Apple's new iPad 3 is hot! And we're not just talking about its superb Retina Display and image editing capabilities; it's physically toasty too!

Testing the new tablet alongside its iPad 2 predecessor, Dutch website Tweakers.net took thermal images of the two Apple tablets with an infra-red camera, which revealed interesting results.

While the iPad 2 hit a maximum of 28.3-degrees Celsius, the new iPad reached a temperature of 33.6-degrees Celsius, up 5.3-degrees on the older model. In Fahrenheit terms, that's 92.5-degrees for the new iPad, and the iPad 2 hitting 82.9-degrees, a difference of less than 10 degrees.

Tested after just 5 minutes of use, and without direct sunlight adding to the strain, it's a fair increase for the Apple slate. Of course, Apple have safety measures built into the tablet that switches the device off when it hits a certain temperature, but palms may get a little sweatier with this slate than Apple's previous offerings. Best get a waterproof, slick-resistant cover, eh?

It must have been a bit of a worry for Apple as they entered the run up to the new iPad 3 launch: how many people have a tablet or an iPad already, how many of those want to upgrade again (potentially year-on-year), and how many fence-sitters will bother to cough up the cash when it comes to time to make the jump?

Thankfully for Apple, it seems all those questions have been answered emphatically positively. In just the first weekend of the iPad 3 being on sale alone, the Cupertino company have managed to shift roughly 3 million new tablets.

That's the equivalent of roughly 42,000 an hour or 694 iPads sold every minute, showing demand is as strong as ever for Apple's "game-changer".

"The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold - the strongest iPad launch yet," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

And to think, it hasn't even completed its global roll-out yet! While the UK, US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Switzerland and the US Virgin Islands got day-one access to the iPad 3 on March 16th, a further 25 countries will get the iPad this Friday.

In other words, expect those figures to continue to soar well into next week.

RELATED | HANDS-ON: New iPad 3 initial review

Following a conference call this afternoon detailing the plans for their $100 billion cash reserves, Apple have announced that they will be investing ten billion dollars in a share repurchasing scheme.

Bascially, Apple will be spending the next three years buying stock in ... er... Apple. Which, considering the Cupertino company's current stratospheric popularity, probably isn't a bad idea.

Apple will also be making regular dividend payments to existing shareholders, serving up its first quarterly dividend of $2.65 a share in the last quarter of 2012. According to the Financial Times, that's a dividend yield of 1.8 per cent; less than Microsoft, but higher than that of IBM. Dividend payments will likely hit around $2.5 billion dollars per quarter.

Between dividend payments and share repurchases, Apple are thought to have allocated around $45 billion of their reserves for the next three years. Not that that should make too much of a dent in the company's fortunes, riding high on the back of the new iPad 3 launch, and with a new MacBook Air/Pro line and iPhone 5 both expected to land before the Autumn.

Apple will host an open conference call this afternoon to announce what they have planned for their massive $100 billion cash reserves sitting in the bank, following pressure from a number of investors.

"Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, and Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO, will host a conference call to announce the outcome of the Company's discussions concerning its cash balance," reads a company statement sent out on Sunday 18 March.

The sum equates to roughly £60 billion, and allows the company the freedom to research and develop new products without having to chase investors. Despite the reserves, Apple still attract significant investment every year, with shares currently sitting at $600.

Plenty of rumours are churning concerning Apple's plans, with longs shots such as a possible buyout of Twitter and a share dividend for shareholders being bandied around.

One thing is certain; there will be now new product news, or sales figures concerning the recent launch of the new iPad 3:

"Apple will not be providing an update on the current quarter nor will any topics be discussed other than cash," reads the statement.

RELATED | HANDS-ON: New iPad 3 initial review

Were you one of the lucky gadget fans able to get your mitts on Apple's new iPad 3rd generation, hitting stores all over the globe today? Good for you! You've got quite the weekend ahead of you, nonchalantly stroking away at the tablet's swanky new Retina Display as your friends look on enviously.

Thankfully, there are already loads of apps taking advantage of the Retina Display. Becca Caddy, editor of our sister site Shiny Shiny, has pulled together her favourite new high-res apps. Check out her top picks below!

