Apple’s New iPad 3

The voice dictation isn’t much good, and those who want to plug in a USB hub will be disappointed. Everyone else will find the retina display and better graphics a delight

In answer to your first question: yes, there is a difference. In answer to your second: yes, you can actually see the difference. It’s subtle, and yet it’s definitely there.

I’m talking, of course, of the “Retina Display” on the new iPad (which is what Apple seems to be calling it – no marketing niceties such as “iPad 3″ or “iPad HD”). With much fanfare, Tim Cook unveiled it last week and the world said “wow!” or “is that all?”, depending on the viewer’s disposition. Expectations had been cranked high (about touch displays – ahem), but after so many had wrongly forecast the coming of the retina display last year (overplaying Moore’s Law), expectations were about right this time. But the incremental updates that Apple is making – having established this sector – don’t satisfy those who would like more, all at once.

So the key question is whether the new iPad is “wow!” or “huh”.