The new iPad is finally out, putting an end to all the rumors, expectations and speculations revolving around it. It makes a bigger leap from the iPad 2 than the iPhone 4S did from its predecessor, yet the leap is still not big enough. Apple could have easily blown your mind on Wednesday if it had chosen to, yet its “new and improved” tablet has left people rather disappointed.

The high resolution Retina display is without a doubt the greatest feature of Apple’s new gadget. The graphics processor is better, camera has been bumped up to 5-megapixels, and the LTE capabilities are indeed tempting. But for a minimum price of $499, prospective buyers expect something more.

One of the most disappointing things about the new iPad is that Siri was not included. The voice-operated assistant made a great difference between iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S and made Apple stand out of the crowd. However, the new iPad only features a multi-language voice dictation.

Secondly, though the new iPad packs a 5-megapixel camera, it doesn’t come with a LED flash. The $499 price tag is just the starting price, but if one were to pay a whopping $830 for the 64GB 4G LTE iPad, the 5-megapixel camera with no LED flash would just stand as a cruel joke. With such a stunning display, the camera should exploit its full capabilities.

Finally, despite the recent rumors regarding what the new tablet would be called, Apple surprised everybody by choosing to leave it just as “the new iPad.” Not iPad 3, not iPad HD, not iPad 4G, not any other name, just “the new iPad”. For such a price tag, people at least need a name for their purchase.

People have been waiting for the new iPad to come out and blow their minds; instead, it blew just the expectations. And, now that the iPad 2 (16GB) will be retailing for $399, many would prefer the older, yet cheaper model, instead of spending extra on a new and improved iPad that doesn’t bring that much to the table.