A picture paints a thousand words, as the phrase goes, so we couldn't resist putting the iPad 2 next to the new iPad Retina Display to see if we could spot the difference up close.

The simple answer? Yes you can.

You can clearly see the difference between the two shots we've photo merged together of the Contacts icon and the YouTube icon from the iPad 2 and the new iPad at the launch event when we got a chance to play with the new model.

All the shots are taken in the same lighting environment at the event - sorry the lighting wasn't great - but it goes to show you just how much crisper the new screen is. Yep, you can even now read the A-F in the icon.

The reason for that extra crispness is that while the new iPad still sports the same 9.7-inch IPS display, the resolution is now 2048 x 1536 pixels, giving you a pixel density of 264ppi.

The new iPad Retina Display

That means it's incredibly sharp and detailed, cutting down on the need to zoom to see finer print and so on. Apple also claim 44 per cent great colour saturation than previously.

It's those two facts that create what you see on the photos we've shot. 

Impressive. 

The new iPad: Everything you need to know