Sam Oliver
Citing industry sources in Taiwan, DigiTimes reported Monday that likely contenders for the job are Quanta Computer and Pegatron Technology. Pegatron is said to have the advantage, as the company also reportedly received iPhone 5 orders from Apple.
Apple is said to be interested in minimizing production risk after a deadly explosion occurred at a Foxconn plant in May. That incident killed three and left 15 injured.
While the report initially referred to the rumored new tablet as an "iPad 3," it also cited recent rumors that the new model will not be a replacement for the current iPad 2, but will instead expand the product line. One report from last week suggested the new iPad could sport a double-resolution screen of 2048-by-1536 pixels, making the device a so-called "iPad HD."
A separate report, also from last week, referred to such a device as an "iPad 2 Plus." It claimed that overseas component makers have already received requests-for-quotes from Apple for a new high-end iPad model with a greater pixel density display.
Sources in Taiwan reportedly told DigiTimes that the new iPad model will launch at the end of the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter of calendar 2011. Total shipments of all iPad models are expected to top 13 million units in the third quarter.
Earlier this month, the same publication claimed that Apple's suppliers were gearing up for an October launch of a new iPad, as well as the fifth-generation iPhone. Both devices were then said to be unveiled in September and go on sale soon after.
The rumored new iPad is expected to have an even thinner and lighter design. The new display will allegedly have a resolution of about 250 pixels per inch, compared to the 132 pixels per inch of the current iPad.
Rumors of a third iPad model launching in 2011 are not new, and first began to appear before the second-generation iPad was even announced. But Apple appeared to downplay those rumors when it unveiled its new iPad and declared 2011 to be the "Year of iPad 2."
Marko Zivkovic
Wesley Hilliard
Malcolm Owen
Christine McKee
Andrew O'Hara
78 Comments
Baloney.
WS still trying to figure out how to stop the iPad juggernaut. Best bet is to suggest a new iPad model around the corner so why buy now.
Payola lives.
13M iPads this quarter? Really
I'm not talking just iPad HD here but an iPad of a different physical size and a larger iPod Touch like device. It really looks like Apple is letting a lot of opportunity slip away here.
It really looks like Apple is letting a lot of opportunity slip away here.
...because the 7" wannabe iPads are such runaway hits?
Baloney.
WS still trying to figure out how to stop the iPad juggernaut. Best bet is to suggest a new iPad model around the corner so why buy now.
Payola lives.
An iPad HD would have a superior crushing effect on the competition during the holiday shopping season. Beyond that there is lots of room in Apples line up for more iOS devices.
For example every time I go to an electronics store And look at the GPS systems, with their sub seven inch screens, I cringe. Most of these are 5" class devices and it is very easy to imagine iOS on such a sized "tablet". Made Apple thin they would be very useful.
Beyond that Wall Street does not fight success! Also the vast majority of Apples customers don't care to know what is around the corner. Each turn is a new adventure.