iPad 3 Release Date

According to the latest rumor mill, iPad 3 might be boasting an 8-megapixel camera. Taiwanese website Apple Daily showed pictures of the backside of the iPad3, consisting of the Apple logo, antenna and camera. As per the report, iPad 3’s camera will make a significant jump in specs, offering eight times the existing 1-megapixel camera which comes with the iPad 2. The original iPad didn’t even feature a camera. In the images shown, the camera lens of the supposed iPad3 device looks larger than the one on the iPad 2.

Also from the images we can notice that the iPad 3’s rear panel appears to taper to its edges more gradually and its camera almost sits on the taper itself. This taper can make the iPad3 slightly thicker and analyst view this thickness is to accommodate the high-resolution retina display. If this 8-mega pixel rumor is true, iPad 3’s camera matches that of the iPhone 4S. Utility of a high-end camera’s like this on a tablet is being debated as tablet owners are not comfortable in using these devices for photography. In many cases it is cumbersome and even embarrassing too.

An obvious advantage for Apple in going with 8-mega pixel camera on iPad3 is component sharing. It can use the same CMOS sensor assembly and thus reduce the number of parts to order. It might very well bargain a better deal with suppliers by taking advantage of volumes. Another argument doing the rounds is that if Apple is thinking to position this 8-megapixel camera in the context of high-resolution pictures of documents? If indeed iPad3 comes with this camera, we need to wait for the apps Apple use to showcase this feature to understand its true context.

Owning an iPad is always a matter of status and a recent survey by folks from NPD Group validates this. According to this survey a significant percentage of iPad owners are old and wealthy. These wealthy users of iPad might not think twice in lapping up the next-generation iPad3 even if it means forking out a few hundred dollars more. According to the survey more than 40 percent of iPad owners had a household income of $100K or more. This figure is just 26 percent for non-iPad owners.

But as tablet penetration is increasing gradually, the demographics of tablet users are also changing. Recent tablet owners are younger and make less money. 50 percent of buyers at the end of 2011 are more likely to have an income under $45K and 33 percent of buyers are more like to be below 34 years of age. Tablets like Amazon Kindle Fire are definitely behind this change.

Another interesting finding of the survey is that irrespective of age and income many tablet buyers still think that ‘PC is not dead’. Only a meager 10% of tablet owners feel that they don’t need a PC notebook. Even non-tablet users feel the same, 26 percent of them are more likely to buy a notebook compared to just 18 percent who want to purchase a tablet. According to Stephen Baker, VP of NPD, tablet usage is still evolving and many users, being conservative are hedging their bets by planning to have an array of products to have maximum flexibility. It would be interesting to see how Apple and Microsoft adjust their strategies to these changing demographics. Do you think that Apple deserves the premium charged for its tablets? Can iPad usage generate more income for the buyer and turn into a virtuous cycle? Food for thought for another survey!

Apple’s Q1 results were historic and the company became the number one PC vendor in the world. It comfortably beats the runner-up in every aspect. All these encouraging events are setting the stage for a grand release of iPad3. But a recent development can throw a spanner in the works. A last minute trade dispute between Apple and a company named Proview could delay the release of iPad 3.

Proview Technology is a cash-strapped Chinese company that is fighting a legal battle over the iPad name. The company claims ownership of the trademark in China and it recently asked Chinese customs bureau to stop imports and exports of iPad. According to Apple, the company has already acquired Proview’s rights to the iPad trademark in 10 countries including China.

Analysts believe that this legal battle is Proview’s last minute effort to extract maximum compensation from Apple. It is demanding $1.6 billion compensation. Apple could get stuck between a rock and a hard place. It cannot afford to leave Chinese market which is the next biggest market after U.S. A last minute change of the tablet name is also out of the equation as all the prefixes of ‘Pad’ from A to Z are already registered. The next hearing is scheduled for February 29^th and Apple might be hoping to get rid of this final hurdle. Any unfavorable ruling might just delay the launch of iPad3.

Apple is not just a market leader in terms of tablet sales, but is also sitting comfortably on top of the perch in terms of user satisfaction. A recent survey conducted by ChangeWave confirms this. As part of their research, ChangeWave gave Kindle Fire owners a questionnaire regarding their overall satisfaction and likes and dislikes about the device. Out of a sample size of 254, 54% of Kindle users are Very Satisfied and 38% are Somewhat Satisfied.

