The biggest surprise to come out of Apple iPad launch this morning was the fact that the new iPad is just that, The New iPad. No more sequential nomenclature, just a new straight to the point. And in many way, the name mirrors the gadget itself. Much of the form factors stayed the same, but engineers at Apple swap out much of the innards.

As predicted, Apple’s new iPad has a Retina Display with a resolution of 2048 x 1538, four times more than the iPad 2 and 1 million pixels more than your standard HD display. To complement the new display, Apple added the new A5X processor. With only dual-core, it wasn’t the purported A6 yet the quad-core graphic chipset more than compensate the new device’s speed. There is a brand new iSight camera (the rear facing one) too. Similar to the 5-megapixel sensor found on the iPhone 4S with auto-exposure, auto-focus, and you can now record HD video in 1080p format.

Another prediction realized is the addition of 4G LTE and 42Mbps HSPA+. This means there are more ways for the new iPad to connect wirelessly than any mobile devices out in the market today. New Garage Band, updated iMovie, and iPhoto rivals many of the professional imaging software out there, Apple’ New iPad is ready to revolutionize the very product category it created. And Tim Cook, Apple CEO, proclaimed “Across the year, you’re going to see a lot more of this kind of innovation. We are just getting started.”

A release date is set for Friday, March 16th, through Apple Store locations in the U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan, the New iPad from Apple is also available for pre-order now at $499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model, $599 for 32GB, and $699 for 64GB.

•Dual-Core Apple A5X with Quad-Core Graphic Chip

•2048 x 1536 9.7-inch Retina Display with Multi-Touch Feature and IPS technology

•5-Megapixel iSight Camera with 1080p HD Video Capture

•Supports 4G LTE and 42Mbps HSPA+ Cellular Connectivity

Release Date: March 16th, 2012 (Friday) – US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan