iPad 3 Release Date: 2012 Debut Featuring New Design
Forget the iPad 2; it is all about iPad 3 now that may be here sooner than later.
According to Jeff Fidacaro, a Susquehanna Financial analyst, the iPad 3 will go into production by the end of this year. He believes 2012 will be the year of the iPad 3.
By observing Apple’s supply chain checks, Fidacaro estimated that 600,000 to 1 million iPad 3 units would be built this quarter. He said supply chain checks suggest that fourth quarter iPad 3 units will be between 12 million to 14 million.
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The iPad 3 is also rumored to have a smaller redesigned dock connector similar to the competing Amazon Kindle Fire e-reader.
The iPad 3 will go head-to-head with the army of tricked-out third-party Android tablets that have jumped on the bandwagon after the huge success of Apple’s device: Asus Eee Pad Transformer, Sony Tablet S, Motorola Xoom, Toshiba AT100/Thrive, Acer Iconia Tab A500, HTC Flyer, LG Optimus Pad, and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
Apple designed iPad primarily for a vertical, portrait-mode orientation similar to a computer screen, while its competitors have largely focused on tablet devices with wide screen orientations more suited to watching films. Consumers, educators and professionals have snapped up millions of iPads for a range of uses from entertainment to office work.
Adding a retina display resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels to the iPad was first rumored nearly a year ago, and evidence supporting the development has increasingly mounted as the Cupertino-based company approaches its third generation of the wildly successful tablet computer.
Apple has already done the work in iOS to support a potential retina display for iPad, preventing the kind of fragmentation that has plagued other mobile operating platforms. However, it forces developers to account for hardware differences on their own without optimization for specific resolutions.
Taiwan Economic News reported the new iPad 3 would feature a thinner and lighter battery module and cost 20 to 30 percent higher than the iPad 2’s battery.
Both Simplo Technology Company and Dynapack International Technology Corporation will design and produce the iPad 3’s new battery. They currently produce batteries for other Apple products.
The iPad might also see a curved glass ‘teardrop’ design, as Apple quietly bought 200 to 300 glass-cutting machines.