While the Kindle satisfaction numbers are a tad better than the rest of the tablets combined (which stands at 49% users being Very Satisfied), they are considerably lower than the iPad satisfaction numbers. Around 74% of iPad users are Very Satisfied according to a survey conducted by ChangeWave in November 2011. 20% difference in satisfaction rating – Apple is continuing to beat the runner-up by a large margin in this category also.

Results of major likes and dislikes of Kindle Fire users should be food for thought for the executives of both Apple and Amazon. 59% of the respondents like the Kindle Fire’s price. Can we hope this will convince Apple to continue iPad2 with a discount after the release of iPad3? 31% of respondents are happy with Kindle Fire’s color screen. Key dislikes among Fire users include absence of volume adjusting button, lack of camera and short battery life. Unavailability of apps and missing 3G/4G connectivity also top the list. Surprisingly only 10% are unhappy with screen size. Does this mean there is definitely a market for tablets at this form factor also? We hope Amazon will try to address these issues in future to continue the momentum generated by Kindle Fire’s sales. Simultaneously it should start focusing on improving the user experience and build efforts on eco-system of apps.

The web is already buzzing with iPad3 rumor mills starting from its retina display-like high resolution, A6 quad-core processor, and support for 4G LTE networks. In addition to these what if Apple surprises us with a host of other killer features. Below are some of the items that are on top of the wish lists of iPad users.

1. Different form factor – Apple is known for its historical stand against 7-inch like devices. But there were rumors of an iPad mini. It would be good if Apple gives a choice to its customers in choosing their device size.

2. Siri on iPad 3 – Imagine dictating Siri to send a mail for you! Siri on iPad 3 can attract enterprise customers. Recently 9to5mac found some references of ‘Siri Dictation’ in the iOS 5.1 Beta update. A new section labeled ‘About Privacy and Dictation’ in the keyboard menu raises further hopes on Siri featuring in iPad3.

3. Cut the Glare – Apple should take a cue from Amazon Kindle and work on eliminating the glare which will further improve the user experience.

4. Take the gaming to the next level – How about having 3D support and Vibration effects? That would enhance the gaming experience on an iPad. App developers can leverage the power of A6 quad-core processor to develop gaming space further.

5. Payment solutions using near field communications – Here, Google is ahead of Apple as it already launched Google Wallet service. But again this is more of a smart-phone feature, but good to have on a tablet also.

6. Battery: Apple should continue to improve the battery life as tablets are portable devices and people cannot charge them frequently, particularly during travel. Apple should even consider options of wireless charging of tablets.

Considering Apple’s legacy, it is not too much to expect, as Apple keeps surprising the consumers and the market with their avant-garde features and ideas.

Apple unveiled iBooks2 last week in New York City as part of its education event. iBooks2 was released to set the stage ready for the coming iPad 3 to boost up its educational credentials. According to Phil Schiller, Apple’s Senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing, “now with iBooks 2 for iPad, students can have a more dynamic, engaging and truly interactive way to read and learn, using the device they already love”.

According to Apple pundits, this latest update of iBooks gives enough clues about the ‘Retina Display-like’ high resolution screen that has been rumoured to come with the iPad 3. High quality iPad images were found in the iBooks app in January, 2011 and it triggered speculations about 2048X1536 resolutions for iPad2. That didn’t materialize, but as per experts, the recent update of iBooks2 contains a third image with 2X equivalent resolution of the iPad. Similar high-resolution images were found in an iOS 5 beta last summer too.

iPad and iPad2 were launched with a resolution of 1024X768. A 2X resolution for iPad3 means a resolution of 2048X1536 – which comes to 264 PPI (Pixels per Inch). iPhone 4 has a pixel density of 326 ppi. But this much pixel density is not required for an iPad, considering the distance at which screen is held from the eye. A recent beta update of iOS 5.1 showed references to debut of A6 quad-core processor with the iPad3. Now iBooks update affirms 2X resolution. Are the iPad 3 specs finally starting to become clearer? Do you think Apple is intentionally leaving these bits and pieces of the puzzle just before the launch of iPad 3?

According to sources at Bloomberg, Apple’s next iPad is all set for a March release. As speculated widely, it will sport a high-definition screen, a faster quad-core processor chip and work with next-generation wireless networks. Apple’s Asian manufacturers are ramping up the production of iPad 3. There will be a break during Chinese Lunar New Year holidays before peaking up again in February.

