Yes…Another “New” iPad Article: So What Does It Mean For Comic Fans?

By / Thursday, March 8, 2012 - 5:01AM
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Unless you live in a van down by the river, I’m sure at this point you’ve heard about the release of “the new iPad.” Wednesday’s Apple product announcement was a big hit. Where were you today when productivity halted and the virtual lights of the interweb dimmed as gazillion people watched live blogs, video streams and podcasts to witness the debut of the new wallet draining baubles? 

Yes, as I’m sure you know, it has the wonderful retina display, a faster graphics processor, better rear camera, 1080P Video, 4G and Siri “light.”

But what’s in it for us as comic fans?

It’s all about the ‘Resolutionary’ Retina display. The ultra-sharp 2048 x 1536 pixel display will surely have Hulk smashing through it and Eleanor leaping off of it!

I’m sure I’m not the only one who is looking forward to re-reading all of their electronic comics on the Retina display. From all reports it’s truly incredible and even better than the one on the current iPhones. I’m sure the popular e-comic platforms like ComiXology and Graphicly will quickly take advantage of the new technology and present new content in a way it’s never been seen before, but…will they “upgrade” all the older content? We’ll have to see. What does concern me is how will DRM free collections in .cbr, .cbz, or even pdf look like on the new screen? Will readers like Comic Zeal implement new techniques to “upconvert” lower resolution content or will we be left with a pixilated mess? Something to think about.

Apple demonstrated the new iPad’s retina display with a new app called Autodesk Sketchbook Ink, a painting app that is vector-based and resolution independent. In the video you really got a sense it truly replicated what it’s like to paint on a real page. Between this and 3rd party pressure sensitive styli that are on the horizon, this combo should serve as a lower cost electronic canvas for budding Indy creators. I’m looking forward to the first — created only on the new iPad — comic.

I’m still running the old school original iPad. I’m actually writing this article on it now. I’m sure I’ll eventually upgrade, but I don’t plan on camping out or pre-ordering. Will you?

Let me know in the comments or tweet me @10onthetoilet.