8 Mar 2012

Apple unveils new iPad

8:03 am on 8 March 2012

Apple has unveiled a new iPad with a high-resolution screen.

The company believes the tablet market represents the future - so much so that tablet computers are expected to outsell desktop computers.

Apple dominates the market but is set to face a fresh challenge when devices running the full Windows 8 system are expected to go on sale later this year, the BBC reports.

The company said the resolution of the new iPad's display was 2048 by 1536 pixels.The tablet is also powered by a new A5X chip with improved graphics performance.

The new iPad also features a 5-megapixel camera sensor. It will be able to run on 4G networks where the service is available and can act as a wi-fi hotspot for other devices if carriers allow the function.

Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller said the tablet has the same 10-hour estimated battery life as the previous model when using 3G. That limit shortens by an hour when using 4G.

Analysts at Gartner said it expects Apple to sell 69 million iPads before the end of 2012.

By contrast if forecasts stores will sell 22.8 million tablets running Google's Android system, and 6.3 million Blackberry Playbook devices.