Apple launched ‘the new iPad’ and the retina display is the USP of this new offering. A resolution of 2048 X 1536 with PPI (Pixel per Inch) of 264 will provide a stunning experience when using images and videos. While everyone is drooling over these specs, the suppliers of these displays are having a tough time. According to analysts, the yields of producing these displays are not as high as Apple expected and this could very well result in display shortage and thus delay. Already the pre-orders are getting delayed.

These retina displays are being manufactured by Sharp, Samsung and LG. According to NPD DisplaySearch , Sharp is facing troubles in producing these on a large scale. The reason is the distinct technology used by Sharp. Sharp is using IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) thin-film transistors whereas Samsung and LG are using Silicon based. IGZO allows for higher brightness with a reduced number of LED’s in the backlight.

IGZO is important as it reduces the number of LED’s and thus power consumption. iPad 2 has 36 LED’s and according to DisplaySearch’s analysts, the new iPad (iPad 3) should have at least 72. This increases power consumption and thus battery life gets affected. Rumors are flying that Sharp already switched to Silicon based thin-film transistors to ramp up the production. Do you think that the retina display may prove to be a dampener on the new iPad’s battery life?

As the new iPad’s features are being analyzed, it is also time to go over some of the much expected features and rumors that were missing.

Look

First things first! The new iPad doesn’t differ much from the iPad 2 looks wise. Though the casing is slightly tapered, it is not a radical change. But the lack of a design and look change is more than compensated with many under the hood configuration changes.

Smaller option?

Amazon Kindle Fire’s success raked up lot of debate on the 8-inch iPad Mini and about giving choice to the customers in choosing the form factor. We couldn’t even find a trace about this in the iPad event, but still rumors are strong that a tablet with different size will be released by Apple later in this year only. If they do release, at least we have a name for it – ‘the small iPad’.

Quad Core Processor

Many analysts expected debut of A6 quad-core processor .This made more sense as the quad-core market is heating up with Nvidia’s Tegra 3 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors. The new iPad comes with A5X and Apple claims it is four times faster than Tegra 3. But it is still not an A6 and there’s a lot in the name! Siri’s integration with iPad was taken for granted by everyone, but there’s no mention of whether Siri and the new iPad will allow only dictation.

Only 64gb

Other features that were expected but missing includes a 128 GB version and reduction of weight. The new retina display and 4G antenna did not help much on the weight. But it would have been good to have 128GB option. Apple has increased the 4G file download limit to 50 MB and with all those HD pictures and videos 64GB limit can fill up quite quickly.

iO6 please???

No iO6, well it was a bit of a long shot but there were some rumors of it popping up in logs.  I guess we will have to wait till June 2012 for the Apple’s World Wide Developers conference.

The ‘New iPad’ is ready and will be available in the stores from March 16th 2012. As the rumor mill takes a breather, it is time to take stock of the new features that will be available. The big surprise is the name of this third-generation iPad. It is neither called iPad 3 nor iPad HD. Apple stumped everyone by calling it ‘the new iPad’. It features the touted retina display with a resolution of 2048 X 1536. This translates into 3.1 million pixels, a million more than an HDTV. Now imagine the visual treat on offer! Apple aptly calls it ‘the best mobile display ever’.

Till a few days back the web was buzzing if the new iPad features an A5X processor or an A6 processor? Now we know that it’s an A5X processor. It is a dual-core processor with quad-core graphics. According to Apple, A5X GPU is twice powerful than iPad2 and four times more powerful that Nvidia’s Tegra 3. Thus the A5X quad-core graphics deliver all those 3.1 million pixels with the same smoothness and makes swiping, scrolling etc incredibly responsive.

‘The new iPad’ doesn’t feature an 8 mega-pixel camera. But it comes with an ‘iSight’ camera which has a 5-mega pixel sensor, auto focus, five-element lens, exposure functions and face recognition. Add to these the amazing software that helps in editing your pictures. The ‘iSight’ camera can capture HD videos in 1080p. It is no coincidence that Apple also introduced an updated Apple TV which can now display full HD content.

