Updated March 19, 2012: For days I’ve been reading rave reviews of the new 3rd Gen iPad. Each early reviewer had his own unique observations, but generally the love was directed where you would expect: the Retina display, battery life, graphics performance, LTE, and overall Apple-ness. From the moment it was announced – and actually even before – I never doubted I would love the new iPad even more than I did the first generation or the iPad 2. 

And I do greatly appreciate the important new features. But after spending a few days with Apple’s second tablet revision, love is not the first word I’d use to describe my feeling.  In fact, I’m a little disappointed.  Not that the iPad 3 isn’t great – it absolutely is -  or that it’s improvements aren’t important – they are – but in taking their tablet to the next level, Apple has also sacrificed some of what made the device feel like the “magical” slab of glass it’s been since the first model was introduced two years ago. 

Is the gain worth the give?

The Hardware

An understanding of the new iPad’s hardware begins and ends with its screen, the Retina display.  This 2048×1536 264PPI  IPS touchscreen is the star at the center of the iPad 3 system, around which all revolves.

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Apple has released iOS 5.1 for all compatible iPhones, iPads and iPod touches.  The update is available via iTunes or the built-in software update app in Settings on iOS 5 devices.

Apple’s third-generation iPad isn’t the iPad 3 or the iPad HD, it’s simply the new iPad.  That’s fine, but we’ll be calling it the iPad 3 in our reporting just to keep things clear going forward.

Ambiguous naming aside, the new iPad has a more powerful dual-core A5X processor, quad-core PowerVR graphics, and – of course – that 2X resolution Retina display we’ve all been waiting for.  Other new features include a 5MP iPhone 4S-type primary camera, LTE support for AT&T and Verizon Wireless, Bluetooth 4.0, and a whopping 42.5-watt-hour Li-Ion battery good for up to 10 hours of use.

The design is largely unchanged, though the iPad 3 is a hair thicker and about an ounce heavier than the iPad 2. 

The iPad 3 is available for pre-order today.  First-in-line preorders will ship for March 16th delivery, the same day the new iPad will arrive in stores.

Now it’s time for the iPad 3 accessories game to begin…

Siri, as we all know, is currently available only on the iPhone 4S, and is labeled – in very unusual Apple fashion – as a beta feature, or work in progress. But Siri’s sequestration won’t last forever. So the question is: when will we see Siri on other iOS devices?

Well, it looks like it’s at least possible that the day when Siri expands beyond the iPhone 4S may come sooner than we thought.  9to5Mac.com is reporting that there’s new language buried in the Settings menu in the iOS 5.1 beta 3 that suggests Siri, at least in part, may be included in iOS 5.1 for the iPad.

“Sonny Dickson was looking through the iOS 5.1 beta 3 settings application on the iPad and discovered a new section in the keyboard menu called “About Privacy and Dictation.” When opened … the iPad provides the user with the standard legal literature and feature information for Siri Dictation… On the iPhone 4S, Apple does not have a specific menu related to “Dictation and Privacy” in the keyboard settings panel, [which] may weaken concerns that this new iPad Dictation menu is simply carried over code from the iPhone 4S.”

Perhaps only the dictation aspect of Siri’s functionality – the ability to convert speech to text for emails, notes, etc. – will be included, or perhaps iPad 2 users will get full-featured Siri.  Or perhaps this is much ado about nothing. 

Why No Siri on the iPad Already?

Some have speculated that the more powerful A5 chip in the iPhone 4S is required for Siri to work well, which is why it wasn’t included in the iPhone 4’s iOS 5 upgrade; others say that’s ridiculous, that Apple kept Siri 4S-only because other than the improved camera, there wasn’t much reason for iPhone 4 users to upgrade unless Siri was limited to the new model.  We’ve got one foot and two hands in the latter camp, but if the former is true, there’s absolutely no technical reason Siri can’t come to the iPad 2 because it, too, has an A5 SoC with 512MB of RAM and a powerful GPU.

Siri on the iPad 3

Whether Siri is added to the iPad 2 or not, you can bet that it’ll be part of the iPad 3, which is widely expected to be announced later this quarter, likely March.  And, of course, the iPhone 5 will have Siri, as we imagine all iOS devices going forward will.