We're waiting with bated breath on official news of the 2012 MacBook Pro refresh, with strong evidence supporting theories that the Apple laptop range is to get a super-slim makeover that will see the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air lines merge, under the simple "MacBook" umbrella.

According now to rumour mongers DigiTimes, the new-look models are now in production, with Apple looking to shift between 100,000 to 150,000 units of their 13-inch and 15-inch models per month following the launch.

Though more powerful than the current MacBook Air lines and comparable to current Pros, the new-look line is expected to be drastically thinner in appearance, and likely lack an optical drive as a result, a feature that Apple seem increasingly to believe is unnecessary in the wake of the launch of the Mac Apps store.Though DigiTimes claim that production on a separate Pro line has also begun, that doesn't sit well with the growing momentum behind the idea of the two lines merging. Just look at the recent "new" iPad launch, bringing the brand back to basics rather than adding a "HD", "3" or "3rd generation" suffix.

But what of the 17-inch MacBook Pro, so often favoured by road-weary creatives for visual editing thanks to its larger screen real estate? DigiTimes make no mention of its production.

Could this mean that Apple are looking to further streamline their laptop range, not only merging the Air and Pro lines, but doing away with larger laptops as they propel their users further into what CEO Tim Cook describes as the "post-PC age"?

It's possible, but unlikely. The 17-incher has always had a loyal following, with its larger size allowing for more powerful components and, naturally, a larger screen. It may simply be that industrial design constraints of powering and supporting the screen in a thinner form factor isn't currently possible.

We'd hazard a guess that a 17-incher is still in production, and will be considerably more powerful than the re-worked 15-inch and 13-inch thin Pro models. Perhaps even the 17-incher will retain the optical drive in the thicker chassis, and become the sole laptop to bear the MacBook "Pro" title.

With the new MacBook updates now expected to be revealed next month, we likely won't have to wait long to have these rumours quashed, and our questions answered.

Apple's new iPad 3rd generation has gone on sale, with queues wrapping around the block outside the Cupertino tech manufacturer's retail stores as fans clamour to get their hands on the latest tablet first.

And according to findings by leading trade-in service SellMyMobile, there's been a 324% trade-in rise in tablets during the month leading up to the launch of the new iPad compared to average months.

As you'd expect, it's last year's iPad 2 model that's being sold most often, making up 79% of tablet trade-ins, followed by the BlackBerry PlayBook (10 per cent) and then the Samsung Galaxy Tab range (8 per cent).

"With so many new tablets coming on to the market, it can be frustrating when you fork out for a new device only for a better model to launch a few months later," said SellMyMobile's MD Keir McConomy.

"That's why we are seeing a new trend of tech-hungry consumers trading-in their old models and putting the money towards the latest device, which explains why there has been such a spike in iPad sales ahead of the new iPad launch."

So what can you get for your old iPad 2? Depending on the item's condition SellMyMobile offer £240 for the iPad 2 16GB Wi-Fi only model, stretching up to £315 for the iPad 2 64GB Wi-Fi and 3G. Not bad, if you don't fancy the hassle of dealing with eBay buyers.

RELATED | HANDS-ON: New iPad 3 initial review
New iPad 3:UK network deals (Three, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Orange, O2)

NOW UPDATED TO INCLUDE T-MOBILE AND VODAFONE PRICE PLANS.

The hour is nearly upon us; by 8 o'clock tomorrow morning the first New iPad (3rd generation) will have been trotted out of a UK Apple store, back to the home of a beaming new tablet owner. If you're sitting on the fence about grabbing one, read our initial review; our gut reaction says to go for it, you won't be disappointed.

But if you're splashing the cash on a build of the tablet with mobile broadband connectivity options, you're also going to need a data plan to go with it. Practically all the major UK networks have now made announcements on their pricing structures, and we thought it be handy to put all the info in one place for you so that you get the best deal possible. We'll also be updating this post with further details as the remaining networks make announcements too.

Note:

With the UK still dragging its heels when it comes to divvying out the 4G spectrum, the iPad 3's superfast mobile broadband speeds won't be available in Blighty. All network plans here therefore refer to 3G data plans and their corresponding speeds, but even they should be slightly faster thanks to improved antenna tech in Apple's newest slate. Either way, they're future-proofed for when the new network tech does eventually go live.

