Apple’s much-anticipated media announcement surrounding the iPad, iPad 3, iPad HD, etc. went down this morning, and I will attempt to sum up the details. First and foremost, it’s just called “the new iPad,” which I think is a welcome move from Apple, a company all about simplicity and delivering a concise message to consumers. I wonder if they’ll follow suit with the next iPhone by dropping any potential numbers or letters from its name. Now, let’s get to the gems of what makes this iPad the next big thing.

The new Retina Display will make text, photos, and pretty much everything look mega-fantastic when compared to your old iPad, your Samsung tablet, reality, and more. It packs more pixels than your fancy-pants flatscreen TV in your living room. I’ll hold off on further hyperbole until I actually see one in the wild and get a chance to use it.

Without getting too deep into tech specs, the new iPad is faster, so even non-tech savvy users would notice a speed bump from the revamped innards. The iPad’s new rear camera matches that of the iPhone 4′s 5 megapixel sensor. Those grainy photos you shot using your iPad 2 will now look MUCH better thanks to the new sensor, IR filter, autofocus and white balance, and face detection. You can also record video in 1080p with stabilization and noise reduction, but you will still look silly holding up a giant shiny piece of glass during your child’s school function or recital. Hey, Apple can’t fix everything…

One of the most intriguing moments of the announcement was the iPad’s new Voice Dictation feature, which will be wonderful for people like doctors, reporters, and teachers. Strangely enough they are not calling this feature Siri, but I can guarantee they’ve implemented the same amazing voice recognition technology they’ve got. I use this all the time with my iPhone 4S and think that it will continue to spoil me for years to come. The new iPad now supports 4G LTE. What does this mean to average users? Fast data connection (where supported). Okay. So you want me to get a bit technical? As Phil Schiller stated in the keynote “Now the new iPad supports HSPA+ for up to 21Mbps, and if you havenít heard about dual-carrier HSDPA for up to 42Mbps.” You got that? Good. Moving on.

Pricing starts at $499, which is refreshing to note that some of the rumors last week were speculating that it could be as much as $80 higher than the standard $499 introductory price. Get yours as wi-fi only, or compatible with AT&T and Verizon’s 3G and 4G LTE networks. Pre-orders begin today, with availability beginning on March 16. It’s interesting to note that along with all of these amazing improvements, Apple is still advertising the same 10 hours of battery life for wi-fi models. 4G only knocks your battery life down one hour.

Finally, I believe the real magic today, much like last year’s announcement, was in Apple’s software announcements. The real show stealer for me is iPhoto, one of my favorite apps for the Mac, is now available on the iPad for just $4.99. Coincidentally, right before today’s announcement, I ran into an old friend who tells me, “I can’t stand Apple. They make things too easy for everybody.” It’s quite the contrary, and this is why Apple is continuing to rack up win after win after win. Technology and its creative applications must be accessible to all. But more on that later…