What buyers lose with the lack of built-in expandable storage options and the omission of a back camera, they’ll gain in complete OS flexibility in a powerful and cheap tablet.

Design
Yep, the Nexus 7 is yet another black tablet (unless you got one with a white back at Google I/O) in the long line of black tablets. Yet, it does its best to break from the cookie cutter mold of most slates. Chief among those efforts is a rubbery, leathery, grippy back texture, similar to what we saw on the Acer Iconia Tab A510, but with both “Nexus” and “Asus” embossed on it. It may not look like much, but the inclusion of this seemingly small bit of design panache makes the tablet one of the most comfortable I’ve ever held.

Then there’s the bezel. Held in portrait, the right and left side bezels of the tablet are refreshingly thin, while the top and bottom are thicker than what I usually find on 7-inch tablets. While the thicker bezel design can be useful as a place to rest your thumbs while holding the tablet, they are a bit too thick for my taste and make the tablet feel needlessly long.

Holding the very comfy Nexus 7.(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Speaking of holding, the Nexus 7 is noticeably lighter than the Kindle Fire and, thanks to its beveled bottom and painted silver trim, actually looks thinner. Or at least sleeker. There’s definitely some kind of slimming illusion going on, as I wasn’t the only one to think it’s much skinnier than the Kindle Fire. Turns out, it is thinner, but only by 0.04 inch.

Only slightly thinner than the Kindle Fire, the Nexus 7 looks sleeker thanks to its beveled bottom.(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

I usually describe tablet feature placement from a landscape perspective, but given that Google changed the way the Home screen functions, I’ve been forced to adjust. When the Nexus 7 is held in portrait mode and viewed from the front, the 1.2-megapixel front camera sitting in the middle of the top bezel is the lone distinguishable feature. On the right edge toward the top is the power/lock button, closely followed by the volume rocker. Following the right edge down and around to the bottom reveals a headphone jack, with a Micro-USB port in the middle of bottom edge. Right above that, on the back is a horizontally aligned 2-inch-long speaker slit.

That’s it, though. No memory expansion, no HDMI out, and no back camera are included. Their exclusion is likely a cost-saving measure, but also makes the tablet that much more approachable for the tablet layman.

The Nexus 7 will be the first device to ship with the latest incarnation of the Android OS, version 4.1, also known as Jelly Bean. Though Android 4.1 on the Nexus 7 is just as customizable as previous incarnations of the OS, the way it’s presented here feels much more controlled and focused, and while a bit less intimidating to the uninitiated, it also feels a bit constraining.

Part of the reason is the way the home screen now works. Well, it works the same as it does on every other Android tablet, allowing you vast customization options, but now if you turn the tablet to landscape mode the screen won’t rotate. It rotates fine in apps, but as soon as you tap that home button, you’re back in portrait mode. Not the biggest deal in the world, but it does contribute to a slight tinge of claustrophobia when navigating and can be quite annoying. To me, at least. Google may see it as a safety net: if you get scared or confused, just press this home button and return to the comforting bosom of the home screen in the same orientation you remember. Not a bad compromise if Google is indeed going after a mass audience with this tablet.

The dock on the bottom of the home screen is filled mostly with Google services apps like Play, Music, Books, and Magazines. There’s also a folder housing Chrome — the default browser — as well as Google Maps, Google Plus, Gmail, and other services. Directly in the middle of the tray is the apps button. Swiping up from the home button and across the apps button takes you to Google Now, Google’s new predictive personalized helper.

Google Now displays information like the current weather, local bus schedules, and nearby restaurants you may be interested in. While this can be useful on the Nexus 7 if you’re near a Wi-Fi connection, it loses its appeal if you’re already outside, waiting for a bus, and is much more useful on a phone.

Android 4.1′s toolbar and nonrotating home screen make the OS feel very claustrophobic on the Nexus 7.(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

As mentioned, there’s a 1.2-megapixel camera on the front, but there’s no actual camera app included. Unless Google adds one before release, it looks like video conferencing is all the camera will be used for. To which my response is, “Why even include a camera, then?” Google’s response is Google Plus hangouts.

Google Play plays nicely, but not cheaply
In keeping with the “Google’s gunning for the Kindle Fire” theme, Google Play has been updated to include TV shows, purchasable movies, and magazines, finally bringing the store into modern times. After browsing through a few HD and standard-definition TV shows, it appears that Google’s prices for complete seasons match the prices for the same shows on iTunes. However, on the Kindle Fire, prices were routinely much cheaper compared even with the SD versions on Google Play — though those lower prices are offset by the cost of an Amazon Prime membership.

