The New iPad: Retina Display, A5X Processor With Quad-Core Graphics, New Camera, LTE

Apple has just announced the latest in its popular line of tablets: The new iPad ( yep that’s right ). It comes with a Retina Display, a brand new A5X processor with quad-core graphics, new iSight camera, 4G LTE and 42Mbps HSPA+.

As expected, The new iPad has a Retina Display with a resolution of 2048 x 1536, quadrupling that of the first and second generation iPads. The new 9.7-inch iOS tablet keeps the same 9.7-inchscreen size, resulting in an impressive 264ppi pixel density.

Apple upgraded to the new A5X processor with a new quad-core graphics processor. They claim that the new processor is four times as fast as the Tegra 3. Note that it’s not a quad-core CPU.

A much needed upgrade: the camera camera. The new iPad features a new iSight camera with auto-exposure and auto-focus, 5MP backside-illuminated sensor with 1080p stabilized video.

The new iPad is now ready for the 4G LTE and 42Mbps HSPA+ mobile networking, with models for AT&T, Verizon, Rogers, Telus, and Bell. The Verizon and AT&T LTE models will be separate, but will both support 3G around the world. The iPad also now supports hotspot functionality, per your carrier’s rules.

The new iPad also supports Siri speech-to-text. A new microphone button has been added on the keyboard for voice diction, which works in several languages.

Battery life is the same as the iPad 2: 10 hours, with 9 hours on 4G.

Dimensions: 9.4mm thick and 1.4 pounds

The new iPad starts at $499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model and $629 for the 16GB 4G model, with 32GB and 64GB sizes commanding an extra $100 and $200 each. It’ll be in stores on March 16th, but pre-orders start today in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan — and it’ll hit 100 more countries on March 23.