![First Impressions With the New iPad [LIVE]](https://helios-i.mashable.com/imagery/archives/05ns3mwF2pyn4Slhagr9Z5Q/hero-image.fill.size_1248x702.v1647020767.jpg)
After waiting in line for most of the evening to snag Apple's new iPad, we have a 64GB Verizon LTE device in our grubby little mitts. I'll be live-updating my first-impressions and thoughts about the new device as I take it for a test drive. We'll then post a complete review.
Follow along as I test new retina-enabled apps, put Verizon's 4G LTE speed up against our office Wi-Fi and test out the cameras. If you have any specific questions about the new iPad, feel free to ask in the comments and we'll do our best to answer within this post.
Charging and Battery Life
Joseph Cannizzaro on Twitter wants to know how long charging the new iPad takes.
Because the new device has a much higher capacity battery, early reviews have noted that the device takes larger to charge. My device shipped with about 80% of a charge. After playing with it for a few hours, my battery dropped to 68%.
I have it plugged into the dedicated wall charger and it's currently sitting at 72%. I'll know more after a full run-down/charge-up, but at this point it definitely feels as if the iPad is taking longer to charge. Of course, with a 9-hour battery life with 4G LTE, that's acceptable.
FaceTime and 4G LTE
On Twitter, Basil Al Dossary asked about doing FaceTime over 4G LTE.
As Pete Pachal reported yesterday, FaceTime is not available over 4G LTE and at this point, that seems to be Apple's condition.
I will say that my own 4G LTE speed tests are showing that in our office, Verizon's 4G LTE network is twice as fast as our high-speed wired Internet -- which means it's more than fast enough to support FaceTime.
Another interesting aside, despite the faster speeds, app downloads are still limited to 50MB over 4G LTE. This means that if you want to download a big app such as Infinity Blade 2 from the super-fast connection, you're out of luck.
It would be nice if Apple would consider offering an "override data limits" option in the future.
The Camera
The camera on the new iPad is a huge improvement over the iPad 2. Of course, this isn't difficult, but the difference is still striking.
The lens on the camera itself is bigger and it has a wider angle and aperture.
Compare these two photos, one from the iPad 2, the other from the new iPad.
iPad 2:
New iPad:
This is a photo taken with the iPhone 4S:
4G LTE Speeds
In a word: FAST. Blazingly fast.
Verizon's LTE network is very strong in New York City (this was the reason I opted for the Verizon version) but even I was shocked at the speed differential between our office Wi-Fi and the 4G LTE.
Keep in mind, I tested both networks before most staffers had logged in in the office.
Again, the only downside is that Apple is still limiting downloads from the App Store to 50MB. With speeds this fast, that's such a waste.
FaceTime
Although the front-facing camera appears unchanged on the new iPad, something with the way Apple processes and displays the video has definitely changed. Whether it's the better screen or improved GPU, video looks better and lighting looks more natural on the new iPad as opposed to the iPad 2.
Lance and I did a side-by-side FaceTimes test with an iPad 2 and the new iPad and it was amazing to see how much more clear Lance's image looked on the new iPad's display. It almost appears as if there is some sort of new dithering component.
Likewise, colors looked better and more realistic as well. Pete Pachal took this very meta photo of the FaceTime conversation.
It's hard to see the difference in quality in this photo, but even the green on Pachal's shirt looked better and more true on the new iPad.
The Screen: Glorious
It's almost hard to understate just how good the screen is on the new iPad. Text looks like print. Background details and textures pop in retina-updated apps.
One area that I haven't seen discussed as much is the fact that iPhone-only apps that have been updated with retina graphics look fantastic on the new iPad.
Something about the way the pixel density works now means that the 2x app doubling trick no longer mans apps that look horrid. In fact, some apps could practically pass as iPad-specific (in portrait anyway).
Text, photos and videos look tremendous on the new iPad. We'll be doing photo tests later to show off the difference in pixel quality, but this photo I took last night on my iPhone 4S really captures the raw power of the screen.
My baby -- first boot #newipad #ipadday twitter.com/film_girl/stat…— Christina Warren (@film_girl) March 16, 2012
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