‘The new iPad’ supports 4G LTE for faster web experience. All those extra pixels, quad-core graphics and LTE battery are not going to affect the batter life and the new iPad can last up to 10 hours in standard and 9 hours with 4G enabled. Now coming to the big question – price. Apple keeps the pricing of the ‘new iPad’ unchanged. Wi-Fi enabled 16GB base model starts at $499 and the high-end 64GB 4G enabled model costs $829. And as expected Apple is giving 16GB Wi-Fi iPad2 at $399, a discount of $100. The new iPad features a smart cover. Not only does it protect from dust and scratches it is smart enough to wake and sleep with a simple open and close. It just sums up Apple’s attention to detail. So are you ready to pre-order ‘the new iPad’?  Was it as good as you were expecting, if not what do you think is missing?

Check out new pics of the iPad 3 here.

It is official. Apple will be showcasing iPad 3 to the world on March 7^th. Apple distributed the invites to select media for the big event to be held at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco at 10 AM PST. The invite per se does not list any of the features. But as always with anything associated with Apple, the invitation is being scrutinized to find any hidden clues. This makes sense as Apple does everything for a reason with attention to even minute details.

The invite shows a display that is of much higher quality than an iPad 2. The Web is buzzing with pictures comparing the invite picture with an iPad 2 featuring the same apps. A higher resolution display can be easily distinguished and this might very well confirm the retina display.

The invite says “We have something you really need to see. And touch”. If the “see” is a clue for retina display, what is it with ‘touch’? Interestingly the display on the invite doesn’t feature a physical home button. Analysts view the absence of this Home button got to do something with the ‘touch’. Absence of home button is from the observation that the invitation shows the device in portrait mode, which is deduced based on the spacing between the apps featured on the invite display. It is surprising how and why Apple missed the ‘hearing’ part of iPad 3 in the invite! Is it deliberate to surprise us or does it mean no Siri integration on iPad 3? Come March 7^th we can ‘feel’ the iPad 3 with all our senses.

Images via Gizmodo

According to DigiTimes, Samsung, LG and Sharp have already shipped around 1 million high-resolution display panels in October for Apple’s iPad 3. Further 2 million more are to be shipped by the end of November. As per our previous post, these are Retina displays that have a resolution of 2048X1536 pixels and PPI (Pixels per Inch) of 264. This means twice the resolution of iPad 2. These retina displays will be complemented by touch modules from TPK Holding and Wintek . As per DigiTimes Asian sources in the Apple supply chain, TPK Holding and Wintek together will scale up to one million touch modules per month starting from mid-November or December. Once these components are shipped, Apple’s contractor Foxconn will start assembling of iPad 3 in January 2012 for a release in the first-quarter.

Even if the recent rumors and estimates are off by one month, we can clearly see the momentum building towards iPad 3’s release. Recent developments and the increasing competition in tablet space can signify a release timeline of first-quarter of 2012. With the entry of low-cost, 7-inch devices like Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook tablet, the tablet market is just getting hot. In a scenario like this, Apple would definitely like to maintain its annual refresh on time. In the light of this competition, there were even rumors of an iPad Mini.

At the same time there are reports of Apple slashing its orders for iPad 2 displays in the fourth-quarter of 2011. Apple already has an inventory sufficient for assembling 15-16 million iPad’s in the fourth-quarter. Considering iPad 2’s sales in the third-quarter, analysts are of the view that Apple’s production targets are around 3-4 million less than the display parts. Analyst’s view this difference can be due to the shipping of iPad 3 displays which has already started. Do you think these reports can influence the holiday season shoppers and make them wait for an iPad 3 instead of buying an iPad 2?

According to a Japanese tech blog, iPad 3 might be out as early as March, 2012. As per their ‘reliable Asian Source’, production of iPad 3 is being rushed due to Chinese New Year Celebrations which are from January 22nd to 28th. Also as per this site, iPad 3 will come with a redesigned dock connector. This new connector will have the same number of pins but a smaller shape than the one on the iPad 2. This could result in compatibility issues with existing devices that plug into the dock. The tech site even published images of the dock connector obtained from one of Apple’s Asian suppliers.

