Unboxing The new iPad

I waited a long time in line, and I’m excited to share it with you. Here is the front of the line at 6AM. It got a lot longer as the morning moved on.

Prepare yourself for some classic iPad unboxing pics.

I bought a black and a white iPad this morning. The white one is mine, so that’s the one I’m opening up this morning.

It’s packaged just like the iPad 2. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were using the same boxes.

First taking the iPad out of the box it’s almost indistinguishable from the iPad 2. Some of the bloggers said they could tell that it was heavier. I could not tell, even though I was trying to be conscious of it.

The change in thickness is almost immeasurable as well. However, sitting them next to each other it’s a bit more clear.

Same gorgeous aluminum back. I’m maybe too much of a perfectionist with my devices, so I already have an iPad 3 screen protector to put on it before I even use it.

Turning it on… Same iCloud you’ve seen with iOS 5.

A couple initial thoughts, I’ll have more later:

1 – The size and thickness was very overstated. I couldn’t feel the size difference in thickness or weight. Even sitting them next to each other, or holding them in hand it was difficult to see that the new iPad was thicker and heavier.

2 – The screen doesn’t shock you when you first see it. I thought it would. However, once you’ve seen it, going back to the iPad is shocking. It is shocking that you ever thought it looked decent. Comparing them side-by-side with a website or retina enabled iPad app it is extremely obvious.

If you don’t want to be tempted to buy a new iPad, don’t go look at it. Once you’ve seen it, every screen you look at (including your laptop, and 1080p monitor on your desk) will look pixelated. I already hate my 13″ MacBook Pro’s screen.

I’m excited to use and love the new iPad. I’ll let you all know how it goes. If you have questions it’s easiest to reach me @jkhowland on Twitter.