(Reuters) – Apple Inc’s latest iPad sports a crisper display and an array of technology advances that, while less than revolutionary, may prove enough for now to keep rivals like Amazon.com Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd at bay.
While stopping short of vaulting ahead of Motorola and Samsung, the device — which comes 4G-ready and boasts a quad-core graphics processor — is capable enough to help safeguard its two-thirds market share. “The screen is a notable feature for non-techie customers, as is the faster connectivity. That’s something that mainstream consumers can identify with,” said Morningstar analyst Michael Holt. “There’s pent-up demand because a new device was widely anticipated. I they’ve made enough incremental improvements to do well.”
Other analysts say the faster processing may begin to draw heavy gamers, encroaching on turf now dominated by gaming-hardware makers such as Microsoft or Sony.
Chief Executive Tim Cook, presiding over his second major product launch after debuting with 2011’s voice-enabled iPhone 4S, introduced the highly anticipated third iteration of the tablet, which is available for pre-orders from Wednesday and will hit store shelves March 16. But he stumped many in the audience by breaking away from the tradition of calling the third-generation tablet the iPad 3, as some had expected, referring to it simply as the “new iPad.”
The company said it will continue to sell the iPad 2 but dropped its price by $100. The older tablet now starts at $399 while the new third-generation wi-fi only iPad starts at $499.
