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.

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 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.

This image has been appearing on a lot of sites and forums recently. Before i go into telling you why it has been causing such a buzz on the net i would just like to point out that the following are all just rumours. I personally think that this picture is a sign that something could be coming around the corner from apple. Be it iPad 2 HD or iPad 3, as for a release date….who knows.

It just looks like a random component to me

You may be forgiven for thinking this at first glance, but the key is in the detail my friend. As you can see from the zoomed in part of the image, there is a code number ’821-1259-06′ and its these 9 numbers that have got people excited. On the same component in the iPad 2 the part is referenced as ’1180′. What that means is that the component in the picture is an upgrade of the component in the iPad 2. Many people have hypothesised that this component is a brand new design for the iPad 3, could it be for HD viewing perhaps???

To make things even more exciting (as if the change of 4 number on a component wasnt enough) apple pro (where the images have originated from) has also stated that Apple have launched an internal investigation to get to the bottom of the leak!

How solid are the rumours?

Well apple pro have been bang on the mark with some previous rumours including the multi-touch display for the iPod nano AND posting accurate pre-release photos of the white and black panels of the iPhone 4.