How good is the new iPad? Is it worth replacing an iPad 2?

How does it compare to Android tablets?

See what others have to say in this review roundup.

Availability: Pre-orders begin today. On sale March 16.

Price: Retains pricing for the iPad 2. The iPad 2 will soldier on starting at $399.
The new iPad:
$499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model
$599 for the 32GB Wi-Fi model
$699 for the 64GB Wi-Fi model
$629 for the 16GB 4G model
$729 for the 32GB 4G model
$829 for the 64GB 4G model

Appearance & dimensions: It looks familiar. Comes in black or white. It is 9.4mm thick and weighs 1.5 pounds -slightly beefier than the iPad 2's 8.8mm and 1.35 pounds.

Processor: Powered by a A5X dual-core. No specifics on speed yet.

Display: The resolution is bumped to retina display specifications at 2048 x 1536 pixels

Connectivity: 3G, HSPA+ for up to 21Mbps, dual-carrier HSDPA for up to 42Mbps and LTE for up to 72Mbps.

Camera: Rear-facing 5MP iSight camera with the optics system from the iPhone 4S. HD video recording now in 1080p resolution.  Built-in stabilization, auto-exposure, auto-focus, auto-face detection, and AF-lock. Facetime camera on the front.

Battery: Retains the same battery life as the iPad 2. Up to 10 hours of browsing over Wi-Fi and 9 hours over 4G.

Extras:
A new button at the bottom of the keyboard adds voice dictation.

iPhoto for the iPad edits photos, adds effects, and share images device-to-device.

iWork and GarageBand get updates.

Watch this with the proverbial grain of salt, but it does appear credible. Look below the video for the roundup of what to expects from Apple's March 7 announcement. Be careful,the soundtrack may spawn flashes of dialog free scenes from 80s movies.

Magician Simon Pierro gives an entertaining demo of some new iPad tricks.

Apple may also have a lower cost option in its iPad lineup planned. Apple is holding an event on March 7 that is all but official to be focused on the iPad 3.

According DigiTimes, in addition to a new iPad, Apple will reportedly launch an 8GB version of the iPad 2. If DigiTimes is right, the move would help position Apple to compete with lower priced tablets from competitors.

Can Apple get the cost of an iPad low enough to compete directly with Amazon's Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet from Barnes & Noble?

iPad rumors are a year-long affair, but an imminent arrival of a new iPad from Apple is about as sure as spring itself. Some retail stores have already cut iPad 2 prices which substantiate the arrival of a new tablet from Cupertino.

When: UPDATE: Apple has officially sent invites for an event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco at 1 p.m. EST on Wednesday March 7. [Several tech media outlets report an announcement in the first week of March. Some seem sure it will be on Wednesday, March 7 with the device going on sale possibly in the same month.]

Specs: Obviously, faster processing, but how is the question. Apple is rumored to be testing an overhauled version of the current dual-core A5 chip and a new quad-core chip. Geeks may fawn over quad-core badging, but hot some dual-core processors are performing better than current quad-core.

The most anticipated change for the iPad would be a move to a higher resolution display. The tech world seems certain the iPad will get a retina display that debuted on the iPhone 4 -or at least something near it. Evidence from MacRumors makes a compelling case. It acquired what is allegedly the new screen which has been confirmed to have a 2048x1536 resolution.

Reports also point to 4G LTE connectivity with both AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

How Apple balanced performance upgrades with battery life will be a big question until the announcement? Battery life has been an iPad ace.

Design: Don't expect anything radical. Rumors have bounced from a thinner to a thicker casing, but the most recent word is a tapered design. So maybe it is both thinner and thicker than the current iPad. The changes would be made to accommodate beefed up internals.

The current device measures nearly 10 inches, but rumors suggest a smaller 8 inch version could be in the pipeline. A smaller device could better position Apple against the likes of the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet.

An AT&T iPhone user successfully sued the telecommunications firm for throttling his unlimited data plan.

A small claims court in California awarded Matt Spaccarelli $850 for throttling, which slows down data sent to or from a smartphone for the duration of a billing cycle to preserve network capacity.

AT&T has 17 million data plans that might be subject to throttling, according to this AP article about Spaccarelli's victory.

In other news, Android-powered smartphone owners face a new security flaw.

A cyber security researcher found that users who open links sent from malicious text messages might unwittingly allow their phones to be remotely commandeered. If that happens, a hacker could record calls or view texts, emails and location data.

Though the researcher only tested Android phones, he said iPhones are at risk, too.

The Los Angeles Times has more information here.

Apple revealed additional details Monday about its massive data center located in Maiden, North Carolina.

The 500,000 square foot facility, costing a reported $1 billion, hosts data for Apple's iCloud and Siri services. 

Having already obtained LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification, the report from Apple includes plans to go greener by building what it calls "the nation’s largest end user–owned, onsite solar array" and the "largest non-utility fuel cell installation."

The next successor in Apple's iPad tablet may be unveiled soon and with significant hardware upgrades.

All Things D reports Apple will hold its launch for the iPad 3 in early March.

Don't expect anything drastically different from Apple's current form factor, but a quad-core processor, more powerful graphics processing, and a display at or near 2048×1536 resolution is very likely. Will the iPad 3 be Apple's first foray into LTE?

Apple is said to be intensely laboring away to ready apps in time for the iPad 3 launch.

Apple is under fire for its association with electronics manufacturer Foxconn, which has also been busy making headlines over harsh labor conditions.

Android devices aren't made by fairies. In fact, the long list of notable companies that partner with Foxconn reaches far and wide:

    Acer Inc. (Taiwan)
    Amazon.com (United States)
    Asus (Taiwan)
    Barnes & Noble (United States)
    Dell (United States)
    Hewlett-Packard (United States)
    Intel (United States)
    IBM (United States)
    Lenovo (China)
    Logitech (Switzerland)
    Microsoft (United States)
    MSI (Taiwan)
    Motorola (United States)
    Netgear (United States)
    Nintendo (Japan)
    Nokia (Finland)
    Panasonic (Japan)
    Philips (Netherlands)
    Samsung (South Korea)
    Sharp (Japan)
    Sony Ericsson (Japan/Sweden)
    Toshiba (Japan)
    Vizio (United States)

Phandroid.com poses the question: Why are Android users relatively silent while some Apple users anyway are making noise? There are petitions at Change.Org and SumOfUs.Org.