New iPad News
August 26th, 2011 at 3:16 PM EST | by Oliver VanDervoort
Has Apple bitten off a little more than it can chew as far as developing the iPad 3? Over the last few days and weeks we have brought you plenty of different reports and rumors about the newest iPad and when it will be released. More recently the underlying stories have been problems with developing the components in time for the planned release. Most stories have talked about how the Retina display that Apple wants included in iPad 3 has lead to moving the release back from later this fall to early 2012, but will another setback in regards to components push back the release further?
The A6 chip is another piece of equipment that is still being worked on and is also expected to be included in the newest iPad and is yet another reason for the release of the iPad 3 being pushed back. Originally reports said that the A6 chip would be done shortly after the start of the New Year but now a new report from CNET says that the faster chip may not be ready for mass production until the second quarter of 2012. The conundrum for Apple now is, do they still want to release an iPad 3 with better resolution but running on an A5 chip or do they want to wait until the A6 chip, which is reportedly going to have four processor cores (double the A5) and using the “3D” chip technology that Intel has recently begun trotting out? It is almost a certainty that at some point there will be an iPad 4 but would the company want to release two different models so close together?
comment on this story | Comments Off on Delays With A6 Chip May Push iPad 3 Launch Back to June 2012
August 26th, 2011 at 9:29 AM EST | by Oliver VanDervoort
Despite being the first tablet of its kind on the market, new projections show that the Apple iPad will still hold the attention of tablet users through at least 2013 and possibly well beyond. A research firm known as IHS iSuppli has recently released updated sales projections of all sorts of tablet computers through 2015 and the company says that the iPad will still dominate the market for another two years at the very least. IHS says that the main reason Apple will continue its stranglehold is because of their innovation but also because the other tablet manufacturers simply cannot put out a product that is as high a quality.
The demand for the Apple iPad has actually grown to the point where the company is now projecting the demand for the iPad this year to reach 44.2 million units. That projection is actually increased by 500,000 over IHS iSuppli’s previous estimates. That 44.2 unit number means that Apple will actually hold far more than the majority of the market as that is 74 percent of all tablets expected to be shipped in 2011. If that percentage does hold true it would actually mean a 10 percent jump in total market share from previous estimates. The new numbers also show that Apple will continue to have the majority of the market one year longer than previous believed as the iPad was originally expected to be knocked off its perch at 2012.
“All the momentum in the media tablet market is with Apple right now,” said Rhoda Alexander, senior manager, tablet and monitor research for IHS. “The competition can’t seem to field a product with the right combination of hardware, marketing, applications and content to match up with the iPad. Furthermore, Apple’s patent litigation is serving to slow or complicate competitors’ entry into some key regional markets. With Apple lapping its competitors, many of whom are still struggling to get out of the starting gate, this remains a one-horse race.”
Read the rest of this entry »
comment on this story | Comments Off on Apple Projected to Hold Tablet Market Lead Until at Least 2013
August 23rd, 2011 at 1:23 PM EST | by Oliver VanDervoort
As Apple continues to ramp up to the release of their third generation iPad, the company is starting to enlist some real heavyweights when it comes to component construction. Reports are continuing to surface that the iPad 3 will be released next year as opposed to this fall. That is a bit of a set back for the computer giant as Apple had originally wanted to release the newest iPad alongside their newest iteration of the iPhone. Component problems were the culprit for the company to moving back its expected release date, but it appears that a spring 2012 release is eminently doable.
In preparation for next year, reports say that Apple has already secured three primary LCD makers and two different backlight-unit suppliers. The main problem with the iPad 3 has been the ability to get the quality to actually approach what Apple refers to as “Retina” display, but with the signing on of Samsung, Sharp and the biggest LCD panel supplier being LG, it appears Apple has found a combination of manufacturers its comfortable with.
Read the rest of this entry »
comment on this story | Comments Off on Apple Chooses Big Guns for iPad 3 Component Production
August 19th, 2011 at 10:01 AM EST | by Oliver VanDervoort
Rumors of the iPad 3 continue to be churned out on an almost daily basis, but the rumors that are floating out there today don’t seem to be all that rosy for those expecting the next generation iPad to be available later this year.