Three

Three were first out of the blocks with their iPad 3rd gen pricing structures, with upfront costs for the subsidised tablet starting at £99, with each deal offering a generous 15GB monthly allowance.

To grab a 16GB Wi-Fi + 4G version of the new iPad, it'll cost you £99 plus £29 per month on a 24 month contract. For a larger upfront cost of £159, you can get the same model on a a £25 per month, 24 month contract.

The 32GB Wi-Fi + 4G version will cost £169 up front on a £29 per month, 24 month contract. A larger upfront cost of £229 will put the monthly charge down to £25.

To grab the 64GB whopper, it will cost £249 up front, on a £29 per month contract for two years. Cough up £299 up front, and that monthly charge falls to £25 per month.

Three will also offer their customers pay monthly deals on the new 4G enabled iPad. In this case, the hardware prices are set at the standard £479 (16GB), £549 (32GB) and £629 (64GB) prices. The pay monthly plans to accompany them will set you back £15 per month for 10GB of data, or £7.50 per month for 1GB.

O2

While O2 won't be selling the iPad 3rd gen themselves, they'll be offering data plans for customers looking to utilise their network.

Their pay-as-you-go surf plans cost £2.04 a day for 200MB and unlimited Wi-Fi, £10.21 over 30 days (recurring) for 1GB, and unlimited Wi-Fi, or alternatively £15.32 over 30 days (recurring) for 2GB and unlimited Wi-Fi.

Data allowance through O2 is also doubled for every third "top-up" users make, with the packages available to be changed and controlled from the iPad itself.

Orange

Orange are keen to keep their existing customers happy, and will offer cheaper upfront prices for the new iPad if you're already signed on with their network.

Therefore, existing customers will pay £199 for the 16GB Wi-Fi + 4G new iPad, £249 for the 32GB Wi-Fi + 4G new iPad and £349 for the 64GB Wi-Fi + 4G new iPad. New customers on the other hand will pay £299 for the 16GB Wi-Fi + 4G new iPad, £279 for the 32GB Wi-Fi + 4G new iPad and £379 for the 64GB Wi-Fi + 4G new iPad.

After that, data plans for all models are set at £25 a month for 24 months. That bags you 1GB of anytime data as well as 1GB of "Quiet Time Data" from Midnight to 4pm in the afternoon, as well as unlimited access to the BT Openzone Wi-Fi hotspots dotted around the country.

If you're in the market for a new phone too, Orange also offer deals that bundle various iPhone models in with the new iPad. Details of those bundles can be found here.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile have now sent Tech Digest the details of their price plans too. A 16GB Wi-Fi and 4G new iPad from the network costs £229 upfront, with a £25 per month plan over 24 months. That gives 1GB of anytime data allowance a month, and an extra 1GB of "Quiet Time" data from Midnight to 10am.

For a 32GB Wi-Fi and 4G new iPad, it'll set you back £279 upfront, with the same monthly cost and data allowances as with the 16GB model.

If you're an existing T-Mobile customer, you can get a cheaper deal on the 32GB Wi-Fi and 4G model, costing just £249. The same monthly payment/data allowances as above apply.

Vodafone

Vodafone too have announced their data deals for the new iPad, and offer plenty of options and price points.

We'll start with the 16GB Wi-Fi and 4G model. On a 24 month, £27 a month plan, you can grab the new iPad for £199, complete with a monthly allowance of 2GB of data, and 1GB BT Openzone Wi-Fi. It's then £15 for each extra 1GB of data.

Vodafone also offer rolling monthly plans on the 16GB iPad, with an upfront cost of £499. £15 a month bags you 2GB of data, and 1GB BT Openzone Wi-Fi. It's then £15 for each extra 1GB of data. Alternatively, for a monthly cost of £7.50, you get 500MB UK data, then £7.50 for each extra 500MB.

Moving on now to the 32GB Wi-Fi and 4G model. On a 24 month, £27 a month plan, you can grab the 32GB new iPad for £275, complete with a monthly allowance of 2GB of data, and 1GB BT Openzone Wi-Fi. It's then £15 for each extra 1GB of data.

