Apple iPad 3 Coming Next Year: Report

By Darrell Etherington, GigaOM

 

Those hoping for Apple(AAPL) iPad lightning to strike twice this year might be disappointed by a new report out Friday. Taiwan Economic News, citing sources within the chip-making industry, says the A6 processor, successor to the A5 and cited as the central component for a new, more powerful iPad, won't be ready for public consumption until the second quarter of next year at the earliest.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is the company that will be supplying the A6 to Apple, according to the report. Reuters reported last month that the chipmaker was getting underway with trial production, but this latest report seems to suggest that trial production hadn't yet begun in earnest until now.

The current A5 chip that powers the iPad 2, and is rumored to power the upcoming iPhone 5, is supplied by Samsung, but reports have long suggested that Apple was considering moving their chip production to TSMC, which is the world's largest semiconductor foundry as measured by market share.

Apple is also thought to be looking to move some of its business away from Samsung, since the two companies are involved in a complicated and volatile legal battle in various courts worldwide.

The A6, based on the ARM(ARMH) chip architecture, will use TSMC's new 28-nanometer process, along with 3D stacking technologies. That will make for an extremely low-powered chip that's also capable of blowing away the A4 and A5 in terms of processing ability, since those designs both use layered instead of 3D designs.

The 3D stacking tech will allow layers to be integrated vertically and horizontally into one single circuit. Computerworld's Jonny Evans suggested in July that such a design could make for a processor powerful enough, in theory, to replace Intel(INTC) chips in future MacBook Airs, so they should extend the iPad's capabilities considerably.

Taiwan Economic News says TSMC and Apple had discussed working together on past chips, but the chipmaker didn't have the spare production capacity to take on the iPad maker as a customer. Owing to a downturn in the industry this year, the publication says TSMC now has room to fill Apple's orders.

While it may be disappointing to some that it's looking less likely we'll see an iPad 3 this year, an iPad 2 and an iPad 3 released so close together isn't a smart play for Apple anyway, as GigaOM noted earlier this year. The iPad continues to dominate the tablet space, and Apple is currently doing a good job of keeping its competition from even being able to sell their products.

Even if we won't get to see a new iPad product before 2012, the news that TSMC is getting underway with its chip-making plans ahead of ramping up for full production in the first quarter is still an exciting prospect for fans eager to see what's coming next from Apple.

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Report: Apple To Put iPad Brain In iPhone Body, Introduce In September

Jun. 22 2011 - 4:00 am | 13,754 views | 2 recommendations |  Image via Wikipedia

The iPhone is about to get a brain transplant.

Apple is adding the iPad 2’s dual-core A5 processor and a new, 8-megapixel camera to the iPhone, and plans to introduce the new model in September, Bloomberg News reported late Tuesday. Apple is also experimenting with a new iPad with a high-resolution screen, according to the news service .

Of course, you don’t have to rely on “two people familiar with the matter,” as Bloomberg does, to know some of the device’s new features. Apple introduced new software for its mobile devices earlier this month at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference. That software, dubbed iOS 5, is due this Fall. If Bloomberg is right, it will arrive just in time to play the starring role in Apple’s new handset.

The new handset, however, probably won’t include support for the latest high-speed wireless networks (see “For The Last Time: There Won’t Be A 4G iPhone This Year”) . In response to a question from Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty on Apple’s quarterly earnings call in April Apple’s Chief Operating Officer Cook said today’s 4G chips don’t meet Apple’s needs.

Analysts say Apple is almost certainly waiting a new generation of chips that combine support for 4G and 3G on a single chip, allowing handset makers to offer slim handsets that don’t gobble up battery life.

Chipmakers such as Qualcomm, ST Ericcson, and Intel won’t begin offering customers samples of such chips until late this year. And those chips won’t begin appearing in handsets until next year. By that time, the iPhone’s brain-transplant should be complete.

Let’s just hope the upgrade to the A5 goes as planned…

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Report: Apple Demands 10 Percent Price Cuts from iPad Parts Suppliers

Apple is demanding that suppliers of components for its iPad tablets reduce their prices by 10 percent, according to a report in the Chinese-language Economic Daily News.

