

Apple iPad 2 (2011)
The situation is different with Apple's second tablet, as the new iPad is less significant an improvement over last year's. The both have the same 1GHz dual-core CPU, for example. And while the new version has a quad-core graphics processing unit, it also has four times as many pixels to work with. As a result, there's only a slight improvement in overall *performance.

So unless you need one of more of the features I covered in "General Improvements", your iPad 2 is probably still the right tablet for you.

My Story
I bought the first iPad the day it launched, back in 2010. Since then it has become the computer I use most for personal use when I'm at home, *and my primary computer when I'm traveling for business.

I skipped the iPad 2 because I didn't think it was enough of an upgrade. That's why I was eagerly looking forward to the latest model, and bought it on the day it hit the market.
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[jemyclarke]

Apple products have a well earned reputation for stylish ground breaking designs and intuitive easy to use interfaces and operating systems. I have iPad 3 which is one of mine favorite tablet. I am waiting for iPad 5.

[alicepattinson]

It's up to you if want to upgrade to a new model. For me, yupz I will be upgrading. Every new model has a new spec on it

[dennis.d]

How about iPad mini? I am interested in ipad application development ...

[RickStoryLeather]

I work for a custom leather case company called StoryLeather, so we deal with a lot of iPads and covers for them. Asking about upgrading is something we ask our customers so we find it REALLY is up to the user and what they are looking to accomplish. What do you guys think?

[chill2]

I have just bought the new ipad not a bid difference really