The iPad is fast. It’s blazing fast – especially compared to the iPhone 3GS. But, did you know that it’s capable of processing native iPhone OS apps an average of two times faster than an iPhone 3GS? Did you know it does that with much of the same specs as the 3GS? Well, consider yourself put on notice. New tests show that the iPad performs 1.5x to a stunning 3.9x faster when running iPhone OS 3.2 apps versus an iPhone 3GS running iPhone OS 3.0 apps. The iPhone 3GS isn’t a slow smartphone by any means, which makes the iPad a relative monster in computing performance!
You might be asking yourself what differences between the 3GS and iPad account for the speed discrepancy. To that, we’d like to point out that the iPad’s Apple A4 processor runs the same ARM Cortex A8 processing core (albeit at a higher clock speed), paired to the same PowerVR SGX 535 graphics processor and the same amount of RAM that we see in the iPhone 3GS. So, then, what’s different?
Well, for that answer we have to get a little more technical. The difference lies in the type of DRAM used in the iPad. According to UBM TechInsights’ David Carey, the iPad uses DRAM that’s capable of reading and writing data in 64-bit chunks. This “helps it move a lot of data a lot faster.”
It’s also quite likely that A4 processor has optimized the way it works with iPad apps, helping it crunch through data faster than the iPhone 3GS.
In the end, just know that the iPad is a lot faster than the 3GS. If that helps you in your decision to buy and iPad, you’re welcome. If not, just wait for the second gen iPad.
[Via: AppleInsider“]