Vodafone also offer rolling monthly plans on the 32GB iPad too, with an upfront cost of £569. £15 a month bags you 2GB of data, and 1GB BT Openzone Wi-Fi. It's then £15 for each extra 1GB of data. Alternatively, for a monthly cost of £7.50, you get 500MB UK data, then £7.50 for each extra 500MB.

Lastly, the 64GB Wi-Fi and 4G model. On a 24 month, £27 a month plan, you can grab the 32GB new iPad for £345, complete with a monthly allowance of 2GB of data, and 1GB BT Openzone Wi-Fi. It's then £15 for each extra 1GB of data.

Vodafone also offer rolling monthly plans on the 64GB iPad if you don't fancy being tied for two years to the same deal, with an upfront cost of £645. £15 a month bags you 2GB of data, and 1GB BT Openzone Wi-Fi. It's then £15 for each extra 1GB of data. Alternatively, for a monthly cost of £7.50, you get 500MB UK data, then £7.50 for each extra 500MB.

All models are available in black or white.

Alternatively, a 30 day SIM only plan is available with usage alerts to your iPad for £15.00 per month offering a 2GB UK data allowance with 1GB of BT Openzone included.

Tesco Mobile

Tech Digest have reached out to Tesco Mobile regarding iPad 3 plans, and will update this post once we get word back from them.

RELATED | HANDS-ON: New iPad 3 initial review

Western Digital's My Book Thunderbolt Duo Dual-Drive is now up for sale after first being revealed at January's MacWorld 2012 show.

Making use of the new superfast Thunderbolt data transfer standard, the My Book Thunderbolt Duo Dual-Drive can be equipped with dual RAID 0, 1 and JBOD options for between 4 TB/6 TB of storage capacity.

Offering two channels of up to 10Gb/s transfer rate in both directions (equating to roughly 700MB/sec read and 500MB/sec write speeds), the unit also supports daisy-chaining over Thunderbolt for hooking up further storage devices or other Thunderbolt-enabled hardware like monitors.

"The My Book Thunderbolt Duo offers large storage capacities for creative professionals and enthusiasts who produce, edit, or need quick access to large files, including HD video," said Jody Bradshaw, general manager of WD consumer storage solutions.

"Its dual Thunderbolt ports provide amazing creative flexibility while allowing daisy-chaining of up to six My Book Thunderbolt Duo drives or other high performance peripherals for fast and efficient workflow. The combination of storage, backup, security, flexibility and speed makes the My Book Thunderbolt Duo the ideal choice for creative professionals that need to write, store, protect and edit high-definition and graphic intensive projects."

Grab one here for £579.90.

Now that the big iPad launch is out of the way, it's time to focus on one of the more interesting launches from Apple this year; their rumoured drastic overhaul of the MacBook line.

According to the fine folks over at Electric Pig, the latest MacBook refresh will land sometime next month in April. An anonymous Apple accessory vendor at the CU Exposed event in London yesterday spilled the beans, revealing that they're already lining up products to go with Apple's new models, ready to enter into production within 90 days.

However, rather than be a standard spec upgrade of the MacBook Pro (a refresh now fairly overdue), it'll be a 15 inch MacBook Air according to the source. With the Air only previously available in 11 and 13-inch sizes, it'll see the two MacBook lines overlap even more. Or potentially, replace the current MacBook Pro 15-inch build altogether.

It also ties in with some rumours that the MacBook Pro and Air lines are to be combined, streamlining Apple's laptop range. This makes sense when you think again back to the iPad launch; rather than call it the iPad 3, or iPad HD, we're back to plain old iPad. We wouldn't be surprised if the "Air" and "Pro" suffixes are dropped altogether.

The way Apple approach their latest line of MacBook's is particularly pertinent this year. Much of the new iPad launch last week centred around tablets as the device to lead us into the "post-PC" age. They'll be looking to back that claim up with a drastically revised laptop.

But this also brings with it its own concerns. While we're all for the svelte lines of the Air range, we also still hope to see the processing grunt and connectivity options of the MacBook Pro left in tact. Is this even possible on a superslim "MacBook Air Pro"?

We don't know yet. If there's one criticism regularly levelled at Apple portable computers, it's that their high price doesn't match the relatively low specs that the machines tend to ship with. If a slim, light design comes at the further expense of performance, you'll likely see the MacBook Pro faithful up in arms.

