NEW IPAD ON THE WAY
HD screen, high- speed features have app developers scrambling.
As Apple was unveiling its new next generation ipad in San Francisco, in Vancouver, Scott Michaels’ phone was buzzing with calls from anxious clients.
That’s because Michaels is vice- president of Atimi Software, a development company that specializes in apps for the ipad and other mobile devices.
Wednesday’s announcement of a new ipad that has a new high- definition screen, a more powerful processor and works on faster networks, is sending companies that have ipad applications rushing to take advantage of the new features.
“I feel tense right now because my phone has been exploding with clients calling me about all the work they need to get done and now they have, what, 10 days for it to get done,” said Michaels.
Michaels joined a panel of Apple and technology experts in The Vancouver Sun newsroom to discuss Apple’s launch event, which also saw the company introducing an updated HD version of its Apple TV, a set- top box that will deliver up to 1080p- level resolutions.
Apple has started taking pre- orders for its new ipad in the United States, Canada and some other countries for a March 16 release date, the same day the new Apple TV will be available, with a Canadian price tag of $ 109. The nextgeneration ipad starts at $ 519 Cdn for the 16- gigabyte Wifi model, ranging up to the highestpriced version, the 64- GB Wifi and 4G model at $ 849.
The most noticeable difference in the look of the new ipad is Apple’s high- definition “retina” screen, which has four times the number of pixels of the ipad 2 screen. Apple also announced a new discounted price for the ipad 2, now starting at $ 419.
While the new ipad is an incremental upgrade over the ipad 2, some of the features will make a significant difference for ipad users, from people wanting to play games on the mobile device to businesses needing the increased processing power or better display for their apps.
“All the media and all the fashion that we deal with are going to be really excited about the display because they have a big thing about the quality of the fabrics and things like that when you’re zooming in, especially in retail,” said Michaels. “Those are certainly things they really care about so there is going to be a lot of work there on the fashion photography and entertainment apps.”
The consensus on Wednesday’s panel was that the new ipad will attract buyers who don’t have an earlier version ipad, but for people who have the ipad 2, which has been out in Canada only about a year, the changes aren’t significant enough to make them shell out another $ 519 or more for a new model.
“There are no new products, there are updates to existing products,” said Morten RandHendricksen, a panelist and owner of Metro Vancouver’s digital media company, Pink and Yellow Media.
“This is very much a maturing of a platform and you’re seeing kind of where they have gotten to the point where they can’t really make the ipad into something new so they are just improving the hardware; they are improving the processor, the screen, and all that kind of stuff and making it more accessible.”
For John Biehler, a Vancouver photographer and longtime Apple early adopter, this release marks the first time he won’t be buying the latest ipad as soon as it comes out.
“I didn’t see enough today to say, ‘ Oh, I’ve got to have it,” said Biehler, who bought both the first ipad and an ipad 2, later selling the ipad 2 when he got one for work.
Cathy Browne, a Vancouver public relations specialist who is legally blind and uses an ipad 2, said despite the better screen of the new ipad, she likely won’t be upgrading.
“I probably wouldn’t [ buy a new ipad],” she said. “But I will still look at it for the display. Speed is not my main consideration but certainly for the display I would look at it.”