Features like high-definition display and quad-core processors are already expected. The feature that evokes more interest is LTE (Long Term Evolution). Our previous post talked how there is a clash going on between iPad 3 and iPhone 5 regarding who will feature LTE first. Now it seems that LTE will debut first on iPad before iPhone. According to Bloomberg’s sources, the main reason for this is because iPad comes with a bigger battery and can better cater to the power requirements of LTE. 4G networks provide faster data, but they require a higher-power radio and thus drain battery faster.

Apple has a tendency to wait for mobile technologies to reach critical mass before featuring them on their devices. We noticed the same in case of 3G. The original iPhone came with the slower 2G EDGE technology even though 3G technology was available at that time. Recently iPhone 4S came without featuring 4G. It might be also possible that Apple does not want to endorse 4G carriers at the expense of 3G carriers. iPhone has become such an important part of many people’s lives and it seems Apple doesn’t want to test a power-hungry LTE on it. iPad is still a luxury additional device and not a lifeline like iPhone for many.

As we predicted earlier, 2012 seems to be the year of the debut for the A6 processor and as expected with it’s in an iPad 3. The original iPad featured an A4 processor and iPad2 came with the upgraded dual-core A5 chip. 9to5Mac found evidence of Apple’s work on a quad-core A6 processor. They have sifted through the code of latest iOS 5.1 beta update and found references to “/cores/core.3” in the updated core management software.

Conventionally, references start with zero (0) in software terminology and dual cores are referenced as core.0 and core.1. In this light there is enough evidence to deduce that ‘core.3’ refers to the quad-core A6 processor that is in the pipeline. A quad-core processor is the logical extension for Apple considering their dual-core A5 chip in the iPad 2. Moreover ASUS’s Eee Pad Transformer tablet features NVidia’s quad-core Tegra 3 processor and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor is heating up the quad-core market. We cannot expect Apple to lag behind these developments.  For them to be at the forefront of tablet computing power the iPad 3 HAS to come with a quad core processor.

The implications of a quad-core processor are immense. It will help power up the high-resolution displays such as the retina display everyone is talking about. The A6 processor will add extra horsepower to gaming experiences and improve the overall OS navigation ease.  Also the possibility for new apps and what they will be capable of is very exciting indeed.

Interest around the much talked about iPhone 5 is building up. Results of an online survey conducted by MyVoucherCodes.co.uk reveal that iPhone 5 is UK’s most awaited tech toy of 2012. Survey involved a sample size of 1,916 British adults and they were asked to list the tech gadgets they were most looking forward to. Respondents can choose more than one item if they wish.

74% of the respondents are looking forward to iPhone 5 and iPad 3 comes close second with 71 percent. Wii U is the third most awaited gadget of 2012 with 68 percent. According to Mark Pearson, chairman of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, it is not at all surprising to see two Apple products occupying the top slots.

The world of technology is ever-changing, so there is always something new that consumers are looking for.

Mark Pearson

Respondents were also asked to state the reason for excitement about the gadget they chose. The new features on offer seem to be the obvious reason. The top 10 list features another Apple product – Apple TV at fifth spot with 62%. The list also features a Google table at fourth with 65% and Amazon Kindle Fire at sixth with 59%. Tablets crowding this list indicate the huge market potential of this segment. Even though none of the features of iPhone 5 or iPad 3 are officially confirmed, it seems that consumers have full faith in Apple and its innovation.

Looks like Apple is on track to maintain its release cycle and iPad 3 might be scheduled for an early spring release in 2012. Original iPad and iPad2 were launched in April 2010 and March 2011. According to Citi Analyst Richard Gardner, iPad 3 is all set for a big launch with double the resolution of previous model. According to a note he prepared for investors, “There do not appear to be any significant technical hurdles remaining” to iPad3’s release.

Timing of this launch is all the more important for Apple considering many other factors. It needs to fend off the competition that is going to come from the slew of Android tablet releases. Android’s latest Ice Cream Sandwich version will be giving some tough competition for iOS. There is also a buzz around quad core processors. Asus’s Eee Pad Transformer Prime, built on Nvidia’s Tegra 3 processor is setting the trend for many more quad core tablets from other manufacturers.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire at a price below $200 is making a dent in Apple’s market. Windows 8 OS release which is touch-optimized for tablets is already generating enough momentum and it will be a direct threat to Apple iPad. Also many of the new Android tablets are coming with 4G LTE connectivity. Our previous post mentioned the rumors doing the rounds regarding 4G LTE enabled iPhone 5 and iPad 3. Considering all these factors, iPad is due for a major overhaul. Do you think a 4G LTE enabled iPad 3 with double the resolution of iPad2 will set the ball rolling again for Apple’s total dominance in tablet market?