Yay! Purchasable TV shows on Google Play! Now we can all (legally) watch movies on our Android devices!(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Also, a couple of shows on Google Play like “Breaking Bad” and “Justified” currently offer only the latest season, while Amazon Instant offers the complete series; however, the complete series of other shows like “The Walking Dead” and “Parks and Recreation” are available. This is a rights issue more than anything and the catalog should hopefully improve over time.

Movies and TV shows purchased through Google Play will stream by default and you’ll have to manually download them if you want them stored locally. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time, and it’s exciting that Android owners finally have an official, fast, and legal way of getting movies and TV shows on their devices.

Android 4.1 teaches typing
One of the purported new Android 4.1 features is improved precision when typing on the soft keyboard. After taking the Nexus 7 out of the box, I wanted to quickly put this to the test. I usually make lots of mistakes when texting on my iPhone 4 or even when testing typing precision on other tablets, so my typing skills aren’t exactly legendary. However, when signing in to my Google account on the Nexus 7, I was able to type quickly, without making a single mistake.

While I did eventually begin making mistakes (and plenty of them, of course), the majority of the time I felt much more like they were my own errors and not the tablet misinterpreting my taps. It’s obviously not perfect, but it is an improvement over what I’ve experienced on Android tablets before.

Siri-ous voice recognition
There’s also now a Siri-like voice recognition app that allows you to search the Web with your voice. It’s not so much an assistant like Siri — it won’t schedule meetings for you or remind you to call your wife when you leave work — but it will recognize phrases like “Who are the Oakland A’s playing today?” and return the answer via a voice response as well as a crude graphic showing a recent final score. “Where can I get some pizza?” returns a Google Maps listing of restaurants nearby that serve pizza. The current version of Siri on the iPhone 4S could keep up with the food queries, but not so much the sports.

Other queries, like, “Show me pictures of ‘X,’” worked really quickly to deliver an assortment of pictures matching your subject. The same goes for word definitions. Again, while cool, this is another feature that will probably get little use on the tablet and be more at home on phones.

Hardware features
The quad-core Tegra 3 inside the Nexus 7 is the same 1.3GHz chip we’ve seen in most recent Android tablets, including the 12-core GPU. The Nexus 7 also includes 1GB of DDR2 RAM, as opposed to the faster DDR3 RAM the Asus TF300 uses. The Nexus 7 also has 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth, a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and GPS. There’s also support for Google’s NFC-based technology, Android Beam.

That top-right corner is the only place Android Beam works on the Nexus 7. Bad Nexus 7!(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

With Android Beam you can send Web pages, maps, and files, but not apps, however. To work, the two compatible devices have to touch back to back, and in the case of the Nexus 7 the device must touch the upper-right corner of the tablet’s back to work. And work it does. Web pages or maps travel fast; however, pictures and larger files obviously take a bit more time to copy over.

Performance
The Nexus 7 sports an IPS screen with a wider viewing angle than the Kindle Fire’s and even wider than you see on some 10-inch Android tablets. The 1,280×800-pixel resolution packed into a 7-inch display gives visuals like text and graphics a sharper look than what I’m typically used to seeing on most 7-inchers.

The screen is responsive to touch and swipe, but possibly could use just a bit more sensitivity calibration, as some of my swipes would only half take.

Riptide GP ran smoothly, and, of course, it includes the Tegra 3 water-splash effects; however, the frame rate does drop when the resolution is cranked to max. Both GTA 3 and Max Payne Mobile looked as good as they do on any tablet, save the Transformer Infinity or iPad.

That said, I feel it’s make or break time for the Tegra 3. It’s been six month since its release, and we’ve still yet to see a killer, exclusive game that takes advantage of its quad-core architecture. Infinity Blade on the iPad is approachable, additive, takes advantage of the iPad’s GPU to produce gorgeous visuals, and above all, it’s fun. For a while at least. Tegra 3 needs its own “Infinity Blade” (actually, several killer apps would be nice) to avoid being anything other than a stopgap.

