iPad 3 Rumors

[Tracy Rainwater]

Are you waiting for the iPad 3, the iPad2S or whatever they decide to call it? The iPad 2 was a big improvement over the original and I for one, am glad I decided to wait.

Now with Steve Jobs birthday coming up, February 24th, the rumors are flying about the surly soon to be released iPad update. Here's what I have been able to find out so far, primarily from Retrvo.com.

1. Twice the Resolution and Four Times the Pixels

The current resolution of the iPad 2 is 1024 x 768 with a rather low pixel density of 132 ppi (pixels per inch). The pixel density of an iPhone Retina display is 326 ppi. The iPad 3 display is expected to be somewhere around 2048 x 1536 with a resulting 264 ppi, not quite a Retina display but you’ll see a very noticeable improvement. Rumor has it Apple has beefed up the backlight for the new, improved display which may make the iPad 3 slightly thicker.

2. Improved Camera

The iPad 3 is rumored to include a Sony-sourced, 8MP camera along with a higher resolution front facing camera which should make FaceTime video calls more special. We hear there’s still no flash for the camera but we wonder how many photos are shot with an iPad altogether.

3. Improved Battery Life

The currently run rate for a fully charged iPad 2 is around 10 hours. That could improve with a rumored 14,000 mAh battery supposedly coming from Simplo Technology and Dynapack Internation. This would represent a significant increase over the iPad 2’s 6500 mAh battery. The extra battery capacity could come in handy if Apple decides to include the power hungry 4G LTE networking.

4. Quad Core Processor

The iPad 2 runs on the same A5 dual-core processor as the iPhone 4S. Rumor has it the iPad 3 may run on an A6 quad-core processor.

5. It May Use the Faster 4G LTE Mobile Network

When the iPhone 4S launched without 4G LTE service which is widely available from Verizon and less so from AT&T, there was some grumbling from those looking for the latest high speed wireless standard. If rumor proves true we could see 4G LTE implemented in the iPad 3. It makes sense for a number of reasons. One we might see carriers subsidize the iPad in return for a contract and two it would give Apple a chance to “shake out” LTE for performance and battery drain issues before they release it on the iPhone 5 later this year.

[Tracy Rainwater]

To me, a better camera is the number one hardware upgrade that is needed. Our daughter does Facetime on hers and the built in camera leaves much to be desired. It is also not the best at video capture, seemingly not even the quality of the iPhone 3GS. Software-wise.......STILL NO FLASH SUPPORT?!!? Come on Apple. There is still a huge percentage of the web that is Flash based, even though HTML 5 has been out for some time.

Other users have been complaining about the lack of a USB port. There is an adapter that will add a port to the bottom where the data/charging port is, but I can see where a dedicated port would be useful. However, I suspect that adding USB to the iPad would mean it would have to be thicker and I'm sure people would complain about that too.

OK, other than Richard, who's buying?

[David Vaughn]

Tracy, I'll probably jump on one as well.

[k0rww]

Other users have been complaining about the lack of a USB port. There is an adapter that will add a port to the bottom where the data/charging port is, but I can see where a dedicated port would be useful. However, I suspect that adding USB to the iPad would mean it would have to be thicker and I'm sure people would complain about that too.

I think the lack of a USB port is Apple's desire to keep a tighter control of their hardware.

What type of user needs the 16 to 32 GB update? I have zero experience with Apple products.

[gfrancis0]

The iPad is a great way to piss away money on a toy. And yes, some businesses are using them, but not because it is the only tablet available, but because the person who makes the decision has partaken of the Apple koolaid. There are plenty of other tablets that could do the exact same thing, if that is what you need for your company. It floors me how many people are willing to pay more for Apple stuff, even though it is purposely crippled. By crippled I mean lack of built in ports, Flash not supported, etc. Apple's profit margins are huge while having their stuff made in the electronics sweat shops in China and no one cares. If you need more memory on your Apple device, they expect you to just go buy another one with more GB! And the mindless drones do just that! The iPad is the same price as a decent laptop, but without all of the capabilities or even a real keyboard. I guess people are lazier than I realize, they just want to paw at the pretty screen and not have to carry around a massive 3 or 4 pound weight when they need portable computing. Great, buy their stuff, overpaying is not a crime, but I am not a sucker, I believe in getting good value for MY money. Oh Windows is terrible as well, don't get me started there...

[David Vaughn]

I travel for work and would like the ability to take movies with me on the iPad. My mom flew to China last year and watched over 10 hours worth of content before the battery went out. Hell, my laptop can't make it on a cross country trip without the battery crapping out.

[gfrancis0]

Yes the best tablets have better battery life than most laptops. You could also have multiple batteries for a laptop, which actually allow you to change the battery! Another reason to use a laptop instead of a tablet, as I do not think any of them allow that, for design reasons I imagine.

[pbc]

I just bought the iPad 2 and should have looked into it more beforehand. I had no idea how crappy the camera was. Heck, I didn't even realize any computer or PDA device newer than 2008/9 came with a camera that was under 1 mega pixel. I mean, WTF? Really? I can't imagine putting the camera from the iPhone on the iPad would have been that much of a leap in technology for them or FTM price.

I'm also not a huge fan of the interface oddly enough. Maybe I'm just not used to it yet, but copying and pasting text for instance is a pain, I hate having to zoom in to click on some links that are small text (else I tend to hit the "Wrong" link 30 to 50% of the time),hate that it can't support Flash based content, etc.

I still find if my 13" laptop is around I reach for that as with its SSD Hybrid drive it boots up within 15 seconds and the mouse is so much more friendly.

All I use the iPad for is reading the paper or checking spots sites, quick email checks, and, well, Plants vs Zombies and Angry Birds. I still use my 4 year old Kindle for reading books and will likely upgrade to a newer Kindle.

Maybe I'm just old.

[prerich]

I have the iPad2 - it's cool, but nothing to right home about. Email, browsing, reading, and Angry Birds - that's about it. The ipad3....nothing that makes me scream. Now if they added flash support and USB ports....that would be a worth while upgrade!

[jmdls]

Nice post, Tracy! All of your items were on my 19 item wish/hope/prediction list for new iPad3.

http://johnsciacca.webs.com/apps/blo...nd-predictions

John