Earlier this week, the iPad 3 came out and I just received a lovely little email from Apple saying that my box of happiness was on it’s way.

Why buy the iPad 3 when I still have a perfectly good iPad 2? It doesn’t make sense. Especially since I spent the last two posts in this series talking about why schools didn’t need to upgrade to the iPad 3 (if they already had the iPad 2) and how the best part about the iPad 3 was the $100 price drop in the old iPad 2.

This last post on the iPad 3 is about why I bought the new iPad anyway. I used Dragon NaturallySpeaking to dictate this 3-post series into my computer. Find out how many times Dragon NaturallySpeaking misunderstood me as I wrote this post.)

So, why did I buy the iPad 3?

If teachers already have an iPad 2, and I’m saying it’s not worth upgrading to an iPad 3 for the classroom, then why did I just pre-order the new iPad 3?

I want faster internet access on the road (cellular data.)

I’m one of the people who actually uses the cellular wireless data plan on their iPad 2.

I get lost constantly on the road. I often need to pull over and have my iPad tell me exactly where I am and exactly where I need to go.

When I’m on the bus, I like being able to work online and access my e-mail and websites on the road.

So of course, I’m thrilled to be able to access a faster 4G network. Now I just need to figure out what kind of 4G LTE coverage we have in Canada.

I want to try out the voice-recognition software on the new iPad 3.

I use Dragon NaturallySpeaking at home, and I found that as great as the Dragon dictation app is at voice-recognition, it’s not as good as Dragon NaturallySpeaking on the PC.

So, I’m a little curious to see how well Apple does voice-recognition software.

I want a better camera on my iPad so any photo I do take with my iPad is worth keeping.

(One of the things that I didn’t like about the iPad 2 was the quality of the images from the camera – you can’t print 4×6 photos taken with your iPad 2.

Now, instead of carrying my five megapixel camera (it’s old, I know), I just have to bring my iPad. I prefer taking photos on my iPad because the GPS records where I took the photo and that new iPhoto app looks fabulous.

I can’t wait to travel again and try out some of the features on that piece of software. I’m also seriously considering buying the iPad camera connector kit, just so I can upload photos from my digital SLR.

The problem I’m going to run into is I only ordered the 32 GB iPad and I think with a lot of HD video and large resolution files, 32 GB may not be enough.

I want to see what the retina display looks like.

Heard about it on the latest iPhone and I’m curious to see if there’s a big difference between the retina display on the iPad and just a regular iPad 2 display.

I can’t see the higher resolution retina display being a game changer for the classroom – in a world where school resources are tightly budgeted, I don’t see better resolution being worth $100 per unit.

I want to see if the iPad 3 runs faster than the iPad 2.

I’m a little curious to see whether the faster processor chip actually produces any significant differences in how fast programs run on the iPad.

I have noticed that with large Keynote presentations, the iPad lags sometimes when you’re switching between Keynote and other apps. It slows down your lesson if you have to wait for your iPad, even if it’s just for a few seconds.

I use Pocket Informant HD, which is a fantastic calendar app because it syncs my Google calendar with my ToodleDo tasks and allows me to do GTD style task management.

The only problem with pocket informant HD on the iPad 2 is that I find it’s a little bit slow. Again, I have to wait a few seconds for the calendar to actually show my events. (On the other hand, when I open up the events in the native iPad calendar app, there’s no lag at all.) I wonder if pocket informant HD will be faster on the iPad 3.

The new iPad 3 can turn into a mobile personal hotspot

This means you can share your 4G LTE cellular wireless data plan with other devices around you. Kinda nice on a road trip.

By upgrading to the iPad 3, it now means I have an extra iPad 2 which I can now use solely as a classroom student iPad.

I really like the iPad. I think it could be a powerful educational tool in the classroom and so now, I’m able to let more students in my class use the iPad to take notes and search the internet.

Here are some more reasons why we should be using the iPad in the classroom.

I used Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 Premium Wireless to write this series on teachers upgrading to the iPad 3.

• Here is some more information about what is Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
• Visit this page to see the number of mistakes Dragon NaturallySpeaking made when I was talking to the computer.

Photo Credit: Big Stock Photo 4G Concept image-11297318

The iPad 3: The new iPad isn’t worth upgrading for teachers and students, and the best part of the iPad 3 is the $100 price drop, but I bought the new iPad anyway. Did you?