Tegra 3 needs more native games, developed from the ground up that take advantage of the architecture. Riptide GP is great, but aside from the screen splashy effects, it looks and runs better on the iPad.(Credit: Screenshot: Eric Franklin/CNET)

That said, Tegra 3 has video chops. I got a 1080p movie to play on the tablet, and it looked great, especially with the screen’s high pixel density.

As for battery life, Google says to expect 9 hours while playing HD video. Using the device casually for a day or so, I found that its battery drained at about the same speed as the Kindle Fire’s. Here are our official CNET Labs-tested battery life results. More tablet testing results can be found here.

This shot doesn’t illustrate any particular performance aspect. I just like it.(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

I found Web speeds matched those of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, but on average were faster than the Kindle Fire’s. App download speeds were identical to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0′s speeds; I downloaded a 218MB version of Deer Hunter Reloaded in 122 seconds. This score was averaged over three iterations with the closed network router about 5 feet away from the tablets.

The speaker slit is located on the bottom back of the tablet. The sound that emanates is fairly loud and full, without much distortion, even at maximum volume. One word of advice: when using the speakers, keep the tablet laid flat on its back. In this position the sound is able to bounce off whatever surface it’s on and reverberate, creating a echo that increases the fullness of the acoustics. Look, I’m no audiophile, but I was impressed considering the size of the tablet.

Final thoughts
The Nexus 7′s screen looks great and feels responsive; the tablet feels well-built and does a good job of demonstrating its power in games and movie performance. The lack of built-in expandable storage or a back camera is a bummer, but it’s understandable given the dirt-low $200 (for 8GB; $250 for 16GB) price.

Google is off to a good start here. The specs are impressive, the Android 4.1 OS feels simplified while retaining its flexibility, and TV shows and purchasable movies are welcome additions to the Google Play store. However, while the Nexus 7 is clearly the best 7-inch tablet available, Kindle Fire owners will still be treated to a better-implemented ecosystem and more video options, especially if they’re Amazon Prime members.

To be an iPad killer, you’d need to gather a universe-size amount of app support. And that would only be your first step. The Nexus 7 isn’t an iPad killer, but it could be the first step on the road to a much more competitive tablet market.

Editor’s note: Thanks to its comfortable design and light weight compared to the Amazon Kindle HD (7-inch), we’ve bumped the Nexus 7′s design score from a 7 to an 8. Its overall rating hasn’t changed.

When I tell you that Apple has doubled the iPad’s screen resolution to an unprecedented 2,048×1,536 pixels, your eyes should water a little. No other screen in your home can compete with this resolution–not your laptop, not your desktop computer, not even your 1080p TV. For a device that fits in your lap and costs as little as $499, a screen like this is an impressive feat.

Speaking of pricing, the going rate for an iPad hasn’t changed since the tablet’s introduction in 2010. The $499 entry-level price buys you 16GB of built-in storage; spending $599 buys you twice the room (32GB); and $699 will bring you up to 64GB. All three models can access the Internet over Wi-Fi and are available in either black or white. If you want the added ability to access the Internet over a 4G or 3G cellular network (Verizon or AT&T), tack on an extra $130.

For the iPad uninitiated looking to save a little money, Apple is keeping around the 2011 iPad 2 (16GB), priced at $399 or $529 for a model with 3G (AT&T or Verizon). It’s a good price, especially considering that the iPad 2 is still leagues better than many of the tablets we’ve seen this year. But if you want the bragging rights and a renewed lease on the cutting edge of tablet technology, the new iPad is the way to go.

Design
Looking at the new iPad, you’d think someone was playing a trick on you. It looks almost exactly like last year’s model. The tablet’s glass and aluminum construction is still 9.5 inches tall and 7.31 inches wide. Thickness is now up slightly at 0.37 inch, weighing in at a beefier 1.44 pounds. You get the same home button on the bottom of the screen, and a volume rocker on the right side along with the mute switch/rotation lock. Up top you have the sleep/wake button and headphone output, and the bottom edge retains the 30-pin port.

*Multifinger gesture support, such as four-finger swipe to toggle apps, or five-finger pinch to close apps.

Apple’s retreat from being one of the thinnest, lightest tablets on the market may leave some room for competitors. Already, we’re seeing tablets like the Toshiba Excite X10 LE, which are thinner than the iPad 2 and just as light. Apple is betting that a best-in-class screen will trump any concerns over the slight uptick in weight and thickness. And if they’re wrong, well, the iPad 2 is still around for those who can’t bear the extra 51 grams.

