Apple will unveil the next iPad March 7 but actually launch it March 16, according to a new report.
Apple will
launch the new iPad March 16, according to a report on the blog 9to5Mac.
The blog drew
its information from an unnamed source associated with the Apple Store. In
essence, that means the next iPad will launch nine days after Apples March 7
event in San Francisco, when its popularly expected the company will actually
unveil the device.
Thanks to a Gizmodoposting, rumors are also building
that the tablet will be called iPad HD, as opposed to the iPad 3 moniker
used for months by the media and tech pundits. The next iPad will supposedly
feature a high-resolution Retina Display, backed by a more powerful processor
and support for 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE), which in turn would lend some
credence to that HD tag. Sources such as Apple Insider have also suggested that the
next iPad could receive a significant update to iOS.
The rumor mill
itself has become so superheated that even Apples invitation to the event
proved capable of sparking endless speculation. We have something you really
have to see. And touch, read that missive, which included an image of a finger
touching the calendar app on an iPad screen. Within hours, tech blogs began
speculating on everything from the resolution of the screen in the image to the
possible lack of a home button.
Although the
iPad has managed to dominate the consumer tablet market, it faces two threats
in 2012. The first comes from Microsoft, which intends to challenge Apple in a
big way with Windows 8 on tablets. Reportedly due closer to the end of the
year, Windows 8 features an interface optimized for touch input; moreover, a
variety of developers and manufacturing partners are committed to creating
software and hardware for the ecosystem, which could give Microsoft the
momentum that other iPad competitors have lacked.
In addition,
Google and its own manufacturing partners show no signs of abating their
collective quest to make Android a tablet player, despite the anemic
performance of many supposed iPad killers that hit the marketplace in 2011.
One of the
lingering questions revolves around the next iPads cost. The Apple-centric
blogs have been all over the place on that one, with some (including MacRumors, drawing information from Chinese
microblog Sina
Weibo) suggesting a slight uptick in sticker price, while 9to5Mac insists it will remain the same as
the iPad 2.
But actual
answers will need to wait until March 7, when Apple kicks off its event at 10
a.m. Pacific time.
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.
Email
Print