The news report, spotted and translated by DigiTimes on Tuesday, said Apple was pressuring suppliers to provide quote cuts for the second quarter of 2011.

Apple reportedly is making the demand because it expects second-quarter its tablet shipments to grow 70 percent quarter-over-quarter in its current fiscal period, and the iPad-maker wants a discount on the higher-volume orders it expects to make.

Upstream suppliers of PCBs, optical components, battery modules, touch panels, and other parts used in Apple's market-leading iPad 2 tablets have faced the quote cut demand from the computer and device maker, the report said.

The Economic Daily News also reported that components makers expect Apple to demand further price cuts in its third quarter, as iPad shipments are expected to continue to increase.

Going by iFixit's March 11 teardown of an Apple iPad 2, the tablet contains components from Broadcom, Samsung, Toshiba, Dialog Semi, Texas Instruments, Cirrus, STMicroelectronics, and others.

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Report: Amazon To Challenge iPad

Jun. 22 2011 - 12:29 pm | 4,316 views | 1 recommendation |  Jeff Bezos: the only thing standing between Steve Jobs and tablet computer domination? Image via CrunchBase

Steve Jobs has run amok again. This happens every few years in the tech industry. First he did it with the Macintosh. Then with the iPhone. Now, with the iPad, Jobs is gobbling up business like bear let loose in a peanut butter factory. If someone doesn’t stop him, quick, he’s going to do to the tablet market what he did with digital media players: own it.

Well it looks like Amazon Chief Jeff Bezos is prepping some tranquilizer darts and a ketch-all pole. Jeff Bezos, who plans to drop four million tablets into the market in 2011 to fight it out with Apple, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes reported Wednesday. The report, which cited unnamed Taiwainese components makers says Amazon will use processors from Texas Instruments and touch panels from WinTech. The tablets will be assembled by Quanta Computer.

In short, Amazon will be reaching its hands into the same bag of parts available to everyone else. Software and services will have to set this device apart. Sadly, the people responsible for those things aren’t talking to Digitimes. But a glance at Amazon’s efforts to build digital media and software stores for Android devices provides a few clues about where Bezos could be going.

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Report: iPhone 5 Coming in September, iPad 3 in the Works

Apple's next-generation iPhone will debut its next mobile operating system, iOS 5, boast the iPad 2's powerful A5 processor, come with an 8-megapixel camera, and launch in September, alleged sources told Bloomberg on Wednesday.

At the same time Bloomberg said Apple is testing a third-generation iPad with higher resolution than the iPad 2, something closer to the pixel density on the iPhone 4's 3.5-inch, 960x640 screen. It didn't mention timing, but earlier this month research firm CLSA told the Wall Street Journal that the "iPad 3" might launch just before Christmas.

Apple is also developing a smaller, cheaper version of the iPhone 4 for emerging markets, Bloomberg reported.

Bloomberg's Wednesday report echoes a few enduring rumors about Apple's unannounced mobile devices. In January AppleInsider first reported sources saying the "iPhone 5" will host an A5 processor. Back in February Apple COO Tim Cook had publicly hinted at a cheaper iPhone for emerging markets.

Meanwhile as reported last week, iOS 5 will supposedly support full 1080p video, which would work well with the alleged 8-megapixel feature Sony CEO Howard Stringer hinted at back in April.

On Tuesday, Boy Genius Report's Jonathan Geller gave us our Apple rumor of the day. He said he'd "confirmed" with alleged sources that the next iPhone will be a complete version upgrade rather than a minor update. Geller also reported that the next iPhone will have a "radical" new shape, perhaps something like the teardrop-shaped profile pitched by This Is My Next last April. With less certainty, Geller's sources guessed that Apple would make the announcement in August or at its annual iTunes conference in September.

Meanwhile last Thursday, AppleInsider reported that Apple was withholding the next iPhone and iPod Touch until it finalized a bundled version of iOS 5 and iCloud.

