Sorry to tease, but I thought it would be interesting to show you how nice Scrivener is going to look on a retina display iPad. Apple have already updated the development tools to allow us developers, so this is a screen shot from the iPad simulator. Like everyone else I have to wait for until the 16th to get my hands on a real unit.
Notes:
This is a screen shot from the same early work Keith has already previewed. There’s nothing new here! (Sorry)
The user interface, layout, sizes, fonts etc. are there only for demonstration purposes (So don’t be wondering “What does that button do?” as it won’t get you anywhere)
The icons are non retina icons so they’ll look blocky compared to the text - a nice comparison
that thing looks dangerously too good. i am afraid jen will be so mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the look that she’ll never finish iScrivener (just kidding…)
Well I have my iPad 3* now, and while there’s no doubt the screen is lovely I’m not 100% convinced the other changes have quite so much “win”.
The plus:
The display is gorgeous. If you care about how your words look the difference is amazing.
The display is crisper not just higher resolution. There’s less “fuzz” between pixel boundaries so lines and borders (even non retina) are crisper.
In use (other than the screen) it feels exactly the same as an iPad 2. The sub millimetre difference in thickness and slight weight difference aren’t noticeable to me. I could probably tell the difference if I really tried hard with both in my hands.
The display dims lower than an iPad 2. For me this means it’s better to read on at night.
The other bits**:
Even when not pushing the graphics hard (just reading) the bottom left corner gets warm. The iPad 2 never got warm so that quad core GPU must be working hard even when it doesn’t appear to be.
The larger battery means the charge times are longer than for an iPad 2. This would be a real issue if the battery life was short but it’s still wonderful.
We’re still at early days with third party retina support. Some of oft used apps like goodreader have yet to be upgraded.
Images that are not retina resolution (Such as the story images in the BBC news app) now stand out as being pixelated. They’re the same on an iPad / iPad 2 but when compared to the ultra crisp text and lines on the iPad 3 they do jar a little. On the BBC app you can see every pixel and every jpeg compression artefact - the screen is just TOO good for these low quality images.
Many apps will just instantly look better on an iPad 3. For example Scrivener, while still in it’s early stages looks wonderful. The index cards for example are vector based and therefore don’t consume any additional resources than on an iPad 2.
In summary, it feels and runs just like an iPad 2. When reading I can drop the font size down a step and still get a crystal clear typeface, and the text DOES look amazing. I can live with the charge times and the corner warmth.
All in all it’s a nice update for the screen alone, but for you iPad 2 owners, don’t feel you have to buy one as an absolutely essential upgrade - you already have an excellent iPad. The text in your favourite apps will look a bit better, but you’ll also notice the apps that haven’t yet been upgraded.
*Yes I know it’s not an “iPad 3” but that’s what I call mine and means I can see which one is which when I have all three plugged in at once.
**This isn’t an exhaustive review of the iPad. I’ve not even mentioned bluetooth 4 for example, and that’s something which could be really important to some people in the months / years ahead. Oh no, I’m mistaken… I have now mentioned it.
That’s a good review of the iPad 3. I definitely don’t need one. I am already in love with the iPad 2 and often catch myself just staring at the thing. Sounds like with the iPad 3 I would get nothing done, I’d just watch it all the time, enjoying its glorious beauty
I’ve bought the new iPad (partly in anticipation of the Scrivener app). Having given up on iPad 1 I have to say it’s a revelation. A lot of the software’s much improved - Remarks is a pdf app that can do a very reasonable job of markup pdfs with a stylus/pen. And as Jenny says text, when apps support the new resolution, is quite remarkble. You don’t have to zoom in any more. It looks like perfect print.
I bought the Index Card app too (though I haven’t quite got the hang of syncing to Scrivener in a useful way yet, possibly because I use a lot of sub folders and they aren’t supported on Index Card). But it looks good too. As an iPad sceptic I may be slowly coming round… With Remarks i can certainly be used to mark up a manuscript pdf. Not quite as well as my little HTC Flyer with its digitiser pen but not far off.
But there’s more to it than just a screen, and the iPad 3 has additional RAM, a faster GPU (Driving many more pixels!), bluetooth 4 and potentially 4G networking too (All my iPads are wi-fi)
(just kidding…)
