iPad Release Date Draws Near

Apple announced the new iPad less than a week ago. It will feature a very high-resolution Retina display, support for fast 4G wireless access, and a quad-core graphics processor, among other improvements. The price of the previous-generation 16GB, Wi-Fi iPad 2 simultaneously dropped to $399.

Tablet computers have come a far way since the release of the first iPad in early 2010. Though Apple's tablet wasn't the first to market, it energized the category. And despite the many competitors that have arrived since then, the iPad still rules our tablet Ratings (available to subscribers). Our lab testers are looking forward to putting the new iPad through its paces; we'll report here on our findings.