But the surefire way to tell a new iPad apart from an iPad 2 (aside from counting pixels or breaking out the scale) is to flip them over. No, this isn’t a tablet gender test; what you’re looking for here is the rear camera in the top-left corner. On the new model, the camera is slightly larger, accounting for the improved optics and camera sensor, similar to what’s used in theiPhone 4S (though not identical).

New features
Beyond the vastly improved screen there are a number of other upgrades worth mentioning. The iPad’s processor has been upgraded to what Apple is calling an A5X. Like the A5 processor used in the iPad 2, this CPU remains dual-core. The “X” is there to signify that the graphics processor has been beefed up to quad-core. This seems to be a necessary measure for juggling four times the pixels of the previous model, but regardless, games and graphics perform fluidly.

Against everyone’s expectations, Apple did not include its Siri digital assistant on the new iPad–at least, not entirely. Siri’s voice-to-text dictation capability has migrated to the iPad, but that’s it. If you want to find nearby sushi restaurants, you’re going to have to search for the answer online, like a neanderthal.

Still, the addition of voice dictation is a welcome feature, and it can be handy for composing quick e-mails and bypassing the touch-screen keyboard when searching for information online. Its accuracy leaves a little to be desired, though. Just like autocorrected typing, the iPad’s dictation isn’t infallible.

Last but not least, there’s the iPad’s updated rear camera, which the company calls its iSight camera. It is a huge improvement over the iPad 2′s 0.7-megapixel shooter; this updated shooter is now 5 megapixels. If you’ve spent any time over on Apple’s iPad page, you’ve probably seen the exploded view of Apple’s five-element lens system, which was adopted from the iPhone. However you want to explain it, the photo quality is exceptional for a tablet, and we have the photos to prove it.

I still contend that it’s a bit silly waving a tablet around to capture photos and video, but I understand the counterpoint and I’ll admit that the iPad’s screen makes a better display than any camera, smartphone, or photo frame.

Features we take for granted
Let’s not forget all the features that made the first two iPads unbeatable. If you’ve ever used an iPhone or iPod Touch, the new iPad will feel immediately familiar. Out of the box, you get many of the iPhone’s capabilities, including Apple-designed apps for Web browsing, e-mail, maps, photos, music, video, and YouTube. More apps can be installed using the built-in App Store software or by connecting the iPad to iTunes via your computer using the included cable. If you already own apps purchased for an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can transfer these apps to the iPad, as well.

The original iPad made its debut with iOS 3.2. That OS’ limitations seem prehistoric today. You couldn’t bounce between applications with multitasking. You couldn’t organize applications into folders. And support for document printing and AirPlay streaming of music, videos, and photos didn’t arrive until November 2010.

At launch, the new iPad comes with iOS 5.1 (see our full rundown). Recently added features such as iMessage, Newsstand, Notifications, and Twitter integration are all included, along with support for Apple’s free iCloud online backup service.

One sticking point in the original iPad that Apple hasn’t addressed in the new iPad is Adobe Flash support for Apple’s Safari Web browser. Apple seems dead set against supporting Adobe’s popular tool for presenting video and graphics on the Web, and without it, some corners of the Web are still inaccessible on the iPad.

To Apple’s credit, even the maker of Flash (Adobe) has conceded that HTML5 is a better solution for presenting content on mobile devices going forward. As such, the Web is steadily bending toward greater compatibility with the iPad, and the issue of Flash compatibility seems less contentious than it once was.

In terms of browser features, the iPad’s Safari browser matches what you’ll find from the best competing tablets. With Google’s recent improvements to Android’s Chrome Web browser in Android 4.0, Apple now has some tough competition.

But in terms of the subjective Web-browsing experience, Apple’s Retina Display gives the new iPad a decisive victory. Because text is rendered with such razor-sharp clarity, everything from Facebook to The New York Times take on a printlike quality that is easier on the eyes than what any laptop or tablet offers.

To 4G or not to 4G?
For those who just get a little itchy at the idea of not being connected to the Internet, Apple offers a version of the iPad with an integrated 4G cellular data connection, priced at a $130 premium over models that only offer Wi-Fi.

