By Ian Bush

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The tech blogs have been buzzing for months over what Apple has up its sleeve with its new iPad. The upgraded version was unveiled today.

What we didn’t get was the rumored smaller tablet to challenge the Kindle Fire’s lower cost.

The new iPad looks a lot like the iPad 2, until you turn on the screen:

“It’s better than HD television, if you can imagine.”

Thanks to the Retina Display that packs more than three million pixels for ultra-smooth text and crisp photos.

Steve Sande with the Apple blog TUAW.com says you’ll notice the difference when reading, swiping through photos, and gaming:

“Just phenomenal, very photo realistic images.”

Apple claims 10-hour battery life. The starting price for the 16GB WiFi-only model is $499. The new iPad adds LTE from AT&T or Verizon, but that fast 4G wireless connection ups the price to $629.

Apple’s taking pre-orders for next Friday’s release — but if you don’t need the new features, the cost of the iPad 2 has been cut to $400.