Via: Electric Pig

Last night Apple launched its latest iPad device, referred to officially as just "the iPad", but we're all obviously going to be naming it the new iPad 3 or 3rd gen iPad to avoid any confusion.

Despite there being no HUGE ground-breaking new features, if you go through the checklist of things tech insiders had hoped to find in the new iPad, Apple has pretty much ticked them all off. Retina Display? Check. Faster processor? Check. Better cameras and image editing options? Check. 4G mobile downloads? Check.

In that regard it really is hard to fault the new iPad, and those who've been sitting on the fence about whether to invest in a tablet or not really don't have any excuses any more. Of course those looking to upgrade from an iPad 2 or tech lovers who are strapped for cash might not be so convinced though.

So the big question is, will you be buying one? We want to know your thoughts, so click on your answer in our quick poll below. Or enter your own if you've got specific reasons as to why you're steering clear this time round...

The mini-Mozart in me just dusted off his conductor's baton, as after playing about at the new iPad launch event with the latest version of GarageBand, I think I've got a whole symphony in me.

That's because Apple have just updated their popular GarageBand multi-track recording app to include a new orchestral string section. Everything from violins, violas through to cellos and basses can now be added to your songs.

And thanks to the implementation of Smart Strings as a new Touch Instrument, you don't have to be John Williams to add an epic, classical swell to your songs. Simply select a key, how much you want the app to improvise from a single held note to a full run of notes and you're away. Individual elements of the 5-piece orchestra can be switched on and off for as bare or dramatic an effect as you require. You can even select from pre-set "moods", with the cinematic option proving particularly bombastic.

Manually controlling individual notes was a breeze. Slowly dragging down beneath the listed note of your choice would produce a sustained sound, while tapping would re-create the sound of a plucked string. As with all of GarageBand, it's beautifully simple and intuitive; having previously played in bands I know how much of a pain it can be trying to add a few simple strings to a song, but this makes it all incredibly easy.

Strings aren't the only new feature of the updated GarageBand app. There's now also a new Note Editor included, that lets you go back through a piece and remove the odd dodgy note where required, rather than having to back and chop up whole bars before re-recording.

Lastly, and perhaps most impressively, there's the new Jam Session feature. With it up to four people with iPads running GarageBand can hook up over Wi-Fi and contribute to the same single song in real-time, live. Each track is then pulled together onto the iOS device for further editing or mixing. It's the closest you're likely going to come to a true live studio recording experience when using GarageBand, and will likely prove very useful to Apple-friendly gangs of musicians and bands. Right now we're unable to confirm whether Jam Session supports tracks being recorded over the iPad's mic (or the numerous guitar and midi cable accessories for that matter), but it would be truly excellent if it can.

As yet it's unknown as to whether or not the new GarageBand features will hit older versions of Apple's tablet, but for the sake of all the budding bedroom musicians who live by it, we sincerely hope so.

RELATED| Hands-On: New iPad 3 initial review

Armed with a new A5X quad-core graphics chip and super-sharp high resolution Retina Display, the new iPad is looking even more an intimidating gaming machine than its already-impressive preprocessors.

This was no better displayed than with Namco's new flight-sim game, Sky Gamblers. The first of the next wave of super-HD iPad apps, the game pits you against waves of enemy jet fighters in bouts of touch-and-motion based dogfighting.

Sky Gamblers is massively impressive in motion; the screen is constantly filled with action, with tens of full 3D modelled fighters darting around the sky-high battlegrounds at once. Lighting effects such as lens-flare, reflective metallic surfaces and shimmering ocean waves look superb, genuinely pushing up towards what you'd usually expect from a home HD console.

It's exciting stuff, and if Apple can corner hardcore games developers just as well as they've previously courted the casual gaming teams, the new iPad may surprise even the most dedicated of console fans.

Scroll up for a video of Sky Gamblers in action at tonight's launch event.

RELATED| Hands-On: New iPad 3 initial review

iOS 5.1, the latest version of Apple's touch-based mobile operating system, is now available to download for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch users.

Launching alongside the Retina Display packing new iPad, iOS 5.1's biggest new feature is tailored for Japanese audiences, bringing Siri support to the land of the rising sun.