The jury seems split on whether the added cost of a cellular data capability is money well spent, or an unnecessary expense. Ultimately, if you can afford it, do it. Aside from the 10 grams it adds to the iPad’s overall weight, there are no drawbacks to owning an iPad 4G model other than the data plan it requires. Yet, unlike so many 4G tablets on the market, Apple’s requires no contracts; the data plans you purchase month to month can be ratcheted up and down as you please.

Another advantage of iPad with 4G is the added capability of assisted GPS (A-GPS), allowing users to accurately pinpoint their locations on a map and take advantage of navigation and location-aware apps. The Wi-Fi-only models of the iPad can use rudimentary Wi-Fi hot-spot triangulation techniques to guess locations, but are much less accurate and consistent.

The 4G version of the iPad also includes a 4G hot-spot capability, allowing other Wi-Fi devices (laptops, tablets, portable media players) to take advantage of the cellular data. At launch, only Verizon’s iPad 4G supported this hot-spot feature, but AT&T may eventually offer the service, as well. Our tested download and upload speeds using the iPad as a 4G hot spot found a slight, but negligible drop in data performance.

If you have no plans to regularly use the iPad outside of your home, you’d do just as well to save some money and stick with a Wi-Fi model. But if you do take the plunge, the 4G download performance on either network should knock your socks off, provided that you live in an area that supports it. For more, see our separate CNET How To on choosing the right carrier for the iPad, as well as a side-by-side comparison of each carrier’s 4G LTE service.

iPad as e-reader
As far as e-book content goes, the iPad has you covered. Every major e-book retailer (and quite a few specialized stores) offer an iPad app, including Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Kobo, Google Books, Stanza, and Apple’s own iBooks.

Mainstream magazines, including The New Yorker, Wired, and Vanity Fair, all have iPad-specific editions. Even specialty publications, such as comic books, test prep, and sheet music, have found their way onto the iPad.

But when you compare the experience of reading on the iPad with its paper-based ancestor or dedicated e-ink readers, the iPad still falls short. It’s beefy at 1.44 pounds (a Kindle Touchweighs under half a pound), and in spite of the Retina Display’s exquisitely rendered text, glare is still an issue–especially outdoors. Also, a product like the Nook Simple Touch promises up to two months of reading without a recharge, whereas the iPad will only get you 10 hours.

In spite of all these criticisms, the iPad has already proven itself a success as an e-reader. There are certainly cheaper options out there, but none with the breadth of features and e-book shopping options offered by the iPad.

iPad for gaming
If you don’t have a game installed on your iPad, I feel sorry for you. Whether it’s a simple round of Scrabble or an intense romp through Grand Theft Auto 3, the iPad’s combination of Retina Display and quad-core graphics processor add up to a dramatic improvement for gaming.

Even your old games will look and perform better on the new iPad. It’s not like the old days when games designed for the original iPhone had to be stretched and deformed to fill the iPad’s screen. Games that look great on the iPad 2, such as Cut the Rope, Infinity Blade, and Fruit Ninja, look as though they’ve had a haze cleared from the screen. I’m sure there’s some resolution scaling involved, but there were no visible artifacts that we could pick out. Everything just looks smooth and crisp.

And for titles that have been optimized for the new iPad’s screen and graphics processor, plan your sick day now. Games like Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy and Mass Effect 3 Infiltrator look as though they were beamed over from your Xbox 360.

You still lack the physical controls of a traditional console, though, and for serious gamers, there’s still a case to be made for portable gaming systems like the PS Vita and Nintendo 3DS.

Gamers should also be aware that as the iPad’s games increase in sophistication and resolution, and so might their file size. Epic’s Infinity Blade 2 is 791MB, and two of Gameloft’s Modern Combat titles break the gigabyte barrier. A 16GB iPad doesn’t hold what it used to.

App sizes pre- and post-Retina update

Performance
Don’t be fooled by the new iPad’s spec sheet. The bumps in processing power and RAM are balanced out by the demands of the Retina Display and processing the types of high-resolution content you’ll be feeding it. The experience of poking around the music player or composing an e-mail are seemingly no swifter than on the iPad 2.

Fortunately, we never found the iPad 2 lacking in system performance power. There were things it simply couldn’t do, such as play 1080p video files, but it seldom sputtered or hung while browsing the Web or loading apps.

The new iPad’s maximum brightness is slightly higher than the iPad 2′s, but it can’t match the Android 4.0-based Asus Transformer Prime in Super IPS mode. The Prime’s Super IPS mode’s high brightness is useful when using the tablet in direct sunlight. At the other end of the spectrum, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1′s PLS-based display delivers a lower maximum black level.

