Next iPad with Smaller Bezel, Flat Back, and Wide-Range Speaker?
Artist depiction of new speaker in iPad 2
Japanese blog Mac Octakara claims that the next generation iPad will have a slightly smaller bezel, a flat back and a new "wide-ranged speaker unit". The report (via AppleInsider) cites an anonymous Chinese source.
The changes would be welcome by some as it addresses a couple of criticisms of the original iPad design. The outer plastic bezel surrounding the LCD screen of the iPad was seen as excessively large by some. The new design would address this by slightly narrowing this bezel by 3x3mm. The final design is said to retain the same size LCD screen but the overall unit is claimed to measure 239 mm by 186 mm as compared to the current iPad's size of 242.8 mm x 189.7 mm. Next, the back of the iPad is reported to be "flat like an iPod Touch" which would allow the new iPad to sit flat on a desk surface. The current iPad has a rounded back.
Finally, the source adds a detail that would explain the large opening seen in some early iPad 2 case designs.
According to the Japanese blog, the new iPad has a large "wide-ranged speaker unit covered with metal mesh". A computer generated depiction is pictured above. The new iPad is said to be starting production with a ship date in mid-to-late January. Mac Octakara has no history of providing Apple rumors, but the details seem plausible and fit with the leaked iPad case designs.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
15 months ago
If these rumors are true, then i might just get an iPad once it comes out.
Although i never imaged of a wide-range speaker on the iPad.
Although i never imaged of a wide-range speaker on the iPad.
15 months ago
I prefer the current design I like the shape of it, because its a bit unusual with a curved back and stuff. I am expecting the second gen iPad to really not be worth the upgrade for previous owners, I expect the updates hardware wise will be minor and will most likely just get a slight redesign with a camera that'll perhaps be it.
It'll be like the iPhone i'm guessing
'07 Original iPhone loads of people bought
'08 iPhone 3G (same hardware as original, just using 3G and new designed back
'09 iPhone 3GS (a large upgrade for first gen iPhone users, not so much for 3G
'10 iPhone 4 massive upgrade for iPhone 3G users
so I expect the third iPad will be worth the wait for us first gen users
I'm really not bothered about a camera sure I can see facetime working and being useful on an iPhone/iPod touch, but i'd never use it. I only really use my iSight for dailybooth snaps and messing with photo booth, love that application
It'll be like the iPhone i'm guessing
'07 Original iPhone loads of people bought
'08 iPhone 3G (same hardware as original, just using 3G and new designed back
'09 iPhone 3GS (a large upgrade for first gen iPhone users, not so much for 3G
'10 iPhone 4 massive upgrade for iPhone 3G users
so I expect the third iPad will be worth the wait for us first gen users
I'm really not bothered about a camera sure I can see facetime working and being useful on an iPhone/iPod touch, but i'd never use it. I only really use my iSight for dailybooth snaps and messing with photo booth, love that application
15 months ago
I hate the look of the white plastic back. Make it aluminium!!!! :mad:
you realize that's a case, right?
arn
15 months ago
Hope it has the "edge to edge" glass that the iPhone/iPod Touch has.
The bezel is there for a reason.
15 months ago
I hate the look of the white plastic back. Make it aluminium!!!! :mad:
For what seem to be the millionth time, it's not and will NOT be a white back. That's a 3rd party case.
15 months ago
Nobody is going to miss 1.9mm of bezel. You'll still be able to grip it without covering the screen. It'll be a tiny fraction lighter because of that, but probably impossible to tell the difference without weighing them on an accurate balance.
A flat back might make it possible to set it down without it changing orientation or it might make that even harder. I can't understand why the lock switch moved from something you could flip without even thinking about to something you have to enable through a series of taps. Once his Steveness decreed that we need a mute switch because nobody can be expected to hold the down volume button for 1.1 seconds I lost faith in his ability to decide iDevice features.
If a speaker and a new shape are really the "features" of the new iPad then I have to agree with the people who are saying to wait for the third gen model.
Maybe by 2012 Apple will have also produced the 5.5", 3G enabled iNotePad that I want. Or maybe not. Unless and until I can get a device that's big enough to read text on, yet small enough to go everywhere Apple's iDevice department won't get another penny from me - not that anyone at Apple is losing sleep over that :rolleyes:
A flat back might make it possible to set it down without it changing orientation or it might make that even harder. I can't understand why the lock switch moved from something you could flip without even thinking about to something you have to enable through a series of taps. Once his Steveness decreed that we need a mute switch because nobody can be expected to hold the down volume button for 1.1 seconds I lost faith in his ability to decide iDevice features.
If a speaker and a new shape are really the "features" of the new iPad then I have to agree with the people who are saying to wait for the third gen model.
Maybe by 2012 Apple will have also produced the 5.5", 3G enabled iNotePad that I want. Or maybe not. Unless and until I can get a device that's big enough to read text on, yet small enough to go everywhere Apple's iDevice department won't get another penny from me - not that anyone at Apple is losing sleep over that :rolleyes:
[ Read All Comments ]
Even as Apple is preparing to open its first Dutch retail store in Amsterdam on March 3, the company is moving closer to expanding its international reach even further as it has updated its Swedish...
Following reports yesterday that Apple would open its first Dutch retail store in Amsterdam on March 3, the company has confirmed that date today with emails to customers and a new dedicated store...
The Charlotte Observer reports that a total of 25 iPhones valued at over $16,000 have been reported stolen from Apple's Northlake Mall retail store in Charlotte, North Carolina. While...
German site iFun.de reports [Google translation] that has it has received information from a source "to be taken seriously" claiming that the iPad 3 will debut there on Friday, March 23.
...
AFP reports that Proview Technology has expressed a willingness to work toward a settlement with Apple in the "iPad" trademark dispute in China, even as the company continues to press forward...