To grab the update, either hook your iOS device up to iTunes through your computer, or use the Software Update feature within iOS to carry out an over-the-air, cable free update.

Apple list the full line up of changes as follows:

o Japanese language support for Siri (availability may be limited during initial rollout)

o Photos can now be deleted from Photo Stream

o Camera shortcut now always visible on Lock Screen for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch (4th generation)

o Camera face detection now highlights all detected faces

o Redesigned Camera app for iPad

o Genius Mixes and Genius playlists for iTunes Match subscribers

o Audio for TV shows and movies on iPad optimized to sound louder and clearer

o Podcast controls for playback speed and a 30 second rewind for iPad

o Updated AT&T network indicator

o Addresses bugs affecting battery life

o Fixes an issue that occasionally caused audio to drop for outgoing calls

RELATED| Hands-On: New iPad 3 initial review

"Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't create on an iPad," said Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller at the new iPad press conference this evening. Take one look at the new iPhoto app and you'll know exactly what he means.

Completing the iPhoto trinity on the iPad kicked off by Garageband and iMovie, the iPhoto app is a comprehensive, touch-based image editing application that when paired with the tablet's new five megapixel camera and high-resolution 2,048 by 1,536 pixel Retina display will likely prove a robust all-in-one solution for mobile photographers.

Using multi-touch gestures, double taps and pinches of the screen allows users to adjust everything from brightness and saturation levels, to simulated exposure enhancements, crops, filters and more. An intuitive UI that includes a "swatch" pallet-like menu makes even complex edits seem easy.

The app also includes a "Journals" feature, which lets users create a scrapbook from their camera roll which can be shared with pals over iCloud. The journals look great, with adjustable images intelligently falling into a customisable grid formation. You can even add widgets to the journals, which include calendar, map and weather details, with the app intelligently pairing up the info with the date and location details found in the photos you are arranging.

We were given a nifty run through of the app's main features, which can be seen in the video embedded above.

RELATED| Hands-On: New iPad 3 initial review

(This is a guest post from our pal Becca Caddy over at ShinyShiny.tv)

Although most people have been focusing on the news of the latest iPad device, Apple made a few other cool announcements at its big fancy event today in San Francisco, most notably the arrival of the new Apple TV.

The tech giant's CEO, Tim Cook, confirmed that it'd be launching a successor to its 2010 Apple TV on March 16th, the very same day the new iPad 3 is set to hit stores, but it can already be pre-ordered RIGHT NOW.

But is it REALLY worth getting excited about this most recent version? Well, maybe.

Before today's event there were a number of online rumours circulating that Apple was set to launch a TV of its own. Instead it's upgraded its set-top box that streams movies and TV shows to your current device, and although that's not a surprising move, it seems to have left some a little disappointed.

However, there are a few cool added features to Apple's latest TV box, like a sleek and revamped interface with a more iOS look and feel, complete with large icons and much easier navigation than before.

The Apple TV will allow wireless mirroring, through Apple's AirPlay, which means you can 'mirror' your computer screen, iPhone or iPad to your TV wirelessly.

The new version also has iCloud, so you can view content that you've already saved to the cloud storage service and even view embarrassing photos on HUGE screens with the Photo Stream app.

But, the main USP of the new Apple TV is that it allows for full 1080p video support, as apposed to the 720p from the last version. You can also re-download things you've already purchased in 1080p too, which is pretty cool.

Although there are a few key features added to the latest reincarnation of the Apple TV, its price is staying the same at $99 in the US and £99 here in the UK, which is pretty reasonable. A 'proper' Apple TV is still on the cards for the next year, but for the price this latest set-top device is worth it, particularly if you're up for taking advantage of the mirroring and iCloud services.

Via: ShinyShiny.tv

Apple have unveiled their latest tablet device, and rather than calling it the iPad 3 or iPad HD, they've opted to call it simply the "new iPad". Sporting a high-resolution Retina display, a quad-core A5X chip, 5MP iSight camera and even 4G LTE support in territories in which the mobile standard is available, it's quite a significant update.

We've posted our initial first-look impressions here, but we know you'd also love to have a look at the new tablet too! Scroll down below for our hands-on shots!

