Why is it so great you might ask? The answer is in this in the simplicity of the app. As soon as I load the app it instantly synchronises my feeds from Google reader onto my iPad.

Reader is fast. Of course how fast it syncs your feeds onto your iPad does depend on your broadband connection, however of similar apps I’ve tested reader synchronises faster faster than any other app.

When you first install the app you’ll need to connect it to your Google reader account. As soon as you do you’ll see folders starting to appear on your reader dashboard. these folders replicate the Google reader structure you already have in place for your feeds. you’ll start to see numbers on these folders, these numbers represent number of unread items you have within each feed. Each folder is named as you have to named on Google reader. To see the name of each feed you having a folder just pinch the folder and opens it up.

Reading items in Reeder

In landscape mode stories you may be interested in appear on the left-hand side. the main content appears on the right hand side. This is similar to the way email works on the iPad. Using the list of items on the left hand side you can mark favourites, mark items as read or mark items as unread.

For many RSS feeds, the main content isn’t the feed itself but on the website the feed come from. Reader opens these links within the app.

If you use Google reader a lot then buy reader on the iPad. It makes reading your favourite feeds much easier.

Visit the Reeder website

Instacast is a dedicated podcasting app thats brings with it more features than iTunes wrapped in an amazing app experience that gives you instant access to both audio and video podcasts.

Subscribe to Podcasts with Instacast

When you first load the instacast app it connects to your podcast feeds to download the latest episode. You can either manually enter a list of feeds that you want checked, or you can browse popular podcasts by category. Browsing by category is my favourite option as you can often come across other podcasts that you may also be interested in.  To start browsing all you need to do is hit the plus icon in the top left of the screen. As expected there is a small introduction to each podcast with the usual thumbnail. One thing I find really useful is the listing of individual podcasts with dates next to them. I can easily see when the last episode was. If you find a podcast that hasn’t been updated in six months, it’s likely the producer has moved on. Thats not necessarily a reason not to download however, as often the content of past episodes can be great, especially if it’s around a specific niche you are interested in. With instacast you can browse past episodes very easily.

Latest episodes always on your iPad

As i’ve mentioned I hate having to connect my iPad to my main home computer to transfer the latest podcasts from my main computer to my iPad via iTunes. With Instacast on my iPad I don’t need to. The app will check my feeds and update its episode listings.  I can set instacast to download the latest episodes, I can manually select episodes or I can just stream them via the Instacast interface. I usually stream, unless I know i’m going to be offline, in which case I select a few podcasts to download. The great thin g with instacast is that there is both an iPad and iPod/iPhone version. This means that it can be used on any iOS device. Although I mainly stream audio and video podcasts to my iPad, I use it differently on my iPod. On my iPod I only have audio podcasts which I have set to be downloaded automatically. This means as long as I have my iPod with me, I know I have something interesting to listen to.

Connect instacast with Dropbox and iCloud

Keeping different devices in sync can be a challenge. With instacast you can connect your iPad and any other iOS device together via dropbox or iCloud. With iCloud each device will know what you are currently listening to and where you left off.

Instacast on the iPad

One of the things that makes the iPad the best tablet available is the wealth of apps out there that help you make the most of your device. Instacast is an app that can unlock the true value of your iPad.

Visit the Instacast website

Read another review of the Instacast

iPad dimensions by model

The dimensions of the new iPad are almost identical to the iPad 2.

iPad 1st generation

9.56 in (243 mm) (h)
7.47 in (190 mm) (w)
0.50 in (13 mm) (d)

iPad 2nd generation

9.50 in (241 mm) (h)
7.31 in (186 mm) (w)
0.34 in (8.6 mm) (d)

iPad 3rd generation

9.50 in (241 mm) (h)
7.31 in (186 mm) (w)
0.37 in (9.4 mm) (d)

The iPad is as thin as a magazine and as heavy as a book. It’s not as light as a kindle however with an iPad you are getting far more than an ebook reader.

iPad screen dimensions

The iPad screen is smaller than the full size of the iPad. The screen sits in the middle of the iPad surrounded by a bezel which matches the colour of the iPad. Sitting within this bezel is the front facing camera that you can use with Skype and a home button. Click the home button to jump out of any app back to your home screen.

The Ram on the iPad has been increased to 1Gb and this gives the a5x processor even more capability.

