iPad 3 - the droid you've been looking for?

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 05 January 2012 00:07

Opinion and Analysis

With 2012 here and the iPad 3 already presumed to be in manufacturing and but weeks away from their global unveiling, many are sure to be tempted by what will be the first new truly must-have tablet of the year, several months before Google or Microsoft are truly ready to respond.

With rumours suggesting a powerful upgrade of the iPad 3's capabilities when compared to both the original iPad and last year's iPad 2, it pretty clear that the iPad 3 will prove to be Apple's most popular tablet ever.

It will need to be an Apple-style roaring bonanza of a success, for Intel is throwing all it can, along with its OEM partners, at the Ultrabook concept during CES, CeBIT and Computex, even though it has taken them 5 years to copy what Apple first released in 2007.

Given the pressure being applied by Intel for its OEMs to release Ultrabooks at competitive price points, Apple will presumably keep its iPad 3 prices at the same levels as its iPad 2 models.

There's also much speculation that Apple will continue offering the iPad 2 in its current screen size from US $299 (and in limited configurations) post the iPad 3's launch, helping Apple to fend off competition from the US $199 'Amazon Kindle Fire' and 'Nook' corners of the market.

That rumour also clashes with the one that suggests a second iPad 3 will be one that has a 7.85-inch screen size, and while many seem to love the idea of a smaller iPad that still boasts full iPad functionality, it's anyone guess at the moment as to whether it really will arrive in a few weeks time or not.

A big potential threat to Apple in 2012 is if Microsoft's Windows 8 tablets take off in a big way. With two types of tablet to come, one that should be iPad-thin and, like the iPad, runs on an ARM-based processor.

This type of tablet runs all the new Windows 8 metro apps. There will be a second type of Windows 8 tablet that will run a more traditional x86 and x64 processor from either Intel or AMD that will be thicker than an iPad-style tablet but will run both the new Metro touch-based apps as well as traditional Windows 7 apps.

Some of that competition will come in the form of hybrid ultrabook tablets, either with detachable screens or attachable keyboards, using new Intel designs to try and get an x86/x64 solution as thin as possible, with enough power, with a long enough battery life to be truly useful.

Continued on page two, please read on!