As far as timing of the next iPhone's launch, last week Apple began selling an unlocked, unsubsidized iPhone 4, immediately fueling speculation that Apple was purposely creating a high-cost barrier on the year-old iPhone 4 so people would wait and eventually purchase a subsidized fifth-generation iPhone this fall.

How much can you trust a Bloomberg-originated iPhone rumor? For what it's worth, in June 2010 it was spot-on when it re-iterated earlier rumors about the Verizon iPhone launching in January 2011.

For a roundup of the biggest iPhone 5 rumors from the first half of the year, check out 8 Likely iPhone 5 Rumors, and 2 Wild Ones.

For more from Sara, follow her on Twitter @sarapyin.

For the top stories in tech, follow us on Twitter at @PCMag.

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Report: Tawainese Part Makers Already Seeking Certification for Apple iPad 3

The early stages of production have allegedly begun for the iPad 3, which will reportedly be priced more affordably than earlier models of Apple's popular tablet. DigiTimes is reporting that Taiwanese iPad component makers are in the process of certifying their parts with Apple for the rumored third-generation device.

Citing "industry sources," DigiTimes says that some part makers have already snagged the Apple's certification "such as Radiant Opto-Electronics with LED backlight units." No touch screen panels have been approved yet.

A Korean newspaper has claimed that Apple will partner with Samsung to bring Samsung's Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode (AMOLED) display technology to the iPad 3. The site said Apple COO Tim Cook began talking with Samsung about the potential joint venture on a recent trip to South Korea.

The iPad 2 didn't get an upgraded display, and this isn't the first rumor about the iPad 3's display. Earlier this year, DigiTimes said that the tablet would come equipped with a brighter, higher-res AMOLED display. But it's not likely Samsung and Apple are chomping at the bit to work together, considering the two parties are currently engaged in a legal battle, with Apple accusing Samsung of patent and trademark infringement.

While DigiTimes notes that both Samsung and LG Electronics have supplied panels for Apple in the past, the most recent report about rumored part certification debunked the AMOLED display myths, saying that it's "unlikely to happen and iPad 3 will still adopt 9.7-inch LCD panels."

The iPad 3 will launch in 2012, DigiTimes says. Apple would not comment on the rumors.

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iPad Rivals Fail to Gain Traction, a Report Says

JPMorgan Chase A report issed by JPMorgan Chase warned of an oversupply of tablet computers.

Technology companies who hoped to outdo the Apple iPad by offering alternate slate-like products are not seeing the demand they hoped for from consumers, according to an analyst’s report issued by JPMorgan Chase.

The report, which was issued on Wednesday, said companies building products to compete with the iPad have slowed production by as much as 10 percent since this time last March. At that time, the report said,? competing tablet companies created 81 million tablets; this year the number has fallen to 73 million.

The report named the list of iPad rivals that have failed to gain traction, including Asustek’s Eee Pad Transformer, Motorola’s Xoom, Research In Motion’s PlayBook, and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab. Although the Eee Pad?sold out in stores when it debuted, it is now easily available and in some cases overstocked.

Apple said in March that since the original iPad was introduced in April 2010, the company has sold an estimated 20 million of the devices. That number does not include sales of the iPad 2, which was unveiled this year. The iPad 2 is in extremely high demand, with most Apple stores across the country still sold out on a regular basis.

Analysts have noted that it won’t be easy for competitors to catch up to the iPad, especially because of the head start Apple has in its App Store, which has become a cornerstone of its success.

The author of the report, Mark Moskowitz, has warned in the past of a possible tablet bubble burst, suggesting that a slew of iPad competitors could flood the market and sit there, not tempting customers and leaving a huge oversupply of products.

“We still think a tablet bubble burst could occur later this year,” Mr. Moskowitz wrote in Wednesday’s report, but said the latest reduction of competing products “slightly temper our prior concerns.”

“Non-Apple tablet hopefuls have adjusted to the weak showing so far,” he said.

