Apple's iPad 3 will be unveiled in March, according to a new AllThingsD report. Rumors suggest it will feature a more powerful processor and Retina Display.
Apple will unveil the iPad 3 at a high-profile March event
in San Francisco, reported AllThingsD.
No word yet on a street date for the iPad 3 (assuming
thats what its called), noted the Feb. 9 report, which relied on the
ever-popular unnamed sources. Those sources apparently confirmed that the
next-generation tablet will boast a similar look to the iPad 2, but running a
much faster chip, sporting an improved graphics processing unit, and featuring
a 2048x1536 Retina Displayor something close to it.
Rumors of those features have circulated for some weeks. In
a Feb. 1 posting, the Boy Genius Report also suggested the iPad 3 will feature
an A6 processor. That information likewise came from an unnamed source, who
provided the blog with screenshots
of output from an iPad 3 using a development and debug tool called iBoot.
Based on those screens, the iPad 3 will come in two versions: one with WiFi
only and one with WiFi and embedded GSM/CDMA/LTE for all carriers.
In the last quarter alone, Apple managed to sell some 15.43
million iPads. The company will expect any new tablet release to continue that
blockbuster sales run. Moreover, that massive sales volume is apparently
affecting other products in Apples hardware ecosystem.
There is cannibalization clearly of the Mac by the iPad,
but we continue to believe there is much more cannibalization of Windows PCs by
the iPad, Apple CEO Tim Cook told analysts and media listening to the
companys Jan. 24 earnings call, and theres many more of them to cannibalize.
And so we love that trend.
As a whole, the iPad franchise enters 2012 in a particularly
strong market position. Throughout 2011, other tablets have plunged into the
tablet arena with huge advertising budgets and the stated aim of becoming an
iPad killer, only to find apathetic customers and a general lack of
buzz.
Our checks indicate modest sales of most competing tablet
offerings including the Motorola Xyboard, RIM PlayBook, HTC View 4G, Samsung
Galaxy tab and several other Android-based devices, T. Michael Walkley, an
analyst with Canaccord Genuity, wrote in a Jan. 24 research note. Also
consistent with our checks, the Amazon Kindle Fire did not adversely impact
iPad sales but more likely had a greater impact on e-reader sales.
Later in 2012, Apple will likely face a tablet challenge
from Microsoft and its manufacturing partners, who could market a host of
touch-screen devices loaded with the upcoming Windows 8. Whatever features are included with the iPad 3, they will need to prove capable of beating back that
challenge, in addition to keeping Android at bay. Follow
Nicholas Kolakowski on Twitter
Nicholas Kolakowski is a staff editor at eWEEK, covering Microsoft and other companies in the enterprise space, as well as evolving technology such as tablet PCs. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, Playboy, WebMD, AARP the Magazine, AutoWeek, Washington City Paper, Trader Monthly, and Private Air. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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