iPad OpenGL animating texture vs uiimageview

Question

I have a sequence of 24 images that I need to animate on the iPad. The images are full screen - 1024x768.

I currently have them displayed using an UIImageView, however there are some issues

If I use [UIImage initWithContentsOfFile] to load my images, then the sequence displays very slowly the first time they are displayed, but smoothly after this.

If I use [UIImage imageNamed] to load my images, the sequence plays smoothly every time, but I have memory errors.

Is there a better solution? Can I somehow integrate an OpenGL animated texture on a layer? Can I reload my images while still using inintWithContentsOfFile?

The Elements application for the iPad has fast loading large animation, and this is based on Cocos2D. Is there a way to use elements of this in a normal uikit app?

Any advice would be appreciated.