Apple's new iPad might not hit U.S. store shelves until March 16, but repair Website iFixit already has a teardown of the next-generation tablet.
Thanks to the
difference in time zones, Apple customers in Australia had the chance to snatch
up the new iPad more than a day before the next-generation tablet went on sale
in the United States. It also gave repair Website iFixit the chance to tear
apart an iPad purchased from a store in Melbourne.
The firm found
no surprises in that slim aluminum frame. However, in a series of images posted
on its Website, iFixit did manage to document the A5X
processor, Retina Display and other features that Apple hopes will outpace any
competition for at least another year.
The new iPad
(Apple hasnt given it an official-sounding name along the lines of iPad HD
or iPad 3) features a high-resolution Retina Display, an improved camera and
processor, and comparable battery life to its predecessors. In a bid to further
pressure that competition, the new iPad will keep the same prices as the
previous model, starting at $499 for WiFi-only versions, and $629 for those
with 4G capability. Prices top out at $699 for the WiFi-only, 64GB model and $829
for the 64GB model with WiFi and 4G. Those in the U.S. will have the option of
purchasing the new iPad with 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) connectivity on
either Verizon or AT&T.
After using
heavy-duty suction cups to remove the front glass, iFixit lifted away the LCD
display, which they believed was made by Samsung. The display connectors for
the new iPad are apparently different from those used in the iPad 2, meaning
the respective tablets displays are incompatible.
After removing
the display, iFixit found a logic board with a Texas Instruments CD3240 driver
device, Epcos B4064 SAW (surface acoustic wave) filters, and a Broadcom BCM4330
802.11a/b/g/n MAC/Baseband/Radio with Integrated Bluetooth 4.0+HS and FM transceiver.
They also uncovered Apples proprietary A5X processor, an upgrade from the
previous A4.
Analysts have
predicted the device will sell as many as 1 million units on March 16, its
first day of release.
We expect
Apple to sell more than [1 million] iPads on 3/16, the day the new iPad hits
retail stores, Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray, wrote in a March
12 research note. While the sell-through number is impossible to predict,
given uncertain iPad supply levels, sales of over [1 million] iPads on launch
day would be a slight positive relative to the Street consensus at 10.1
[million] iPads in the Mar-12 quarter.
Certainly,
demand for the new iPad has translated into lengthening shipment times from
Apples online store that now stand at two to three weeks.
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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