The Apple iPad 3 tablet is officially available in Malta as from today, two months after it was launched in the US, i-Tech can reveal. Thus Apple continued with its tradition of launching the popular tablet in selected markets first and then the rest of the world, in response to the demand that continues to outweigh the supply.
Apple continued with its tradition of launching the popular tablet in selected markets first and then the rest of the world- Martin Debattista
The iCentre, Apple’s authorised service provider in Malta, has the latest generation iPad in stock and prices start from €495. Vodafone Malta is the official Apple mobile carrier partner in Malta and has officially sold and supported the first two versions of the device. It will sell the new iPad as from tomorrow.
However the iPad 3 had been available in Malta these last two months through other mobile carriers and retailers. Klikk, an Apple authorised reseller in Malta, was taking pre-sale orders.
At the time of going to print, Malta’s page on www.apple.com was promoting the iPhone 4S and not the iPad 2 as in previous weeks, a sign that it was preparing to update the page to publish information about the new iPad in time for today.
The most important innovation in the iPad 3 is the new Retina display which according to Apple delivers four times the number of pixels of iPad 2, so dense that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels when held at a normal distance, making web pages, text, images and video look incredibly sharp and realistic. The 3.1 million pixels in the Retina display are more than one million more pixels than an HD TV, and with 44 per cent increased colour saturation the new iPad displays colours that are unbelievably richer, deeper and more vivid. Movies are now capable of playing at full 1080p HD-resolution, delivering an incomparable viewing experience on a mobile device.
The new version also sports a new A5X with quad-core graphics, a 5-megapixel iSight camera, and 4G mobile connectivity. However this cannot be exploited in Malta as not Maltese mobile network offers 4G yet, so only 3G can be used.
With iOS 5.1, the latest update to iPad’s and iPhone’s mobile operating system, the new iPad has a number of new features and enhancements including: a redesigned Camera app with video stabilisation technology; the ability to delete photos from Photo Stream; support for dictation in English, French, German and Japanese; and Personal Hotspot. iOS 5.1 also works seamlessly with iCloud, a set of free cloud services including iTunes in the Cloud, Photo Stream and Documents in the Cloud, that works seamlessly with your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC to automatically and wirelessly store content and push it to personal devices.
Apple said it has sold three million new iPads in just three days following its launch on March 16. It sold 11.8 million iPads in total during the first quarter this year, a 151 per cent unit increase over the same period last year. This tally includes both the second and generation models.
In recent months the Maltese mobile network providers have upgraded their data services to cater for increasing demand made by smartphones and tablets to content to internet on the go.
www.icentre.com.mt