After being lucky enough to get my hands on a new iPad (aka the iPad 3) recently, I was equally as thrilled to get the chance to review one of the newly released limited edition Sonic the Hedgehog vinyl skins for the iPad 3, made by ZAGG.

Many people don’t ‘agree’ with using vinyls or any form of case on the back of the iPad. Even Apple themselves have said since the launch of the iPad 2 that only the front of the iPad needs to be covered/protected and that basically, the back of an iPad is too attractive to cover up. This is why Apple make their own ‘Smart Covers’ for the front of the iPad and for the front only. I have to concur that the iPad is a gadget of beauty however, I’m also of the mind that if something is to stay beautiful, something that costs quite a sum of cash to buy in the first place, it has to be protected in some way. Hence, as soon as I got the new iPad, I set off looking for a suitable case for it. There are a number of protective cases available to fit the back of the new iPad – hard cases, rubber cases, leather cases, portfolio cases and so on. Some are attractive and some just aren’t. Nothing really suited what I had in my mind. I wanted something protective but, not too bulky. Something that would cover the back of the iPad without actually feeling like it was covered. Something a bit like the screen protector that I’d already fitted. Then there was the ‘light-bulb moment’.

I’ve been covering my various consoles and gadgets with funky vinyl skins since the day I came across PlayStation 2 vinyls on eBay. How did it not occur to me that a vinyl skin could be absolutely what I needed for my new iPad? Usually I’ve fitted skins to simply change the appearance of a gadget, to funk it up a little but, of course good quality vinyls can be just as protective as they are attractive so off I went in search for one of these high quality vinyls that was made specifically for the iPad 3 and preferably something that also suited my ‘style’.

I searched for all of 20 minutes before I came across something rather special (to my geeky-gamer side) – iPad skins featuring Sonic the Hedgehog and other characters from the Sonic game series! Now, as an avid Sonic fan, this was like finding a pot of blue spiky gold at the end of a rainbow. My only problem now was that these skins were for the iPad 2. Unperturbed and determined to adorn my new iPad with Sonic, I contacted ZAGG International and found out that they would indeed be releasing the Sonic vinyl range for the iPad 3 and as soon as they had one made, I was getting one!

I chose the ‘Sonic Generations Running‘ skin. At first sight, I am extremely impressed with not only the vibrancy of the colours on the vinyl but, by the quality of the vinyl itself, it is clearly top grade vinyl. The ‘image’ itself is clear and as I said, vibrant – the colours are superb and the image is crisp. The packaging is pretty nice too for the record.

While Apple.com may have already sold out of their first batch of the new iPad announced March 7th, many third party retailers have the latest Apple iPad in stock. In the UK retailers such as PC World and Currys let you reserve and collect the newest iPad and in my area at least, there were several stores that had them in stock, ready to collect.

Not so obvious retailers also have the third generation iPad in stock, such as the UK supermarket Tescos, even late in to the afternoon. If you were unlucky enough to have your pre-order delayed and were unable to queue up at a local Apple store, there may still be hope that you can get one before Apple will have more of them in stock.

The new iPad hasn’t got off to a good start in the UK. First the UK Apple store came back online several hours after Apple announced the new iPad, with the first pre-orders being placed shortly before midnight as the store came online shortly after 11:30pm. Buyers who managed to place an order during the night appear to have had their orders fully processed, however those who placed orders after 8am Thursday morning are starting to receive emails from Apple saying that there will be a delay in receiving their shiny new iPad. Some users who placed orders after 8am are still on track for a March 16th delivery but, others are reporting a March 21st delivery date. Unfortunately we at Gizmodot have also been hit with one of these delay emails. The time users pre-ordered and who’s being delayed seems hit and miss though. There are some users who ordered after 8am, Thursday afternoon in fact who’s shipment still looks to be on time, where there are a couple of folks who did manage to order before 8am who have had their orders delayed. The majority of delay emails are affecting those in Scotland and Northern Ireland, while folks in London and the South haven’t been affected as much.

For those who haven’t managed to pre-order yet, the Apple UK website is now indicating a two to three week shipment date but, this is always subject to change as we’re already seeing from the guys who pre-ordered with a March 16th delay stated. For those in the US however, many are reporting to now be receiving emails to say their orders have been shipped for a March 16th delivery. Have you received a delay email, or is your pre-order still set to arrive on time? Let us know in the comments.

Today we’ve seen the new iPad unveiled by Apple but, how does it compare to the iPad 2? If you haven’t got an iPad 2 already is it worth the extra $100/£70 or will you be getting an iPad 2 now the price has dropped? Or are the changes enough to make you iPad 2 owners upgrade? Let us know in the comments.

Chip
Display	High-resolution Retina display 2048×1536-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi) Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously	1024×768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi) Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously
Camera	iSight camera: 5-megapixel with autofocus; tap to focus; face detection in still images; video recording, HD (1080p) up to 30 frames per second with audio; video stabilisation FaceTime camera with VGA-quality photos and video at up to 30 frames per second Photo and video geotagging	Back camera: 0.7 megapixel, Video recording, HD (720p) up to 30 frames per second with audio; still camera with 5x digital zoom Front camera: Video recording, VGA up to 30 frames per second with audio; VGA-quality still camera Tap to control exposure for video or stills Photo and video geotagging over Wi-Fi
Weight and Dimensions	Height: 241.2 mm (9.50 inches) Width: 185.7 mm (7.31 inches) Depth: 9.4 mm (0.37 inches) Weight: 652 g (1.44 pounds) 4G model weight: Weight: 662g (1.46 pounds)	Height: 241.2 mm (9.50 inches) Width: 185.7 mm (7.31 inches) Depth: 8.8 mm (0.34 inches) Weight: 601 g (1.33 pounds) 3G model weight: Weight: 613g (1.35 pounds)
Colour
Wireless	Wi-Fi Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n) Bluetooth 4.0 technology Wi-Fi + 4G LTE (700, 2100 MHz); UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) Data only	Wi-Fi Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n) Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology Wi-Fi + 4G UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) Data only
Battery Life	Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video or listening to music Up to 9 hours of surfing the web using mobile data network Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system	Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video or listening to music Up to 9 hours of surfing the web using mobile data network Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system

Following on from the announcement on the new Apple iPad, the company have reduced the price of the second generation iPad. The iPad 2 is now available for $100 less, retailing at $399 now for the 16GB Wifi model, instead of $499. We’ve also seen a price cut on the 16GB Wifi model here in the UK by £70. The 16GB iPad 2 Wifi model is now £329 instead of £399. Presumably all iPad 2 models have received a price cut of $100/£70 but unfortunately we’re unable to confirm as the Apple website is currently loading rather slowly, in between not loading at all which is understandable as it’s now possible to pre-order Apple’s new iPad.

Image via Engadget