Ever since I for my new ipad 64 gb, I really could care less what phone I have. I don't play games on it anymore whatsoever, main thing is browse internet and read news and sports stuff. So it may be best to get an android or windows 8 phone to have the best of both worlds. The only thing kind of keeping me backwould be all the universal gamesthat I have, cause it is kindof nice just loading gamesup on my iphone to see how they look. But really, I could care less what I have as a phone, probably will get the iphone 5 next May when I can upgrade,but will look seriously at the windows 8 phones due to stuff made for the Microsoft surfaceto see if anything good comes from surface games. But time around probably will go with the iphone 5, cause I have over 5000 apps for it, and the 4g seems hella cool.
With a 1024 x 768 resolution, the ppi will go up to 163 which is a tidy jump from the current 132 ppi that the iPad 2 has. That's exactly what pre retina iPhones had. It's the iPad 3 refresh that has me really interested at this stage though. I was sure they would upgrade the connector, which would be quite logical and wouldn't alienate current iPad 3 owners too much. But a processor upgrade will cause a bit of a pr problem. And put into doubt as to whether there will be such a thing as an iPad 4 in march. If they do that, will they go the same route as the iPhone 4S did (normal june iphone release switched to october) and switch the yearly release schedule to a different month If it happens, processor upgrade for iPad 3, I'll have to jump on that one as I skipped the iPad 3 originally because I didn't think the processor was strong enough to push retina screen and high end gaming but an over clocked a6 might just be the job. Of course, the processor upgrade is speculation at this stage. The connector change is pretty much a definite. I'm very interested at this stage simply just to see how they do handle the potential pr problem of a refreshed iPad 3. Edit. I've noticed as well that the kindle fire is being heavily advertised at the moment.
You keep talking behind my back... Trust me, I won't be changing at all, I don't understand how Apple can use the Connector name, after all I have it trademarked here on Toucharcade!
I'm curious, do you mean developers won't create games that make use of a better processor, or it can't handle current games? I've had my iPad 3 for a few months now and I've yet to find a game it can't run pretty much flawlessly.
Well developers of course will maximise for the processor. The problem I saw was framerate drops primarily on graphics intensive games. The performance of the iPad 2 and iPad 3 is very similar in relation to gpu performance which is a bit ironic really. I saw the problem as being the chip upgrade wasn't enough in relation to the screen upgrade because of the amount of power needed to push the resolution and the pixels basically nullified the chip advantage over the iPad 2. Plus as of yet, not many games (as in percentage wise, not outright numbers) run at full resolution. Generally their working at a percentage of it, more than iPad 2 but still not full retina. I know many claim to support iPad 3 retina but its not full res for a lot. Of course some do, but as an overall percentage, the majority don't. Essentially, the number of pixels and the massive resolution needed more than an a5 chip upgrade, the a5x just wasn't enough. That's not to say games don't run well, they do, but in order to get a good framerate a lot have to reduce the maximum res down to about (roughly) three quarter or two thirds of full res. and games with extensive effects have great difficulty running res and effects. For example, infinity blade 2 runs at about two thirds full res (can't remember exact number off top of my head). NOVA 3 can run at full res but can't run the effects (depth of field, motion blur, etc) at the same time so if you want the effects, you have to switch it to iPad 2 res. Of course you'd have to very particular (unfortunately I am) for this to be a problem. As I had an iPad 2 at the time of its launch, I just thought the chip upgrade for the iPad 3 was just about enough to run the screen, but only just, so I said I'd wait for the iPad 4 and a better paired chip. I think an overclocked a6 (with the gig of ram that ipad 3 already has) will do that job better. Edit, I had meant to keep it short but then went off on a spiral, sorry bout that.
Typical, Apple and their lack of respect for other trademarks. Here's hoping this doesn't turn into the same battle as the iPad name trademark problem with Proview International. Although, Proview did get 60 million dollars in the end, so you just need to contact some trademark lawyers and cash in. (Insert appropriate smiley face) And don't worry about the cash, it only took Apple three hours and twenty minutes to make that money back (based on final quarter 2011 financial results). True story. If only you're first name was "lightning", you'd make some real money then.
If the iPad 3 sees a refresh with only an a6 chip, don't get it. I repeat: don't get it. You will have exactly the same problems I have with my "old" iPad 3: you will not be able to push games at retina resolution. Period. I know in some other thread I shared the numbers and graphs with you, maybe it was the mc4 thread, but the a6 is an increase only in CPU speed. That's great for opening apps and loading times, and it will certainly keep things running smoothly when you have 50 enemies onscreen with ragdoll physics calculations and advanced AI, but it won't help you at all in running, say, NOVA 3, in full retina resolution + full effects. Actually, I've thought and researched a lot about this problem, and I guess I'll spit out my thoughts on it now and we'll see what the keynote brings. As I see it, Apple has put itself in a quandrary. The A6 chip is overall the most powerful mobile chipset on the market, period. The a5x matches it in GPU power but has the same CPU as the a5. Now both these chips are worlds away superior to their android counterparts in GPU power, see the graph I attached for just one point of reference. There is really no comparison. However, as we all know, a GPU creates a lot of heat. There was a bug fuss made over overheating with the new iPad, and in large part it was true. The GPU just heats the thing up like crazy. There really is no way to dispel the heat effectively. So how are we going to see a significantly more powerful mobile GPU? Apple needs to figure out what to do with the heat and how to power the hungry monster. And that is where they are in a bind. The new iPad is not powerful enough to suit my needs. I don't want, as the average consumer, my shiny new iPad to groan and creak when pushing retina resolution gaming. But as an educated individual, I know that 2048x1536 is just plain insane. Consoles crank out games typically in around 500p upscaled, while anything less than a dedicated gaming PC will have a ton of trouble pushing a heavy game like Battlefield or Arkham in 1080p. So why did Apple think their mobile iPad was good enough to push 1536p? Moreover, how is the iPad 4 or iPad 3s going to solve the problem? Bigger GPU? That sucks battery and produces craploads of heat. No going to work unless significant advances are made in battery and heat dispeltion technology. Mea culpa for the long post.
Holy crap, now I dunno whether to upgrade to an iPod touch 5 or just grab this awesome-looking iPad mini!!! I'm torn!!!
Pretty cheap at $329 for base model. I might get one. $429 for 32GB. $519 for 64GB. edit - scratch that. No retina display