As per these sources iPad 3’s screen size will remain the same, but still it is not sure if Apple is aiming for a Retina Display-like resolution on this tablet. Retina Display means a very high pixel density so that human eye cannot distinguish individual pixels. iPhone 4, 4S and iPod Touch 4G come with this resolution. For iPhone 4S it meant a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch (PPI). But this much pixel density is not needed for iPad as its screen is not held so close to the eyes.

LG and Samsung reached a resolution display of 2048 x 1536. This is a PPI of 264, which is twice the resolution of iPad 2. The challenge is to manufacture these displays in the volumes that Apple need. Right now there are production plans but converting these plans is a giant leap which was not achieved till now. As per the same Asian Source, resolution of 1600 x 1200 would be an interim option. Launch time of March 2012 is safe considering the similar timing of Apple’s previous launches of iPad and iPad 2. At the same time there is a rumor doing the rounds that Apple might fit iPad with an A6 processor and this might push the launch till June 2012 or later. It seems that with each day Apple is pushing the limits of displays, processors and user experience.

We have some more rumours backing up the recent developments of a probable 2012 iPad3 release date.

Turns out Apple could be punching above their weight in regards to their current rumoured spec’d screen that will come with the iPad 3.  The iPad 3 is likely to have a 2048×1536 HD display, which is 4 times greater resolution that the current iPad.  The problem is that these specs are really pushing the current LCD display manufacturing capabilities.

A rumoured 5-6 million unit order was placed by Apple earlier in the year to be delivered by the end of 2011.  Reports say that this order has disappeared as manufacturers just simply cant meet the demand.

Samsung & LG apparently cant produce a profitable enough yield from their test batches.  What this means is during the manufacturing process a certain number of units do not pass the final stage of testing, essentially making them unusable and therefore eating into profit margins.  The only company that can make these with any sort of reliability is Sharp however it is unlikely they will be able to meet such a large order by the end of 2011.

The screens, once produced, would be some of the highest performing displays in the world, good news for us end users, however quite a brain ache for the tech’s in the labs.  The problem is that Apple do not make their own screens so they are at the mercy of the manufactureres.  If they cant be manufactured yet then there is nothing Apple can do except twiddle its thumbs patiently.

So not only have we had news this week about HD screens that will likely be shipped with the new iPad 3′s but it also appears that the LG CEO himself has said  -

That more smartphone manufacturers will be releasing their new models with LG’s ‘Retina Display’ that has been used in iPhones and iPads.

Big oopsss, did we hear that correctly Mr Kwon Young-soo, Retina displays that have been used in iPads.  Could these iPad’s perhaps be the next iPad 3?  I think the answer to that is more than likely YES.

The statement came about from an LG Display CEO’s meeting with reporters 3 days ago.  A reporter was asking a question regarding whether his company would enter the OLED market for smaller portable devices such as smartphones etc.  LG CEO rightly pointed out (as i mentioned in my iPad 3 HD Display article) that OLED displays “are not suitable in terms of picture quality, response time, energy consumption and contrast ratios for smartphones and tablets”.

With so many talk around the new iPad 3 this is the first piece of semi official evidence that the iPad 3 will indeed be getting a retina display.

A recent article in the Korea Times has stated that 2 of the biggest LCD manufacturers, Samsung & LG have been working closely with Apple to produce new 2048×1536 HD displays, with an aspect ratio of 4:3 for the iPad 3. The current iPad has a mere 1024×768 resolution display in comparison. This will mean the display on the iPad 3 will indeed be full HD. It is still unsure which of the 2 will win the big contract with Apple, or maybe Apple will use both to fill the, what is likely to be, HUGE demand for the next iPad.

This does however mean that the iPad 3 is most likely not going to get the OLED displays some sources have been claiming. I personally think this is a good thing, the quality and lifespan of an OLED screens still isnt up to standards of our current LCD screens.