Retina Display for iPad 3 would enable precision required for pilots, doctors
While Apple billed the iPhone 4's Retina Display largely as a nicer way for consumers to view photos, a similar pixel density for iPad 3 would unlock very valuable capabilities for professionals, including pilots using the tablet for electronic charts and doctors using it for medical imaging.
Over the past year, an increasing number of airlines have started using Apple's iPad to replace conventional flight bags weighing 40 pounds or more. But regulations restrict the iPad from being used further than a 50-mile radius of the originating and destination airports.
"The charts for the in-route portion of a flight are still too complex to be displayed well on any electronic device," according to FAA spokesperson Les Dorr in a report by MacWorld.
While "about 75 to 80 percent of a flight is done using the autopilot, in conjunction with the flight management system," according to Flight Safety Foundation executive vice president Kevin Hiatt, the ability to use an electronic device to navigate highly complex flight maps could be expanded with the additional resolution in a "Retina Display" iPad.
Other professionals would similarly benefit from such a doubling improvement in resolution, which would pack four times as many pixels into the same screen area. Apple's iPad has already found high end uses in medical imaging, where it is uniquely approved for use by the FDA.
Retina Display likely to be unique to iPad
While alternative mobile platforms such as Android have enabled Apple's competitors to debut features such as larger screens to smartphones, Apple was first to bring a high resolution, "Retina Display" to a mainstream handheld device, and no mainstream Android phones yet offer anything comparable. The company would likely also be unique in bringing a Retina Display to mainstream tablets.
Apple designed iPad to work principally in a vertical, portrait-style orientation similar to a computer screen, while its competitors have largely focused on tablet devices with wide screen orientations more suited to watching movies. While consumers have largely ignored competing tablets as being poorly suited replacements for laptops, consumers, educators and professionals have snapped up tens of millions of iPads for a range of uses from entertainment to serious work.
Adding a Retina Display resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels to the iPad was first rumored nearly a year ago, and evidence supporting the development has increasingly mounted as the company approaches its third generation of the first successful tablet computer.
Apple has already done the work in iOS to support a potential Retina Display for iPad, preventing the kind of fragmentation that has plagued other mobile operating systems that are generically designed to support anything, but which force developers to account for hardware differences on their own, without tight platform optimization for specific resolutions.
Over the past year, an increasing number of airlines have started using Apple's iPad to replace conventional flight bags weighing 40 pounds or more. But regulations restrict the iPad from being used further than a 50-mile radius of the originating and destination airports.
"The charts for the in-route portion of a flight are still too complex to be displayed well on any electronic device," according to FAA spokesperson Les Dorr in a report by MacWorld.
While "about 75 to 80 percent of a flight is done using the autopilot, in conjunction with the flight management system," according to Flight Safety Foundation executive vice president Kevin Hiatt, the ability to use an electronic device to navigate highly complex flight maps could be expanded with the additional resolution in a "Retina Display" iPad.
Other professionals would similarly benefit from such a doubling improvement in resolution, which would pack four times as many pixels into the same screen area. Apple's iPad has already found high end uses in medical imaging, where it is uniquely approved for use by the FDA.
Retina Display likely to be unique to iPad
While alternative mobile platforms such as Android have enabled Apple's competitors to debut features such as larger screens to smartphones, Apple was first to bring a high resolution, "Retina Display" to a mainstream handheld device, and no mainstream Android phones yet offer anything comparable. The company would likely also be unique in bringing a Retina Display to mainstream tablets.
Apple designed iPad to work principally in a vertical, portrait-style orientation similar to a computer screen, while its competitors have largely focused on tablet devices with wide screen orientations more suited to watching movies. While consumers have largely ignored competing tablets as being poorly suited replacements for laptops, consumers, educators and professionals have snapped up tens of millions of iPads for a range of uses from entertainment to serious work.
Adding a Retina Display resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels to the iPad was first rumored nearly a year ago, and evidence supporting the development has increasingly mounted as the company approaches its third generation of the first successful tablet computer.
