iPad: What's in a Name

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) finally drew the curtain on its next-generation iPad, revealing a device that looks a whole lot like last year's model but is definitely packing some heavier guts. First of all the screen is now a super-sharp Retina display, so named because theoretically you shouldn't be able to spot the individual pixels with a naked eye. It's like the display you can already find on an iPhone 4 or 4S. Also, as usual, the new iPad is loaded with faster processors -- it's got a new A5X chip with quad-core graphics. The device's cameras have been given a brush-up, with the rear cam now able to record HD video. And now the iPad is available with 4G LTE wireless for those who don't mind paying for cellular data. This strongly hints at the possibility that the next iPhone may be an LTE device as well. The new iPad follows Apple's standing price structure. Models start at US$500 and go all the way up to $830 for LTE plus maximum storage. Meanwhile, the iPad 2 now starts at $400. Now, about the name -- I haven't called it an "iPad 3" or an "iPad HD" because apparently that's not its name. Apple is only referring to it as the "new iPad." That could lead to a little initial confusion, but on some levels it does make sense. Apple doesn't call its latest MacBook Pro the "MacBook Pro 7" or whatever generation it happens to be on. If you need to know which generation it is, you can find out, but in terms of branding and casual reference, it's just a MacBook Pro. And now its seems iPads will just be iPads. Besides, the naming convention for the iPhone is already getting a little weird. The second model had a three in it, the fifth model has a four in it, and if they call the next one "iPhone 5," it'll actually be the sixth generation. And who knows, maybe Apple's also taking a swipe at Android for what critics have said is its fragmented nature.