3rd Generation iPad Announced

As per the rumours the Apple event earlier revealed their latest iPad to the world.

This 3rd generation iPad features an incredible screen, a retina display. This was widely predicted as the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S both currently include retina displays. It should be noted that it is a huge achievement to create s retina display on the scale of the iPad. It has 4 times as many pixels as the iPad 2 screen, which means it has a larger than number of pixels than a 1080p HD TV! (Speaking of TV, there is a new Apple TV, subject of a further blog post).

This extra screen needs some extra power from the graphics processor. So Apple have created the A5X chip to the the new iPad. It includes a quadcore GPU.

Also predicted prior to the event, the new iPad will connect to new 4G LTE networks for much faster connections than 3G.

The storage capacities, form factor (9.7" screen) and colour options, remain the same. But the camera improves from a 0.3 MP camera to 5.0 MP camera including the advanced optics developed for the iPhone 4S. This is a huge step forwards and makes the iPad a handy camera to have, instead of a casual snapper. The camera records 1080p HD video too.

To compliment the upgraded camera there are new apps, including iPhone and an update to iMovie. These all run on an update to iOS 5 called iOS 5.1.

Sky's New Formula 1 Channel

Sky have announced that Formula 1 will be shown on a dedicated new channel: Sky Sports F1 HD.

They have also launched a new webpage on their Sky Sports webiste to include news, opinion and reaction to on and off track action. And keeping up to date with Sky's F1 coverage can be achieved through their new Twitter account: @SkySportsF1.

Sky's deal is to show all of the 2012 Formula 1 races and qualifying live, whereas the BBC will be reduced to showing a selected number of races (these include Silverstone, Monaco & Brazil) next year. Sky Sports currently consists of 4 channels (imaginatively named 1,2,3 and 4). There is also a Sky Sports News channel to show the latest sports news. It is great news for Formula 1 fans that the F1 will not be squeezed into one of the existing 4 Sky Sports channels as these are largely concerned with Football, Rugby, Tennis, Golf, the list goes on. This is also a huge positive for the fans as the pricing structure is different to Sky Sports 1,2,3 and 4.

Sky Sports F1 HD will be available to all HD Sky customers and a SD version will be available to non-HD customers who have Sky Sports 1 and 2 in their subscription pack. - although their appears to be much confusion at the moment and lots of questions on Twitter be directed at @SkySportsF1

Sky confim that the races will be shown uninterrupted, unlike when F1 was shown on ITV, much to the fans continued disgust.

More info from Sky's announcement

Image from Sky's webpage.