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Pepper Pad 3 vs. Pad 2,
originally uploaded by chuma_.

Showing up about a week early is my wife’s Pepper Pad 3. I thought the Pad 2 was pretty darn cool, but the new model is a definite improvement.

First of all it came pre-loaded with Pepper Keeper 3.0, which I can’t wait to get on my Pad 2. The UI makes much better use of the screen real estate and is more colourful to boot.

The new Pad 3 hardware – based on the AMD Geode LX800 platform – runs circles around the old XScale architecture. It’s SERIOUSLY FASTER. I don’t know how I can stress this enough. Switching apps is INSTANT now. No lag whatsoever. And this is with the same amount of RAM and hard disk as the Pad 2.

Network performance is better too, a combination of G-class wireless with a better antenna. Pages render faster.

I didn’t get too much time to poke around last night, but most other applications look pretty much the same. I’m sure there are bugfixes in place. I did try the built-in camera out: don’t be expecting any stellar optics but it’s a passable webcam or video conferencing camera (which is of course what it’s supposed to be.)