New iPad first week of March - WSJ
PLUS: Apple testing smaller screen tablet.
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Apple will release a new, 4G-capable version of the iPad in the first week of March, sources have told The Wall Street Journal.
The company is also testing a smaller screen version of the iPad.
The Journal - usually reliable in its tech soothsaying - quotes "people familiar with the matter" saying the new iPad will be designed to run on fourth generation or "4G" networks operated by US carriers AT&T and Verizon.
No other feature upgrades are reported. At this point, it seems possible the "new" iPad will be essentially the iPad 3 with faster, better mobile network connectivity.
4G is also known as Long Term Evolution (LTE).
Although 4G networks are being rolled out in the US, Australia and elsewhere, there are a couple of years away in New Zealand.
Toward the end of this year, the government will auction 4G-friendly 700MHz spectrum freed up by the analogue-to-digital TV switchover.
Telecom, Vodafone and 2degrees are expected to bid on the spectrum. 4G allows for much faster mobile data than today's 3G networks - although not all of the speed boost will flow through to end users; some of the extra mobile bandwidth afforded by 4G/LTE will be used to boost network capacity by squeezing more customers onto the same number of cellsites.
The new iPad will come about a year after Apple released the iPad 2.
Testing smaller screen tablet
The Journal has also reported that Apple is working with two component suppliers to test a smaller, 8-inch display version of the iPad.
Apple would not comment. The paper noted that the company, which outsources its manufacturing, works on prototypes all the time with its contractors. Some make it to market, some don't.
In 2010, the late Steve Jobs said a 9.7-inch display (as sported by the current iPad) is "the minimum size required to create great tablet apps."
There are already a number of seven-inch tablets on the market including two high-profile models running on Google's Android software: the Amazon Kindle Fire and the Galaxy Tab 7 (neither available in NZ).
Another contender, Samsung's 5.3-inch Galaxy Note will be launched in New Zealand on February 22.
Apple sold 15.43 million iPad tablets during its December quarter, up from 7.33 million a year earlier.
NBR staff
Wed, 15 Feb 2012
Wed, 15 Feb 2012
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
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New iPad first week of March - WSJ
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