Apple has already done the work in iOS to support a potential Retina Display for iPad, preventing the kind of fragmentation that has plagued other mobile operating systems that are generically designed to support anything, but which force developers to account for hardware differences on their own, without tight platform optimization for specific resolutions.
Comments
Makes me sad to think that Steve Jobs won't be the person unveiling the ipad 3 when it finally gets shown. I'm sure one of the other guys will do a fine job, but it won't be the same.
It's true that nobody will ever be a better presenter than Steve Jobs was, but life goes on.
As long as Apple keeps pumping out kickass products that leaves their competitors in the dust and makes hordes of Fandroids wet their pants, then all is well!
I'm not one to believe in crazy rumors and speculation, but if this retina iPad 3 does indeed get released, then sign me up for one! Where can I place my preorder?
Apple designed iPad to work principally in a vertical, portrait-style orientation similar to a computer screen
Last time I looked 99% of computer screens were landscape, not portrait orientation. If anything the iPad's competitor's widescreen screens are more similar to current widescreen computer screens.
I know what you were trying to say, but you failed totally to say it.
Apple was first to bring a high resolution, "Retina Display" to a mainstream handheld device, and no mainstream Android phones yet offer anything comparable
Modern Android phones actually are pretty close. Maybe not as good or better, but they could be called "comparable" IMO.
Makes me sad to think that Steve Jobs won't be the person unveiling the ipad 3 when it finally gets shown. I'm sure one of the other guys will do a fine job, but it won't be the same.
I totally agree with every aspect of what you said.
If anything the iPad's competitor's widescreen screens are more similar to current widescreen computer screens.
And that's exactly why they suck. 4:3 is better for tablets than 16:9. A tablet is not a monitor that is on somebody's desk and it's not a TV that is on somebody's wall.
Most of Apple's no talent competitors and copycats just go with the flow. They figure that current monitors are 16:9, so they say "hey, let's make our tablets 16:9 too!". Actually, I doubt that they really gave much thought to it at all.
Apple, with years of research and planning, decides not to go with the flow and they decided that a 4:3 form factor is far better suited for a tablet. And guess what, tens of millions of people agree with them!
At any rate, it seems likely Apple will beat their tablet competitors by fair amount in this area. Something that could very well make the unit share dominance of the iPad look much like the iPod for their respective markets.
Modern Android phones actually are pretty close. Maybe not as good or better, but they could be called "comparable" IMO.
I don't think it's far to compare pixels to sub-pixels of AMOLED. I think I did read about some new qHD displays that will be Super AMOLED+ that will be comparable but have they made it to market it yet?
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I don't think it's far to compare pixels to sub-pixels of AMOLED. I think I did read about some new qHD displays that will be Super AMOLED+ that will be comparable but have they made it to market it yet?
Not yet, as far as I know; the Droid RAZR is coming to Verizon in two days. The HTC Rezound (345 ppi IPS LCD) is due next week.
As great as this sounds on paper I question the ability to add 4x as many pixels and have the performance and battery life be equal or better. With the iPhone 4 the 4x pixel count was still less than the pixels of the iPad that predated it by 4 months despite having the same basic HW. So I hope this is true but I can't help but be skeptical.
Particularly since they're (apparently) thinking about adding a second backlight, and I know that when I have my backlight up on my iPad, I get 12 or so hours of reading but with it all the way down I'll get twenty-four or more.
At any rate, it seems likely Apple will beat their tablet competitors by fair amount in this area. Something that could very well make the unit share dominance of the iPad look much like the iPod for their respective markets.
Wonder if anyone (meaning other companies) will complain that 'Apple is gobbling up all the 2048x1536 panels so we can't compete' or something. I don't think that ever happened with NAND memory, but I do remember articles about how Apple basically had a stranglehold on that market.