Improvements in processors

The iPad 1 was launched with an a4 processor, if like me you upgrade from and iPad 1 to the new iPad you will be amazed at how much faster the new iPad A5X processor is. Will you see a speed difference if you upgrade from an iPad 2? The new processor in the iPad has been enhanced for graphics intensive tasks, for the user this means enhanced graphics performance especially in gaming.

In terms of actual size the a5x is physically over 300% bigger than the chip seen in the iPad 1. Majority of that size increase is down to the multiple cores that power the new retina display.

The new iPad has an HD screen, as well as a camera that can capture 1080p footage, an improved processor and a bigger battery. Rated: 4.5/5

Key findings in the iPad Review

• In outward form, there’s little to distinguish the new iPad from last year iPad.
• Apple has uprated the new iPad screen’s resolution fourfold, from the long-popular 1024 x 768 of PCs, to the HD-punishing resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels. The result is breathtakingly sharp typography and cunningly crisp images.
• Viewing most content on-screen, it’s like looking at a glossy magazine, not a computer screen.
• 10 hour lifespan again for the new iPad.

 4G support on the iPad

The new iPad supports 4G this means it is future proofed so that you are ready to take advantage of super fast mobile broadband as soon as it hits the UK. However don’t but an iPad just because it is 4G as until 4G is launched you will only have access to 3G speed. On the Three network we measured in excess of 11Mbps download and 4Mbps upload performance, well beyond the limits of many a home’s fixed-line connection.

The iPad Camera

See the difference in the iPad Screen

As soon as you unbox the new iPad and turn it on you will see a huge difference between your other devices and the iPad. The most visible impact will at first be on text and images. An increasing number of apps are now getting updated to take advantage on the new retina display. For apps you already own these updates are free. Soon you could be enjoying your apps with improved graphics and a richer experience.

iPad Screen Specifications

• Retina display
• 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
• 2048-by-1536-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi)
• Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
• Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Flipboard

• Knows who your friends are so knows what you are interested in.
• It pulls in images
• It connects to your social networks so brings you what your friends are sharing
• Flipboard also delivers content for different sectors from high quality sources it curates.
• Share with stories from your iPad to yourc social networks using Flipboard.
• Collect everything that may interest you all in one place.
• The stuff you care about all in one place.

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Questions to ask yourself before buying an iPad 2

Before buying a gadget when a newer one is on the horizon good questions to ask yourself are:

Do I have an alternative I can use that fulfills the same purpose? You may already have the original iPad so upgrading to the iPad 2 is probably not going to be worth it knowing that the iPad 3 is on its way. The original iPad is a great device and most users should be able to”make do”.

How far away is the newer one? The new iPad 3 won’t be here until the spring of 2012 so you are probably looking at a long wait.

Will the newer one have any early bugs? New versions of products can be buggy. Recall the iPhone 4 with its phone signal issue or the Xbox with its red rings. If you want a completely bug free experience you may want to wait a few months from launch for any issues to be uncovered.

How much more expensive will the new one be? The new iPad 3 is likely to be at around the same price point of the current iPads. The current generation of iPads could fall in price when the iPad3 is launched.

Will I be able to get my hands on one at launch? Both the iPad 1 and iPad 2 went out of stock within a few hours of launch. There was a waiting list that buyers had to join.

Can I afford to get both? If you can afford to get the iPad 2 now and the iPad 3 at launch then I guess you may not be reading this. You may be able to sell your iPad 2 when you get an iPad 3 and at the time the iPad 2 launched the original iPads were going for about £199 on eBay. Alternatively you may be able to give your old iPad away as a gift or find a new purpose for it. When I get a new iPad my old one will be used for streaming media from my PC.

The conclusion?

It depends on when you are reading this article.

Before February 2012: Buy the iPad 2. It’s an awesome device. You’ll need to wait months for launch, may not be able to get hold of one at launch and the iPad 3 may have a few bugs that you want found and fixed before you take the leap.

After February 2012: If the iPad 3 is still on track for a spring release it should only be 4 or 5 months away. If you can wait then you should. Nearer launch we will be posting both iPad 3 rumors and the final iPad 3 Specification. Of course we will bring you the best iPad 3 prices as soon as we can.

What do we think we know about the iPad 3?

• It’ll be slimmer than the iPad 2.
• It could feature a high quality display. Possibly the retina display featured in the newer iPhones will also make their way to the iPad 3. This is at least four times better than the current iPad.
• Screen size will be tha same as the current iPad 2.
• It will ofcourse feature the latest iOS5 operating system from Apple.
• It will be equiped with Siri, the voice controlled personal assistant.
• It could feature A6 processor making it much faster than the current iPad.