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Report: Best Buy Barred from Selling iPad 2

Best Buy could be in deep trouble with Apple over mishandling sales of the iPad 2. In fact, the electronics retailer might be banned from selling the device at all.

Citing a "reader who works at Best Buy," CrunchGear reported that Best Buy was telling customers that it had sold out of the iPad 2, when in reality it was holding onto stock after having reached a pre-determined daily sales quota.

CrunchGear said Apple's displeasure comes from high up; COO Tim Cook allegedly got wind of Best Buy's foul play and he's none too pleased.

TUAW has also weighed in to say that Apple has ordered a freeze on sales of the next-generation tablet through Best Buy. Apple has reportedly yanked all the iPad 2s Best Buy had in stock, save for demo models.

Best Buy has been on board with the iPad since the first version debuted about a year ago. The retailer started selling the first-generation iPads along with Apple Stores at launch last April and expanded to all U.S. stores in September. The company started stocking the iPad 2 on March 11, the first day the device went on sale.

To say that the iPad 2 has sold well is an understatement. Analysts estimated that Apple sold nearly half a million units of the device in the first weekend it hit stores in the U.S. Those left pining for an iPad 2 were forced to wait after the first weekend, too, when the wait time for the device went up to five weeks. The iPad 2 also reportedly sold out within a day of its overseas launch.

According to an estimate from Digitimes, Apple sold around 2.6 million iPad 2s in March. Apple has not released any official data on iPad 2 sales, but is expected to do so in its Q2 earnings call on April 20.

Reps from neither Best Buy nor Apple responded to requests for comment on the matter.

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Report: Apple Acknowledges iPad 2 Connection Issues

Soon after the Apple iPad 2 hit Verizon stores on March 11, users were reporting problems connecting to the Verizon 3G network.

The problem most often cited in a 7-page discussion at Apple's Support forum is that users can't turn on their tablet's 3G antenna without rebooting the device. For instance, if you've set your iPad 2 on Wi-Fi only or Airplane modes, you may not be able to re-activate 3G without restarting your tablet.

"If I have Wi-Fi on and then want to switch to 3G, then I can never connect and I only get the iPad icon on the upper left hand corner," a user wrote on March 30. "I have to reboot the Ipad with 3G on in order to connect. If I stay with just 3G, then I can turn it on and off without any problems."

Another user who had the same problem said Apple replaced his iPad 2 immediately but was experiencing the same problem with his replacement.

Until now, neither Apple nor Verizon have ever acknowledged the issue. But on Friday, Apple told All Things Digital (ATD) that it was looking into it.

"We are aware that a small number of iPad 2 customers have experienced connectivity issues with the Verizon 3G network and we are investigating it," Apple said.

A few AT&T iPad 2 users chimed in suggesting Verizon customers switch to AT&T.

"If any of you are within the 14 days, I would highly recommend just swapping out or returning your Verizon one and get an AT&T model," a user wrote. "I was lucky and got mine switched, everything thing now works like it's supposed to."

The Apple iPad 2 (Wi-fi + 3G) is offered by AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

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Report: Apple Investigates Verizon IPad 2 Problem

Apple is reportedly investigating complaints from iPad 2 owners who say they can't connect to Verizon's cellular network, according to a story on the All Things Digital blog on Friday.

Apple said a small number of iPad 2 users have connectivity issues with Verizon's 3G network and that it is investigating the problem, according to the story.

Verizon declined to comment, referring questions to Apple. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The story points to several pages of complaints from users on the online Apple support forum. The users say when they try to connect to the Verizon network, the device says it is searching but never connects. Several users say they have returned the tablets to Apple stores, and in some cases the issue has been temporarily fixed only to reappear later.

Others have swapped for a new tablet and discovered the same problem.

The iPad 2 went on sale in March and is available in a 3G version from both AT&T and Verizon.

Nancy Gohring covers mobile phones and cloud computing for The IDG News Service. Follow Nancy on Twitter at @idgnancy. Nancy's e-mail address is Nancy_Gohring@idg.com

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