iPad 3: The Tech Fire Perspective
Both the first and second generations iPads proved to the tech world that Apple still knows what we want, even before we knew we wanted it. At first it was subject to extreme criticism, initially the biggest being the name itself. However, there’s no question that in the two years this amazing product has been out for, it’s absolutely changed the way we interact with, consume, and even create all types of media.
Despite it having almost identical features to the iPhone and iPod touch, the iPad proved that simply having the same user experience and touch interface on a bigger screen truly did make all the difference in the world. More room to touch, more room to interact, more room to play, type, etc..the list is endless. Bigger is certainly better here.
The first generation basically sparked a brand new category of electronics products, and companies began scrambling to compete with Apple’s new mobile baby; alas, none of the competition had a sustainable competitive advantage, and with Apple’s extremely loyal and dedicated user base, they were already ahead of the curve. Other companies rolled out other products with faster, more powerful specs, but all of that is absolutely useless without an intuitive and fluid graphic user interface, something which they all (with perhaps the exception of the still-successful Samsung Galaxy Tab) severely lacked. This could have been due to the quick response to the iPad, and tablet OS builds of Android were rushed, and not enough thought was put into them. All of this in combination made this new market niche an easy snag for Jobs and Co.
Which brings us to the current time, in 2012, where as of this writing it is now March 1st, 2012, and the rumored press event for the highly-anticipated iPad 3 release is just 6 days away. The rumor mill has been chugging away since nearly last September, and as the days draw nearer, we’ve been getting more and more believable rumors as far as specs go. The new iPad is slated to boast a 2048×1536 display, up from the inferior yet highly-versatile 1024×768. This is believed to be the 9-inch equivalent to the iPhone 4’s Retina Display, or close to it. A quad-core Cortex A6 or A9 processor (neither is confirmed), as well as the same 8-megapixel sensor found in the iPhone 4S, which is absolutely amazing, by the way. Siri integration seems only natural, and would be a logical upgrade for the third generation device. It’s supposedly receiving an upgraded front-facing camera for improved FaceTime sessions. One of the biggest kickers here, however, is rumored support as a 4G LTE device, which would break huge ground for Apple, AT&T and Verizon. LTE is around 5 times as fast as 3G is, and if married to this device, it could mean deadly competition. On top of that, 4G LTE coverage and support is only growing, which is great for not only Apple, but other carries who support it as well.
I, for one, will be up Saturday morning, reading Engadget’s live-blog of the whole event, something which they’ve done for several events in the past. It’s very cool and useful. The conference is set to start at 10am Pacific Time.
More on the iPad 3 and other rumors can be found, well, quite literally anywhere on the web, however stay tuned to The Tech Fire for the latest and greatest on the iPad 3 and everything else tech news!
