Apple Tim Cook keynote featuring “the new iPad 3″ (iPad 3, HD or 4G).

Apple has decided to highlight the most major change in its newest iPad by simply dubbing it “new.” By and large, the new iPad 3 is the same as the old iPad 2 (Home-button and all), but with some really nice amenities that could very well convince owners of the previous iPad versions to upgrade. Upon touching the HD screen, it’s not the overall form factor that grabs us – it’s the screen quality. Given that we’re unashamed Pixel Density Enthusiasts ’round these parts, seeing a 2,048 x 1,536 resolution display in the same area as the prior iPads is stunning. Back in January, ASUS wowed everyone at CES with a reported 1,920 x 1,200 display on the TF700T; this, however, is something that really needs to be ogled to truly appreciate. In fact, the first viewing conjured up familiar feelings — ones that came to light when placing the iPhone 4 beside the iPhone 3G for the first time.

Apple has managed to produce something that’s truly beautiful to think about, even though we’ve yet to see the entire potential of experiencing this many pixels on a 9.7-inch slate, we’re guessing a cadre of game developers happen to be working hard to be able to remedy that. Beyond being dazzling from a density standpoint, colors are sharp and accurate, and viewing angles are predictably ridiculous even having a peek from a serious side angle gives approach to a fairly solid image with next to no washout.

So, what’d you have at the office pool? apple ipad 3, iPad 2S, iPad HD? Doesn’t matter, really. All that matters is the fact that it’s here! This is the next generation of Apple’s iOS slate and, as always, she’s a beaut — and yes, she’s still rockin’ an actual physical button. As was rumored it is packing a Retina display, potentially causeing this to be one of the most pixel-packed slate available on the market. The 9.7-inch screen plays host to three.one million pixels in a 2048 x 1536 arrangement — that’s 264ppi. It’s not just a higher resolution though, the screen also boasts improved color saturation. Needless to say, what might a whole new iPad be without some updated guts. The new model has an A5X processor and quad-core graphics chip. Apple even claims its newest sliver of silicon can deliver 4 times the performance of a Tegra 3 — we’d say dems fightin’ words.

There’s another new iSight camera fully briefed that’s quite like the version inside iPhone 4S. It’s only five-megapixels, however it does have a backside illuminated sensor having a five element lens. It’s also capable of capturing 1080p video, which should come as no surprise. We’re also excited to view the laptop keyboard sporting a new dictation key that permits you to speak as an alternative to type — yes, just like on Android. The new software inside will likely let you use the slate as a portable WiFi hotspot… as long as the carriers are game. It even can recognize at the very least some bezel gestures, as revealed during its iPhoto demo.

Perhaps most fun though, is the new connectivity options — you guessed, LTE! The new iPad is sporting 21 Mbps HSPA , but it’s also rocking an LTE radio effective at pulling down 73Mbps for both Verizon AT&T here in the US. Outside the states Rogers, Bell and Telus can also be scoring 4G flavors in the iOS tablet. Amazingly enough, despite having an LTE antenna fully briefed, Apple remains claiming to obtain 10 hours of life of the battery. That’s probably partially do in order to the slightly increased weight of 1.4lbs, the 9.4mm thickness is not to sniff at.

Last but not the least, we were pleased to see that the New iPad 3 will support Siri so we have have all the fun things Siri has to say on iPad!

The modern iPad is going to be available March 16th, starting at $499 to the 16GB WiFi model and scaling as much as $829 for the 64GB version with 4G. So, on the price front, nothing changed. Pre-orders start today in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia, with a lot of the rest of the globe to check out on March 23rd.

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