The new iPad which was finally revealed last March 7, 2012 during an official Apple event changed the whole tablet war once again because of the specifications in the new iPad. Instead of calling it "iPad 3", Apple decided to just call name it as the "new iPad" and its improved specifications and features mean that Android tablets have to step up their game in order to compete with the new iPad.

Comparing the new iPad against top Android tablets would be a great help especially for people who are trying to choose on the kind of tablet that they want to buy. Here is a brief comparison between the new iPad from Apple, Asus Transformer Prime, Acer Iconia Tab A700, and Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1:

Dimensions:

Apple's New iPad: 9.5 x 7.31 x 0.37 in

Asus Transformer Prime: 10.35 x 7.12 x 0.33 in

Acer Iconia Tab A700: 10.24 x 6.85 x 0.39 in

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1: 10.1 x 6.9 x 0.35 in

Display Size:

Apple's New iPad: 9.7 in

Asus Transformer Prime: 10.1 in

Acer Iconia Tab A700: 10.1 in

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1: 10.1 in

Display Resolution:

Apple's New iPad: 2048 x 1536 pixels

Asus Transformer Prime: 1280 x 800 pixels

Acer Iconia Tab A700: 1920 x 1200 pixels

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1: 1280 x 800

Processor:

Apple's New iPad: Dual-core ASX with Quad-Core graphics

Asus Transformer Prime: 1.3 GHz Quad-Core

Acer Iconia Tab A700: 1.3 GHz Quad-Core

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1: 1.4 GHz Quad-Core

OS

Apple's New iPad:iOS 5.1

Asus Transformer Prime: Android 3.2 Honeycomb

Acer Iconia Tab A700: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Storage/Expendable Storage:

Apple's New iPad: 16/32/64 GB; no microSD

Asus Transformer Prime: 32/64 GB; microSD option up to 32GB

Acer Iconia Tab A700: 16/32/64 GB; microSD option up to 32GB

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1: 16/32/64 GB; microSD option up to 32GB

Cellular Connectivity/Wi-Fi Connectivity:

Apple's New iPad: 3G, 4G LTE/Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n

Asus Transformer Prime: NA

Acer Iconia Tab A700: HSDPA/Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1: HSPA+/EDGE-GPRS/Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n

Price and Availability

Apple's New iPad: US$499 and above/March 16, 2012

Asus Transformer Prime: No Price Information/for shipping status

Acer Iconia Tab A700: No Price and Availability Information

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1: US$400 for Wi-Fi model/for shipping status

Based on the specifications and features of these tablets, Apple's new iPad clearly has an edge when it comes to dimensions, display resolution, and cellular connectivity. Most experts state that the new iPad was able to improve more in terms of specific features that users are looking for in their tablets. In terms of pricing, Android tablets have some advantage since there tablets that have a low selling rate but users have to sacrifice some tablet specifications and features.

In a research report done by Forrester Inc., Apple remains as the top player in the tablet industry accounting for an estimated 73% of all tablet sales. The release of this new iPad could help boost more sales since there was already a US$100 slash in iPad 2 models. In order for Android to compete against Apple, they really need to step up their game in order to replace Apple's dominance in the tablet market.