I don't think it's far to compare pixels to sub-pixels of AMOLED. I think I did read about some new qHD displays that will be Super AMOLED+ that will be comparable but have they made it to market it yet?
Gosh, that's all so confusing. I just want QD-LEDs or MEMS displays to happen so we can bypass the decade-long experiment that has been OLED.
Not yet, as far as I know; the Droid RAZR is coming to Verizon in two days. The HTC Rezound (345 ppi IPS LCD) is due next week.
Droid RAZR is only Super AMOLED, and really falls short in the reviews.
THe HTC Rezound looks like it will be the first to best the iPhone's Retina Display. Only took a year and half, which is better than I expected from the competition but there are still other areas in which the display need to be tested, including how long the battery lasts which is pretty hefty at 1620mAh. I just hope that 1.5GHz CPU and 1280x720 IPS display aren't going to make this a poor compromise. Still, I'm glad to see other good (on paper) display panels coming to the competition.
Particularly since they're (apparently) thinking about adding a second backlight, and I know that when I have my backlight up on my iPad, I get 12 or so hours of reading but with it all the way down I'll get twenty-four or more.
That is one area I hope the iPad gets better. The backlight just isn't bright enough for me, especially picking it up after using the iPhone.
Wonder if anyone (meaning other companies) will complain that 'Apple is gobbling up all the 2048x1536 panels so we can't compete' or something. I don't think that ever happened with NAND memory, but I do remember articles about how Apple basically had a stranglehold on that market.
Just wait for the lawsuit that claims Apple is illegally cornering the market on pixels.
Droid RAZR is only Super AMOLED, and really falls short in the reviews.
THe HTC Rezound looks like it will be the first to best the iPhone's Retina Display. Only took a year and half, which is better than I expected from the competition but there are still other areas in which the display need to be tested, including how long the battery lasts which is pretty hefty at 1620mAh. I just hope that 1.5GHz CPU and 1280x720 IPS display aren't going to make this a poor compromise. Still, I'm glad to see other good (on paper) display panels coming to the competition.
Droid is Super AMOLED Advanced, and I haven't been able to find out if it means pentile; the reviews I've read praise it.
I don't think there is competition regarding screen density, merely a gradual evolution towards better screens. If screen density was a factor, millions of people wouldn't still be buying the 3GS with its feature-phone-worthy 320x480 screen.
Too bad most of the traditional medical imaging acquisition and retrieval systems are based on integrated patient record systems built on Windows. In order for iPad to be useful in a universal way in the medical imaging field, the entire system needs to be upgraded to be iPad friendly, and that will likely take a long time.
I respectfully disagree. The facts are quite clear.
1. Many vendors of acquisition modalities offer Unix or Windows compatible systems or even platform agnostic systems. I do believe Microsoft Windows is likely the most popular but not the only option.
2. Operating systems level integration isn't necessary due to the relatively robust standards in medical imaging such as DICOM, HL7 and IHE. There isn't anything that needs to be done to make these systems compatible, the integration standards have existed for decades.
3. Most of the more popular Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (as this type of software is known) vendors offer similar non-diagnostic viewing apps for iPhone and/or iPad. A quick search of iTunes App Store for "PACS" will reveal the truth.
Droid is Super AMOLED Advanced, and I haven't been able to find out if it means pentile; the reviews I've read praise it.
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I only read one:
http://www.theverge.com/2011/11/7/25...id-razr-review
"and second, the RAZR’s screen looks pretty bad. Super AMOLED panels use the inferior PenTile pixel arrangement, and the RAZR’s 256dpi pixel density doesn’t hide it — in fact, it seems to make it worse. Not only are individual pixels readily apparent, but text looks jaggy, there’s red fringing around vertical lines, and images seem to de-res when scrolling in the browser."
I only read one:
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Thanks, I read more than one, but I find it pointless to post someone else's opinion. If the picture that they have provided in the review is of the actual RAZR screen, then it is clearly pentile. Nevertheless, the qualification is entirely subjective.