While the new iPad’s screen is gorgeous, it still can’t technically match the luminance extremes of these two popular Android tablets. But thanks to the visual impact of the new iPad’s high-resolution display, it’s an easy detail to look past. If you do crank up the iPad’s brightness, be prepared to take a hit on battery life.

With the new iPad, 1080p video files will play just fine, and are ironically upscaled to the screen’s native resolution. These video files take a huge bite out of the iPad’s capacity, though, with a movie like “Hugo” coming in at 3.99GB. If you’re going to store a lot of HD media, spring for the extra capacity.

The same caveat goes for the iPad’s new rear camera, which offers a dramatically improved 5-megapixel still camera and 1080p video-recording quality. A test photo and sample video can be seen below. In both cases (but especially for video) these high-quality files will eat up space over time, so don’t skimp on capacity if you plan on using the camera often.

(Credit: CNET Asia)

Here’s a test shot taken with the iPad’s rear camera. 

The 4G data speeds on the Verizon model of the new iPad were as swift as we’d expect. As someone who’s more accustomed to using the iPad at home or work, I have to admit that it was pretty liberating to have Wi-Fi-like speeds while out and about. Even more liberating was the fact that the iPad’s data plans require no contracts and can be canceled or reactivated any time.

It’s also worth noting that use of 4G and/or graphically intensive games does tend to make the back of the new iPad fairly warm. After stress testing the new iPad exhaustively while measuring its temperature, we can confidently say that the slight uptick in heat compared to the iPad 2 is not a safety concern. On a cold day, maybe the extra warmth could actually come in handy.

Apple’s rated battery for the new iPad remains at a 10-hour mark that still befuddles the competition. With 4G active, this number slips down to a still admirable 9 hours.

Here are the official CNET Labs-tested battery life results. Check here on specific information on testing the new iPad’s battery and here for battery life results for all tablets.

Accessories
Fortunately, Apple hasn’t done anything to monkey around with the iPad’s universal dock connection. Generally speaking, if you could plug it into the first two iPads, it should work with the new one as well. This goes for charging cables, video adapters (such as Apple’s HDMI-compatible Digital AV Adapter), Apple’s Camera Connection kit, or any in-car adapter cables. Apple has released an updated version of its HDMI Digital AV Adapter that is optimized for the new iPad, but the older adapter will still work.

If you’d prefer to beam content wirelessly from your iPad to your TV, the little hockey-puck-size$99 Apple TV is the way to go. Aside from working as a great standalone media streamer for iTunes downloads, Netflix, and others, you can also use it to push media from your iPad to your TV (a feature Apple calls AirPlay).

For the minimalists, Apple’s Smart Cover remains the go-to solution for protecting your iPad’s screen. It uses a unique hinged cover that comes in two materials–leather ($59) and polyurethane ($39)–and multiple colors. It attaches magnetically to the left or right edge of the iPad 2 using two aluminum hinges embedded with impressively strong rare-earth magnets.

As accessories go, the Smart Cover is nifty–not so much for the protection it offers, but for the convenient stand it provides when rolled up. If, on the other hand, you are seriously concerned about protecting your investment, keeping the iPad in a traditional wraparound case is still the best way to go.

Who should buy it?
If you’ve waited this long to buy your first iPad, congratulations! Buy with confidence that this is the best iPad yet. That said, the price of a new iPad has you cringing, there are a number of more affordable iPad alternatives out there.

For existing iPad owners, I would liken this to the time you upgraded your TV to a high-definition model. All things being equal, if this is something you’re going to look at every day, you may as well invest in the remarkably better screen.

Will the iPad’s screen be matched or bested by a better or cheaper product in the near future? Possibly. But even if an Android tablet manufacturer throws one out there, the general dearth of tablet-optimized Android apps to run on it will take some time to overcome.

For a more in-depth take on this question, see “Here’s who should buy the new iPad.”

Final thoughts
When the original iPad bounded out of the starting gate, it took a huge lead before its competitors figured out what was going on. With the iPad 2, Apple lapped the competition once more by setting design expectations that were nearly impossible to match. The third iPad employs a similar tactic, dramatically raising our collective expectations of tablet screen quality. Placed next to the competition, the superior product is literally plain to see.

Senior Editor Eric Franklin contributed to this review.