While it has long been mentioned that Apple would like to be able to provide a “Retina” display on the iPad 3, producers of the components the iPad 3 will use are having a problem getting up to snuff. Producing a screen that has actual Retina display capabilities is proving so difficult that at least one company has actually been decertified as producers of the LCD for the next generation of iPads. Chimei Innolux (CMI) is thought to be one of the producers of LCD screens for the current iPad 3 but the increased resolution demands of the iPad 3.
It appears to be that the design problems that are floating around Apple wanting to put out a screen that has 2048×1536 resolution might be the final straw on the camel’s back when it comes to being able to meet the rumored launch date of October of this year. The Wall Street Journal has now put out a report that seems to back up the rumors that the iPad 3 will indeed have the even more high definition Retina display, but because companies are having problems producing it, the newest device won’t be available to the masses until early in 2012.
However, the Wall Street Journal also seems to shed some light on just where all these rumors of the release being sooner, rather than later are coming from. According to that newspaper Apple is planning to release a limited “trial run” in October of 2011 that will allow the company to see just how the Retina display goes over with their consumers.
Read the rest of this entry »
comment on this story | Comments Off on iPad 3 Expected in Early 2012 with Retina Display
August 15th, 2011 at 11:29 AM EST | by Oliver VanDervoort
Being both an avid sports fan and an iPad geek it is hard for me to figure out what has gotten me more revved up as the summer winds down. On the one hand there was the almost hourly rumors flying around about who would be moved and where in the run up of the Major League Baseball trade deadline. On the other hand is the daily whispers that continue to come about when the next iPad and iPhone will be hitting the market.
While there have been a ton of rumors about the fact that the iPad 3 is going to be coming out this fall along with what is commonly referred to as the iPhone 4S, the newest rumblings seem to not only be backing up a fall of 2011 release but also the month it will be hitting shelves. According to several reports, both the iPhone 5 or 4S and the iPad 3 will go into full production in the first week of September and will start being offered to consumers in October.
Here’s where the story gets a bit interesting though. Reports have been circulating for months now that we can expect the iPad 3 to be hitting shelves this fall, but many industry analysts are also now claiming that the iPad 3 will need the new A6 chip in order to run properly and to the height of its possibilities. The hitch here is that rumors don’t have this new A6 chip being produced until early 2012. The chip of course will lead to faster processors and has long been thought to be getting released in time for the iPhone 6 so that device will blow away other smart phones. But if this particular chip is also slated to be put into the iPad 3 then something is clearly just not adding up. The news of this particular chip is also interesting because TSMC is supposedly the company that will contracted to make the new chip, replacing long time Apple partner Samsung who has been producing the A4 and A5 chips for years now.
Read the rest of this entry »
comment on this story | Comments Off on iPad Rumors Continue Flying Fast and Furiously: A6 Processor, iPad 3
July 8th, 2011 at 1:35 PM EST | by Oliver VanDervoort
There have been plenty of rumors about when the next iPad is going to come out and what exactly it will be called. We even alluded to the fact that what was once known as the iPad 3 is set to have a display that will set the other tablets on their ear. The high resolution screens that are being promised for the iPad 3 may actually be included or they may not quite hit the levels currently talked about but one thing is clear is that there will be yet another version of the iPad and it now appears that it will be coming by the end of this year.
Of course there does appear to be a few changes that weren’t necessarily expected including the name which appears to be the iPad 2 Plus as opposed to the iPad 3. What this means for the future of iPad owners is still unclear but it could mean that Apple is looking to make their own devices obsolete at a pretty historic rate. If the iPad 2 Plus is indeed going to be the precursor to the iPad 3 then it appears this fall’s version of the iPad will be more of a bridge than the next step in the evolution of the device.
The reports that the iPad 2 Plus is coming are due in large part to industry analysts who are seeing Apple asking component makers for quotes on how much it would cost to put together the new iPads. These component makers have told these same industry analysts that the iPad 2 Plus will indeed have some serious upgrades in the screen resolution. While the company didn’t both to improve the iPad 2’s resolution, they did make some subtle changes like a lighter weight and of course the cameras that so many other tablets have been sporting. There are a few reports that now that there is going to be a third iPad, the screen resolution will be improved from the current 132 pixels per inch, to 250 to 300ppi. Of course the same industry analysts are also saying they cannot say for certain that the level of improvement of the resolution is something that can’t be confirmed until Apple starts actually hyping their new product and people begin to know when the device is going to be coming to stores.
Read the rest of this entry »
comment on this story | Comments Off on iPad 2 ‘Plus’ Due Out This Fall?
Loading ...
