The embargo has lifted on the reviews for the 3rd Generation iPad, and they are starting to trickle out. Here are links and summaries of some of the more prominent reviews

Review: The third-generation iPad
Apple advances the ball with a better screen, camera, and cellular connection
http://www.macworld.com/article/1165849/review_the_third_generation_ipad.html

The iPad has been a remarkable success story. Apple sold 15 million of the original model in the first nine months of the product’s existence, a number that blew away even the most optimistic prognostications. With last year’s introduction of the iPad 2, things kept accelerating. In a little less than two years, Apple has sold roughly 60 million iPads, dominating the market it created.

Maintaining Apple’s lead in tablet devices is the job of the third-generation iPad, a product that doesn’t mess with success. Like the iPad 2 before it, this new iPad is not a re-thinking of the original concept. Instead, Apple has chosen to focus on a few areas of improvement while keeping the overall package the same. Though it’s an approach that can frustrate people who are disappointed by anything that’s not a quantum leap, Apple executes it to perfection and reaps the rewards.

iPad (3)
http://daringfireball.net/2012/03/ipad_3

Pixels pixels pixels. Battery battery battery. Speed speed speed.

That’s the new iPad, a.k.a. (for comparison’s sake) the iPad 3. The retina display, significantly faster graphics, and the potential for startlingly fast cellular networking — all with the same renowned battery life (and standby time) as the original iPad and iPad 2.

iPad review (2012)
With a breathtaking display and big hardware upgrades, does the tablet king retain its crown?
http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/14/2870533/ipad-review

The moment Tim Cook took the stage and announced the new iPad on March 7th in San Francisco, I immediately started brainstorming on my review for the device. There are clear challenges in comparing generational, iterative products like the iPad — especially when the devices themselves look nearly identical.

While the device does appear to be physically nearly identical to its predecessor, there are significant changes in the product. For starters, it’s boasting that outrageous Retina display — its 9.7-inch screen delivering a whopping 2048 x 1536 resolution. The new iPad is also equipped with a greatly improved camera on its back (a 5 megapixel shooter, not unlike the one featured on the iPhone 4), new 4G LTE options (for both Verizon and AT&T), and a considerably more powerful CPU.

New iPad: a Million More Pixels Than HDTV
http://allthingsd.com/20120314/new-ipad-a-million-more-pixels-than-hdtv/

Apple’s iPad could be described as a personal display through which you see and manipulate text, graphics, photos and videos often delivered via the Internet. So, how has the company chosen to improve its wildly popular tablet? By making that display dramatically better and making the delivery of content dramatically faster.

There are other changes in the new, third-generation iPad — called simply “iPad,” with no number, which goes on sale on Friday at the same base price as its predecessor, $499. But the key upgrades are to those core features — the 9.7-inch screen and the data speed over cellular networks. These upgrades are massive. Using the new display is like getting a new eyeglasses prescription — you suddenly realize what you thought looked sharp before wasn’t nearly as sharp as it could be.

Apple added LTE and upgraded the processor, display and camera in its latest iPad. The new iPad uses a new Apple A5X applications processor, sporting two CPU and four graphics cores, the company said.

Little is known about the A5X. However, the decision to boost graphics quality in the chip, along with an improved display, should provide noticeable improvements in games, graphics and pictures while keeping the power budget low, said one analyst.

“The new iPad sets the tone and direction for next generation tablets,” said Patrick Moorhead,

He speculated the A5X uses four Rogue graphics cores from Imagination Technologies. Changing to another graphics core provider would not be possible without disrupting Apple’s developer base, he said.

Krewell said the A5X almost certainly uses the Imagination PowerVR SGX543MP4 core. The Rogue core is not due out until later this year, he noted.

With the new processor Apple appears to be on par with Nvidia’s Tegra 3

The tablet will come in separate versions for AT&T and Verizon LTE networks

As expected, Apple on Tuesday announced an event to show off the company’s next generation iPad.

While nobody knows for sure what changes the iPad 3 will have, it is widely expected the device will have a faster processor, improved graphics processor and a Retina Display.

Sources: New Apple TV launching in March, near-immediate availability hinted for new iPads
http://9to5mac.com/2012/02/28/sources-new-apple-tv-launching-in-march-near-immediate-availability-hinted-for-new-ipads/

Reliable sources familiar with Apple’s upcoming product release have said that the company is in fact launching a new Apple TV alongside the next-generation iPad.

We’ve got part numbers for all of these new products below.

With the upcoming iPad 3, most industry watchers seem to agree on a design similar to the iPad 2′s design and a Retina Display. Notably, publications are disagreeing on the new iPad’s processor: some are pointing to a quad-core A6 chip and others are calling for an improved A5 dual-core chip. Why, though? Because Apple is actually developing BOTH.

Your iPad can’t play Flash videos on the Web. Mine can.

Your copy of Windows needs constant updating and patching and protection against viruses and spyware. Mine is always clean and always up-to-date.

All you have to do is sign up for a radical iPad service called OnLive Desktop Plus.

When you open it, you see a standard Windows 7 desktop, right there on your iPad.

The free version of the OnLive Desktop service arrived in January. It gives you Word, Excel and PowerPoint, a few basic Windows apps (like Paint, Media Player, Notepad and Calculator), and 2 gigabytes of storage.

OnLive Desktop Plus. It’s not free — it costs $5 a month

OnLive Desktop Plus adds Flash to your iPad, for $5 a month (hands-on)

Read more: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-31747_7-57383068-243/onlive-desktop-plus-adds-flash-to-your-ipad-for-$5-a-month-hands-on/#ixzz1nCljT400

In case you missed the craziness this week, Microsoft appears to be making some Office apps for the iPad. Or maybe it’s not. Or whatever.

Now, The Daily’s editor Peter Ha has taken to Twitter, calling Microsoft out on the images, saying that they were not fake at all. In fact, says Ha, the app was demonstrated to them by a Microsoft employee.

Regardless of whether these are images of the ‘real’ Office for iPad, it seems silly to conclude that Microsoft isn’t working on a version of it. Especially after it recently announced that some components of Office would be converted over to ARM, the same architecture used by the iPad.

How to parse a Microsoft denial
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/how-to-parse-a-microsoft-denial/11980

Summary: Microsoft’s response to The Daily’s latest Office on iPad story provides a lesson in how to interpret Microsoft’s official responses to information the company isn’t ready to share.

As a long-time Microsoft watcher, I’ve seen lots of Microsoft denials in my day. I’ve had my stories called “not reflective of Microsoft’s current thinking,” mere “rumors” and “based on incorrect and out of date information.”

Notice Microsoft officials did not say that Microsoft isn’t building a version of Office for the iPad. (In fact, if Microsoft wasn’t building Office for the iPad, I’d be more surprised than if they are.)

So what about Microsoft’s claims thatThe Daily’s photos weren’t of a real Microsoft software product? Remember: If something like the actual UI screen in a photo isn’t yet final and subject to change in any way, Microsoft execs technically can say this with a (semi) straight face.

A rumor that Microsoft is releasing an iPad version of its Office software was all over the Web on Tuesday. But Microsoft says it’s just not true.

Back in November, The Daily initially uncovered the existence of an iPad version of the Microsoft Office Suite. Sources now say that the app will soon be submitted to Apple for approval.