Those clever guys at BGR have heard from a source who claims to be in possession of an iPad 3 prototype. That source has run a debugging tool called iBoot that is said to have uncovered a couple of key details about the specs for the iPad 3:
– It’s got an A6 quad-core processor
– The WiFi + model will have support for GSM, CDMA, and LTE – for 4G data capability.
Needless to say the the photo could be a fake and the information could be inaccurate – but the possibility of a prototype being out ‘in the wild’ seems just about plausible as we’ve seen numerous reports of late on how iPad 3 production has already begun.
The quad-core processor is hardly a stretch to believe, while the LTE support is a little less of an oddsmaker’s favorite I’d say. And I still hope that LTE is not coming to this year’s model – unless Apple have worked some sort of magic that doesn’t allow it to be a massive battery killer.
Hopefully we are getting very close to an Apple iPad 3 launch event that will put an end to all the waiting and speculating.
Here’s an iPad rumor I can really get behind. Apple’s ‘education announcement’ event in New York is less than 24 hours away now, and it is looking more and more like the event is going to focus on textbooks and education materials on the iPad.
GigaOm cites a Bloomberg report that notes a special focus on grades K-12:
Bloomberg reports that Apple will announce tools that make publishing interactive textbooks on the iPad much easier, and also allow for the creation of other “digital education content,” according to two sources familiar with the announcement’s details. The new tools, which will be introduced by Apple’s SVP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue, are intended to help broaden the appeal of the iPad for educational institutions, with a special focus on grades K-12, Bloomberg claims.
This is one iPad related rumor I would love to see come true. I’ve got a daughter in 3rd grade and she currently carries a backpack to school each day that feels like it weighs more than she does. I would love to see her class (and her school) using iPads in place of, or as a supplement to, textbooks. I believe this would have benefits for students, for teachers, and possibly even for school budgets if saving on paper and other spending areas is taken into account.
My daughter is an experienced and very savvy iPad user (shocker, eh) and I’d love to see her able to carry a much lighter backpack and put an iPad to use each day at school.
What do you all think about K-12 textbooks on iPad, and iPads in K-12 in general?
iPad 3, or next-gen iPad, rumors continue to heat up this month – and as they do there seems to be a growing consensus on the release timeframe. Here are some of the latest rumors on the iPad 3 that have caught my eye over the last several days:
– A Bloomberg report says that the iPad 3 has entered production and is on track for a March launch, that it will feature a higher-resolution display (probably Retina level) and a quad-core processor, and that it will connect to LTE networks.
– DigiTimes (who are admittedly all over the map lately with their rumors) says suppliers of new high-resolution panels for the next-gen iPad are ramping up production and will ship 6-7 million of the new panels in the first quarter of 2012.
– Finally, the Japanese site Macotakara reports that an iPad 3 launch event will be held in February – with the release likely to be in early March.
Though there’s really not much new or unexpected in any of these, it’s always good to see the consensus building up leading up to the expected announcement / release period. A launch event in a few weeks sounds good, as does a release date in early March. I’m hoping we will not see LTE support in the next iPad though.
As expected, the first week of the new year has seen iPad rumors heating up quite nicely. Given that the original iPad and iPad 2 were released in April of 2010 and March of 2011 respectively, it’s pretty much a given that rumors are going to be flying around almost continually now until Apple puts us out of our misery and announces the next iPad release. Presumably that will happen sometime within the next 6 weeks or so.
Here’s a few of the major iPad rumors I’ve seen over the last few days, along with my quick thoughts on them (in italics):
Via iLounge editor Jeremy Horwitz:
– The next-gen iPad will see upgrades to both cameras. The front-facing camera will go HD for use with Facetime etc, and the back camera will be ‘iPhone 4/4S-like (bigger)’.
This doesn’t seem far-fetched, but I still wonder how many iPad users care that much about the cameras, especially the rear-facing one.
– The iPad 2 will stay around at a lower price point, while the next-gen will ‘sit above it’ due to high-def screen and improved cameras.
I’ve said before and still believe the improved display for the next iPad is just about a lock. I think the iPad 2 continuing as a lower-priced model to compete with the Kindle Fire and others is a good bet too.
– Launch date ‘similar to iPad 2’s’.
So around early-mid March again. Sounds about right to me, if not a bit earlier.
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Today 9to5Mac details some new reports that point at an early release for the iPad 3 next year. These say that the iPad 3 will be launched in February 2012, and on a very specific and meaningful date:
According toFocus Taiwan which cited a local report in the Chinese Economic Timesnewspaper, Apple is shooting to launch iPad 3 on Steve Jobs’s birthday anniversary on February 24.
We’ve seen a number of rumors around over recent months suggesting that iPad 3 production was already being ramped up to target a February launch.
I’m sure Apple are not going to rush the release of the iPad 3 just so it can be released on a sentimental date – but if it does happen to be ready to go at that stage and is launched on that day, that would be a heck of a nice little tribute.
Even if these rumors prove way off the mark, the good thing is that as we roll into 2012 the iPad 3 launch is not far off.
