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Apple confirms iPad launch event for March 7th in San Francisco

by Alistair Lowe on 29 February 2012, 09:42

Tags: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

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As had been predicted several weeks ago, Apple has confirmed an iPad launch event for March 7th at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. The event will begin at 10am, which we will take as Pacific Standard Time, meaning that the event will begin at 6pm here in the UK, so for Apple fans, there's just enough time to rush home from work.

HEXUS has discussed details of the iPad 3 many times and in truth, until the launch of the tablet in just over a weeks time, many details still remain speculation. As a re-cap, it's near enough certain that the iPad 3 will feature a new 2,048 x 1,536 Retina display, however it's also believed that the tablet will gain a new, quad-core CPU, likely still based on the ARM Cortex-A9 and dubbed the Apple A5X. We suspect a bump to 1GB of RAM and a slightly modified case that looks to be thicker than the original iPad 2 but with a smoother bezel. The camera is also expected to receive the usual round of updates and there have also been rumours of a new mini docking port, with suggestions of a larger battery.

With so little changing, we have often questioned if this release will end up as the iPad 2S, on the other-hand Apple may just surprise us and announce that it has ported OS X to its iPad, hence the purpose of a new docking port, though this seems unlikely. There are also suggestions that Apple 'may' use this launch event to unveil a Siri-powered Apple TV product.

With competitor Samsung clearly holding back on a high-end tablet release and announcement of its latest Galaxy S III smartphone, this writer finds himself preoccupied with what the competition may hold and looks forward to seeing all the cards out on the table before making his next purchase decision.



HEXUS Forums :: 4 Comments

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there have also been rumours of a new mini docking port
Not Apple-bashing, but what's wrong with the “standard” MicroUSB plug? :rolleyes:

That said, the fact that Samsung and Asus also choose to use a proprietary connection instead of that (uUSB) for charging/data-connection of their full sized tablets annoys me.
crossy
Not Apple-bashing, but what's wrong with the “standard” MicroUSB plug?

Doesn't support composite video.
Doesn't support HDMI video and audio.
Doesn't support VGA video.
Doesn't support audio.
Isn't as easy to “dock” a device with.
Isn't as easy to support a plug in dongle (EG IR transmitter)

A few advantages exist for a “plain” USB connection, but Apple would lose a lot. I'd rather have a single connection on my device than two… or three!
Jenny_Y8S
Doesn't support composite video.
Doesn't support HDMI video and audio.
Doesn't support VGA video.
No it doesn't.
Jenny_Y8S
Doesn't support audio.
Isn't as easy to “dock” a device with.
Isn't as easy to support a plug in dongle (EG IR transmitter)
Yes it does.

USB OTG, this is how you see people controlling their cameras from their phones in quite cool ways, ala:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/06/android-app-tethers-handsets-to-canon-cams-live-view-fanboys-re/
Jenny_Y8S
Doesn't support composite video. Doesn't support HDMI video and audio.
Doesn't support VGA video. Doesn't support audio. Isn't as easy to “dock” a device with. Isn't as easy to support a plug in dongle (EG IR transmitter) A few advantages exist for a “plain” USB connection, but Apple would lose a lot. I'd rather have a single connection on my device than two… or three!
Garn, I forgot that they (Apple) use that connection for video (been too long since I did anything with my iPod). :embarrassed:
Definitely don't agree though that the Apple dock connector is any easier to dock into than a microUSB. Personally I'd prefer to have standard connectors - say a microUSB plus one of those new microHDMI - sure that breaks your “one connection to rule them all” rule, but it's personal preference.

Kind of off-topic, but I thought the general trend was to try and use WiFi or BT to stream media content these days. If so, then doesn't that relegate the dock connector to charging and data only?