We’ve been feeling the anticipation of the new iPad announcement and after all the build-up we’re just starting to come down to earth again. After being touted as the iPad 3 or iPad HD it turns out the new iPad is actually called the ‘new iPad.’ We now want to take a look at the iPad 2 vs. the new iPad and take a look at the spec differences between them.

The comparison may give you some idea as to whether it’s worth you upgrading to the new iPad if you already have the iPad 2. Indeed, if you’re in the market for a tablet at all it may convince you that the new iPad is definitely worth having. The iPad has dominated the tablet market and we feel the latest Apple offering will keep the iPad at the top of the tablet tree so let’s compare specs.

First off we’ll remind you what the iPad 2 has to offer. Its specs and features included a 1GHz Apple A5 dual-core processor, a 9.7-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1024×76, PowerVR SGX 543MP2 graphics, 512MB of RAM, and 16, 32 or 64GB storage models. It also features a 0.7-megapixel rear camera and VGA front-facing shooter, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and a 25-watt-hour lithium polymer battery enabling around 10 hours use.

Compare that with the new iPad and you’ll see that Apple has made a pretty big step up. The new iPad has a 9.7-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD ‘Retina Display’ with a massive improvement in resolution to 2048×1536. It also has an Apple A5X dual-core processor, quad-core graphics processor (possibly the PowerVR SGX MP4+) and also comes in 16, 32 or 64GB storage models, although RAM is still to be confirmed. The rear camera really steps up to 5-megapixels with 1080p video recording, five-element autofocus lens and backside illuminated sensor while the front-facing camera remains the same. Again there’s 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi and this time Bluetooth v 4.0 and the battery this time is a 42.5- watt-hour lithium polymer for around 10 hours use, or 9 hours on 4G. The New iPad also has 4G LTE connectivity, which was lacking in the iPad 2.

Comparison specs are courtesy of Engadget. As you can see then, the new iPad offers a radical improvement over the iPad 2 and the starting price of $499 is the same as the iPad 2 was, which will now come down in price. You can pre-order the new iPad now for a release in many regions on March 16, with other regions to follow on March 23. What do you think of how the new iPad compares with the iPad 2? Will you be pre-ordering the new iPad?