It's not the iPad 3. It's not the iPad HD. It's the "new iPad", a new Apple tablet device that the company are so confident marks a new step forward for the slate form factor as to do away with numeric naming conventions for the product line. As far as Apple is concerned, this is Year Zero for the iPad.

So what's so special about it? Tech Digest were invited down to an exclusive preview event tonight to try out the new tablet. Read on for our full initial thoughts, broken down into sections concerning each new feature.

Retina Display

Many analysts rightly predicted that the new iPad would sport a super-high resolution screen, and as with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, Apple have pushed in their Retina Display technology. Still in a 9.7 inch form factor, the Retina Display has a 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution. That adds up to 3.1 million pixels, approximately 1 million more than you'd see on an average 1080p HD TV. It looks as good as that sounds; text from iBooks content is so clear as to render individual pixels indistinguishable, photos edited in the new iPhoto app pop with colour and can be zoomed in for incredible definition. Sat side by side with an iPad 2, there was a significant difference in clarity across both screens.

A5X chip

Pushing that many more pixels requires a hell of a lot of graphical grunt, so there's a new A5X chip onboard the new iPad. Offering quad-core graphics capabilities, Apple stated that the A5X performs 4X better than the NVIDIA Tegra 3 mobile GPU. In some cases during our hands on session this really wowed us; the new Sky Gamblers Air Supremacy flight-sim game from Namco looked incredible, with graphics now truly rivalling the latest generation of console games, with plenty of action onscreen all at once. However, apps didn't load notably faster than on the iPad 2, and there were a few occasions when the new iPad would hang. It's clearly a capable chip however, and gamers have a lot to look forward to here. With Apple claiming the new iPad is good for 10 hours worth of use from a single battery charge, they may lose a lot of hours here.

5MP iSight camera

The introduction of the cameras in the iPad 2 proved to be a bit of a disappointment, but Apple seem to have righted the wrongs with the new iPad. They've introduced the iSight camera onto the rear of the tablet, capable of shooting 5MP stills. It's more or less the same as you'd find in the iPhone 4S, offering a five element lens, a hybrid IR filter, backside illumination, and Apple's own ISP. There's also 1080p recording onboard now too. Both stills and videos looked great on the iPad. Though the low light surroundings where we went hands-on with the new iPad weren't ideal, the resultant images we took were dramatically better than those shot on the iPad 2, and the roll of example images pre-loaded onto the device (which an Apple rep assured us were shot using the camera) looked great. When paired with the iPhoto app the tablet now offers a fairly robust shooting and on-the-go editing combo that will be irresistible to those who want one device to rule them all. Auto-stabilisation in video recording also helped remove shaky-hand camcorder syndrome in our brief test, and gave a feeling similar to when motion technologies are employed in flatscreen HDTVs.

Voice Dictation

So the new iPad doesn't have Siri, but it does have voice dictation, which is accessed simply by tapping a small microphone icon that now sits on the iPad software keyboard. Speaking into a hands-free mic, we said a few lines into the new dictation assistant, and were pleasantly surprised by the accuracy of the software. In the hustle and bustle of the launch event, it managed a 50-odd word chunk of text with only two errors, which was no mean feat considering the ambient sound and my cockney accent.

4G LTE support

The new iPad offers 4G LTE super-fast mobile broadband support. That's great news for US Apple fans, but not too much of a big deal as of yet for those in the UK, as the technology still hasn't rolled out over here. As a result, we were unable to test the mobile download speeds, but Apple have already confirmed US carriers such as AT&T and Verizon in the US. At least the new iPad is future-proofed for the upgrade once it hits here though, and with new trials rolling out this year, that's something to look forward to.

Apps

The only significant new app directly from the Apple stable was the iPhoto app. Completing the iLife trinity on iPad (flanked by Garageband and iMovie) it's a real showcase not only for the Retina Display, but also Apple's keen understanding of touch-based user interfaces. Everything from cropping to colour adjustments, contrast settings to light and saturation enhancements can be carried out simply by tapping and swiping away at the screen. There's even a Journal section, allowing to create a patchwork scrapbook of your favourite photos, which can have intelligent widgets added into them that offer info like calendar dates and even the weather (based on date and location of the image taken) squeezed in. It's a lovely app that scales down the complexity of something like Adobe Photoshop so that even your Nan could produce incredible snaps.

Garageband gets updated too, with the addition of smart orchestral strings (that literally had us smiling like a giddy child) and a new Jam Session feature. Jam Sessions let users connect up to four iPads together over Wi-Fi and record separate instruments in tandem, giving as close to a live recording experience as you're ever likely to get with the tablet based version of Garageband.

iMovie also gets a slight update, adding new cinematic trailer options, and a few tweaks to the UI that make editing clips together a little easier. Considering the 1080p camera onboard, this app is now likely to get a lot more use, and it seemed from our short test easy enough to hobble together a few basic cuts and fades.

Third party apps included an Autodesk touch based illustration app that also really shone on the Retina Display and a new Infinity Blade game called Infinity Blade Dungeons which looked much like a Diablo clone. While these two weren't available to test, we did grab a play of Namco's new flight simulator, Sky Gamblers Air Supremacy. An arcade-y dog fighting game, it looked stunning, with superb lighting effects making the jet you control shimmer. The game hurtled along at an incredible pace, with plenty of onscreen action and 3D jets all flying around at once. Throughout all the in-game chaos, the new iPad barely broke a sweat.

Dimensions

The new iPad is slightly thicker than the iPad 2 at 9.4mm, weighing 0.64kg. It's a negligible difference, and only the weediest arms will notice the extra strain. So close to the iPad 2 is the new iPad in terms of design that even the old Smart Covers work fine with it. Available in black and white, we still think the white chassis has the edge.

Initial Verdict

If you go through the checklist of things people had hoped to find in the new iPad, Apple have pretty much ticked them all off. Retina Display? Check. Faster processor? Check. Better cameras and image editing options? Check. 4G mobile downloads? Check. It's hard to fault the new iPad in this regard, and those sitting on the fence about grabbing a tablet really don't have any excuses any more. With the new iPad on sale across the globe from March 16th, expect to see many of these tablets out and about in just over a week's time.

The magic isn't as pronounced as when the iPad was first unveiled, but when it comes to tablets Apple are still in a league of their own. We can't wait to get some more time with the new iPad and really put it through its paces. You faithful Tech Digest readers will be the first to know our full overall verdict, so keep checking back for more iPad updates!

It's official, the new iPad device (which no one has actually referred to as 'the iPad 3' quite yet) is here and it comes with a whole host of new and exciting features.

Here's a quick and dirty rundown of the specs, keep checking back for more details and our take on the news throughout the night:

260 PPI Retina Display

A super sharp and detailed display is coming to the new iPad and its 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution screen, which the Apple team were keen to point out is 1 million more pixels than an HD TV. Wowsers.

As there are 264 pixels per inch, it's called a Retina Display.

The Apple rep said:

"Until you see it you can't understand how amazing it is."

Well, we can't wait to see it.

A5X Quad-Core Chip

This new chip will be a "graphics powerhouse" and is allegedly the best that's ever been added to a mobile device.

iSight Camera

An iSight camera on the front with a whole host of features, such as auto-exposure, auto-focus, auto-face detection, great edge-to-edge detail and AF-lock.

A new rear camera will run at 5MP and it's packing a backside illuminated sensor, 5 element lens and a hybrid IR filter too.

There's also HD video recording in 1080 resolution to boot.

Voice Dictation

Not to be mistaken for Siri, there's a new simple voice dictation tool inside your new iPad. There's a new key at the bottom of the keyboard when it pops up on screen, just tap that and your clever new iPad will write out everything you've been saying. For now it'll be supporting English, French, German and soon Japanese with the latest iOS update.

Other Stuff

The US prices are $499, $599 and $699 for 16GB, 32Gb and 64GB and pre-orders start today for those in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom (yay!), France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Austria. So far anyway.

The new device will still maintain the current 10 hour battery life of the iPad 2, with 9 hours on 4G, as it's built to act as a 4G hotspot.

It's 9.4mm thick and weighs 1.4 pounds.

We'll keep updating this story, so check back for more news.

Apple has just announced at its 'mystery' iPad 3 event that its latest version of iOS 5.1 will be available to download from today.

There's been little indication about the new features yet, but the main news is that the rumours from February were true, Siri has been busy learning Japanese, a fact Tim Cook has finally confirmed.

We'll keep updating this story, so check back for more news.