The iPad 4 caught a lot of people by surprise, including me.

To be honest, I do not believe that Apple even planned that they would be releasing an iPad 4 six months ago. Maybe we'll find out the details behind that story sometime in the future.

I don't think that they would have came out with the third gen and called it the "new iPad", if they'd known that they'd be releasing an even newer one 7 months after the introduction of the third gen. Just throw in a lightning connector, the new A6 chip and it'll be ready before the holidays too! Then Tim Cook and the upper management said, why the **** not! Let's do it!

As far as I'm concerned the four iPad models that have been released so far will be called - iPad 1, iPad 2, iPad 3 and iPad 4. At least, that's how I will refer to them.

iPad 1, iPad 2, new iPad, fourth gen iPad just sounds totally retarded and confusing.

As far as naming goes, why not just do it like one would do with an iMac or MacBook Pro?

Late-2012 iPad, 2013 iPad, etc.

iPad, iPad 2, New iPad, and iPad (Fourth Generation).

As I have highlighted elsewhere the BIG change for the iPad 4 is in relation to the LTE chip ..  the previous iPad 3 offering was a solely North American product.  The US has adopted an unusual and highly inefficient band plan for the 700 MHz spectrum band.  Other countries/regions are allocating more frequency to wireless broadband.

Thus,  the key reason for the update - was to enable the iPad to offer high speed LTE connectivity outside the US, Canada etc ...

There was no compelling reason internationally (other than the retina screen) to buy the iPad 3.  International sales internationally were way less than they could achieve with global LTE connectivity.

There is no teardown yet for the iPad 4 with wireless connectivity.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apple ][ 

The iPad 4 caught a lot of people by surprise, including me.

 

To be honest, I do not believe that Apple even planned that they would be releasing an iPad 4 six months ago. Maybe we'll find out the details behind that story sometime in the future.

 

I don't think that they would have came out with the third gen and called it the "new iPad", if they'd known that they'd be releasing an even newer one 7 months after the introduction of the third gen. Just throw in a lightning connector, the new A6 chip and it'll be ready before the holidays too! Then Tim Cook and the upper management said, why the **** not! Let's do it!

 

As far as I'm concerned the four iPad models that have been released so far will be called - iPad 1, iPad 2, iPad 3 and iPad 4. At least, that's how I will refer to them.

 

iPad 1, iPad 2, new iPad, fourth gen iPad just sounds totally retarded and confusing.

I agree that Apple jumped quickly. They had the faster A6 in the iPhone 5 and LTE or 4G or whatever it's called ready as well. Add the new connector and it was a sensible move to rush the iPad 4 out the door. I'm sure they new they'd piss off a lot of recent iPad 3 buyers, but I think I read they are offering trade-ins to those that bought just recently.

Also, from the teardown, there was this: "It appears that Apple chose not to utilize the space afforded by its switch to the Lightning connector, as the extra room is left unfilled. In fact, the Lightning connector is placed in a frame that is the same size as the outgoing 30-pin unit."

I would expect that the iPad 5 fills this empty space. Apple wouldn't have left this empty space unused or  filled it with a frame had they had time to do a full revision. The mini used the extra space from the new, smaller connector to add a speaker.

I personally hope Apple starts to do this more. Bump the specs when they can and don't wait to make it some holy grail update. Get the value to the customers quicker and break the hard one year product cycle they have been maintaining.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bugsnw 

 

I agree that Apple jumped quickly. They had the faster A6 in the iPhone 5 and LTE or 4G or whatever it's called ready as well. Add the new connector and it was a sensible move to rush the iPad 4 out the door. I'm sure they new they'd piss off a lot of recent iPad 3 buyers, but I think I read they are offering trade-ins to those that bought just recently.

 

Also, from the teardown, there was this: "It appears that Apple chose not to utilize the space afforded by its switch to the Lightning connector, as the extra room is left unfilled. In fact, the Lightning connector is placed in a frame that is the same size as the outgoing 30-pin unit."

 

I would expect that the iPad 5 fills this empty space. Apple wouldn't have left this empty space unused or  filled it with a frame had they had time to do a full revision. The mini used the extra space from the new, smaller connector to add a s

"I would expect that the iPad 5 fills this empty space. Apple wouldn't have left this empty space unused or  filled it with a frame had they had time to do a full revision. The mini used the extra space from the new, smaller connector to add a s"

Good point.  So stereo speakers in iPad 5?

Does anyone know if the new LG display is any more power efficient?

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicksmith 

Does anyone know if the new LG display is any more power efficient?

from my understanding it's still the same display as the iPad 3, so no.

Ah OK. It'd still be interesting to see how this new version charges compared to the 3rd gen model. I remember reading a rumour months ago that a tweaked version of the display was in the works that would require slightly less power, also that it might be released about now. Would help with charging while the device is in use. I'm currently trying to dig out the report...