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Apple’s New Tablet to Be Called the iPad

Apple is just now finishing up their event, and it turns out that all the many iPad parts leaks over the past couple months were true. The new tablet is about the same size and shape as previous models. It has both a higher res screen and a bigger rear facing camera (5MP). Apple’s talking about the A5X chip (dual-core CPU & quad-core  GPU).

The new iPad is also going to have a limited version of Siri which will support dictation in US English, British, Australian, French, German and Japanese. Big Whoop. My Samsung Glxy Tab can do that and it came out in 2010.

In other news, Apple shipped more iPads last quarter than HP shipped PCs. (15.4 million vs 15.1 million).

There’s been no earth shattering news so far, so I’m going to head back to the conference.

 

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Comments


Alexander Inglis March 7, 2012 um 2:40 pm

Small point: Apple’s A5X Chipset is a Dual-Core CPU, Quad-Core GPU. It’s not a quad core CPU.

Nate Hoffelder March 7, 2012 um 2:48 pm

I fixed that already (but forgot to click save). Thanks.


anonymous March 7, 2012 um 2:42 pm

Nate, sometimes your understated irony really leaves other blogs in the dust.

Btw, and today’s was a pretty generic update, wasn’t it? I mean, I more resolution is good, but but it’s the kind of "revolutionary change " I would expect from Samsung, Sony not from Apple.

I was really hoping this would incorporate either a pen or tactile screens or something… It may sound ridiculous but I think the pen is really making a comeback and it will get first to tablet screens.

Logan Kennelly March 7, 2012 um 3:05 pm

If you’ve been following Apple for a while, generic updates is kind of their thing (along with everybody else). No official statements leads to wild speculation followed by a pretty standard product refresh. It’s only in relatively new products (and Apple has had a couple of those recently) that you see dramatic changes, but eventually the products stabilize. Technology progresses at an amazing rate, but there’s only so much you can do in a year if you have a good product.

It especially hurts if you are not a specification-driven company. Intel can brag about 20% increases in speed, but Apple generally does not. I’m sure there was an extreme level of effort, and perhaps some innovation, that went into driving that high of a resolution on a mobile chipset, but Apple sums it up as simply "quad-core graphics".

Where would _you_ take development when your product is meant to be a portable monitor?

anonymous March 7, 2012 um 3:27 pm

Well as I said, a pen that actually works and can replace the notebook or notepad would be awesome. Inputting stuff is a bit hard on a touchscreen, and the ipad is just the right size.

Anyway, you’re right, transformational products are very rare. But I must mention that I have a galaxy note and of course I’m biased in that respect. I really think Samsung has changed the game with this one and it’s 2007 all over again.

fjtorres March 7, 2012 um 4:18 pm

If ink-based computing is a requirement, iPad isn’t the way to go. Windows TabletPCs are.
Apple’s consumer/media focus doesn’t line up with ink computing.
(Plus they don’t have the tech base to do it well.)

Logan Kennelly March 7, 2012 um 8:59 pm

I’m personally a big fan of the stylus myself (as long as the device has a slot to hold it). I’m very curious what the Galaxy Note would do to my reading experience, but I’ve been unwilling to invest that much into a device that isn’t fully supported on my network.

If you think it’s a game changer, though, I may have to give it some more consideration.


Alexander Inglis March 7, 2012 um 4:51 pm

No doubt it will sell in gazillions but much worse it’s a gift to the competition: time to catch up. Screens on the iPad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 are already gorgeous; is doubling the pixel density that much of an improvement? LTE is better than 3G to be sure but most new premium tablets are coming out with that, too. The device is going in the wrong direction as far as weight is concerned without extending battery life. And, as a number of other players are proving, a smaller form factor (and considerably lower price) hold significant value for consumers.

fjtorres March 7, 2012 um 8:24 pm

I would suggest that Apple might have different competitors than Samsung or Asus in mind.
Like PS Vita and Nintendo WiiU. Their App store rakes in a lot of money from casual gaming but there is a lot more to be made from non-casual games.
A good rule of thumb for market leaders is to be more interested in new markets to attack than in followers in the rear mirror.
The iPad has never been about specmanship anyway; the Android pads have long flailed away with specs and so far they haven’t gotten very far.
Except the one that focused on things *other* than hardware specs; Kindle FIRE.

Mike Cane March 7, 2012 um 9:16 pm

>>>without extending battery life.

But doubling pixel count and increasing both CPU and GPU speed without *decreasing* battery life. And you think that’s trivial? That’s how used to miracles you’ve become!

Syn March 7, 2012 um 9:21 pm

The screen to me is a big deal. Had the screen not been updated, I’d wait another year to update from my first gen iPad. I could never read much on the iPad because the text bugged me.

Everything else is a nice upgrade to my first gen, maybe not so much for iPad 2 users. I think the biggest disappointment was no Siri. I’m still trying to figure that one out..


Tom March 8, 2012 um 2:52 am

Next year… Apple will introduce "the newer iPad"


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