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Apple iPad 2 to launch on March the 2nd

| Latest News | February 23, 2011

Apple iPad. 2.
Apple iPad 2

March 2nd 2011: iPad the 2nd?

Apple are to host a media event on the 2nd of March where the iPad 2 is expected to be announced. This is according to a report by Jim Dairymple on the Loopsight blog.

Speculation is rife that the iPad 2 will include an improved display along the lines of the touchable glass feel of the iPhone 4, front and rear facing cameras for FaceTime, as well as an upgrade to a Dual Core processor and potentially more memory.

Further speculation from John Gruber of Daring Fireball has suggested that this update could be in the vain of the iPhone 3GS, with the iPad 2 having just minor performance enhancements. This would allow An iPad 3 to arrive at the end of the year with more significant improvements as well as moving its annual release cycle to after the iPhone in the Summer.

Given one of the criticisms of the original iPad has been its weight and glare reflection issues, Apple could move to solve these too.

No matter what the event brings, one thing is clear: don't buy a new iPad or a MacBook Pro now. Save your hard saved pennies for the fresh meat.

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Will the iPad 2 be called the iPad Retina?

| Latest News | February 8, 2011

Apple iPad. 2.

Rumours are intensifying that the iPad 2 will feature a higher resolution screen of some sort.

Previously the intelligence being leaked from hardware vendors suggested that the original iPad's resolution of 1024-by-768 pixels would remain the same only with the caveat of having 'retina' style features such as a glass like immediacy like on the iPhone 4 and better anti glare.

Many have said that  the large screen of the iPad (at just over 9 inches ladies) is unsuitable to give a retina display to, as a resolution of 2048-by-1536 will be too large for Apps to scale to, as well as requiring too much processing power.

This all made sense, however the eagle eyes at ZDNet have spotted the tweets of a BBC engineer: Geoff Marshall of BBC Interactive Operations to be exact.  He tweeted to say that only browsing will work on 3G with full Wifi being required for playback. Having tweeted that the BBC iPlayer App will be coming to the iPad and Android, he replied to followers questions at one point with this curious reply:

"I think part of it too is because it'll take advantage of the higher-res screen that iPad2 has got. HD content will look good"

Now either he knows something we don't. Could Apple have the BBC iPlayer App on board as part of the iPad 2's announcement?

OR

He's just taking wild guesses just like the rest of the rabid blogosphere here on the intraweb.

To add to the conspiratorial fire, he has since protected these tweets. It wasn't a verified Twitter account so we have no way of certifying its authenticity. In which case if we where betting our own money we would stick with the notion of the iPad 2 retaining its current resolution.

Then again, iPad Retina does have a certain 'je ne sais quoi'  to it...

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Will you buy a Latte with your next iPhone or iPad?

| Latest News | January 25, 2011

Apple iPad. 2.

The iPhone 5 could replace your wallet

I have a Credit Card with something called payWave. This is a little chip in the card, which means you can simply tap it on a reader and pay for items with entering a Pin or swiping the card. The idea is it means you can really quickly buy things that have a small cost such as a coffee or a Newspaper if you are in a rush.

The same technology is used on London's public transport system. The Oyster Card can be topped up with cash (just like a pay as you go mobile phone) and you 'tap' your way onto a bus or through a barrier to get on the Tube or train.

The technology here is known as Near Field Communication or 'NFC'. For some time now analysts and bloggers have looked forward to a time when NFC capability would be in all our mobile phones or watches. Just as many of us rely on our Debit Card instead of Cash now, this could eradicate the change in your pocket, with us using our Mobiles to pay for small purchases.

There is currently much speculation that Apple will add this to the next iPhone 5 or the iPad 2. This could potentially allow you to pay for a can of Orange Tango halfway through a game of Paper Flight HD. Although this technology is available now with say Barclaycard, it hasn't broken into the mainstream as a general way to make contactless payments. Sure, it's out there and I have used my Credit Card to get a Pret Hot Chocolate more times than my conscience should of allowed me, but you don't see payWave readers in anywhere close to the prevalence that Chip & Pin has.

Perhaps Apple could be the ones to change this though? If retailers knew that everyone with an iPhone 5 (or even an iPad 2, even if the prospect of waving it at the barman in your local seems about as attractive as an old Ford Scorpio) could use it to buy a pint in their local or grab a sandwich or magazine, surely they would flock to add this capability? Is it that far sighted to imagine adding credit to your iTunes account to spend when out and about? You can already credit your iTunes with vouchers or songs, so it's not a massive change for Apple.

It's not that far sighted to think that Apple could be the brand that gives this technology a push into the mainstream. Look how it is has put MP3's in your pocket. Companies also have so far been very keen to accommodate being on the iOS platform, such as YouTube offering H264 video or the BBC with iOS dedicated iPlayer streams.

Here's to a Beer and a Burger paid for by my iPad 2

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iPad 2 Rumours!

| Latest News | January 19, 2011

Apple iPad. 2.
Apple iPad 2

Photoshop: Look, it's the new iPad!

Tuesday afternoons are a bit of a drag aren’t they? It's the start of the week. You've got through most the day in work. You need to get over the weekend and spending too much money on Jägerbomb's and Takeaways.

Gets you annoyed doesn’t it? So what better way to cheer up then a round up of the latest iPad 2 rumours? Unless like me you only bought an iPad last month, in which case your weeping your way to the Kettle.

So grab a Yorkshire Tea and enjoy these:

  1. It'll have a camera In fact it will probably have 2 cameras. Yep this is the big rumour that people kept telling me when I bought my iPad. Luckily though no one ever FaceTime's me. So I'll be all right. However it is the logical next move to have a front and rear-facing camera. Even if it does feel odd trying to take a photo with something so big. They're have even been screenshots of a potential Camera. app for it.
  2. It'll not have a home button We've touched on this here. Perhaps it's a go-er given the form factor of the iPad means you often use both hands with it. Plus the new Multi-Touch gestures in iOS 4.3 make it very feasible. Not only that but it would emphasis the idea that there is 'no right way up' with the iPad
  3. Retina Display This would be a hell of a screen if true. Perhaps double the resolution of the existing screen, but the same size? If it does then it'd need some decent grunt to run it. Thus this next rumour:
  4. Dual Core Processor Well a potential new higher resolution screen will need more grunt. Apple unveiled the Cortex A8 ARM based A4 chip for the iPad and how we where wowed. It was certainly quick. Rumours abound that the next chip, which has surprise surprise been dubbed the A5, could well be based on ARM's Dual Core A9 ARM chip. These would each come with GPU core that in turn on paper are twice the power of the current A4 GPU. GPU = Graphics Performance Unit, so more performance opens up the possibility of more advanced gaming & HD video.
  5. Built in SD slot At the moment the iPad seems popular with photographers for checking out what they've taken on a bigger screen. Even the latest Digital Cameras tend to have small LCD screens on them making it tricky to evaluate a shot in detail. Photos look great on the iPad though (just check out the Guardian Eyewitness to see what we mean) and you can get a Camera Connectivity adaptor to import pictures. In fact only the other day in work did I wish I could slot the card in from a Digital SLR into the iPad to check out the pics I'd taken. So I think this could happen. Here’s hoping.
  6. It'll be thinner and lighter This is surely inevitable. Mine currently sports a rather chunky case, which does add the weight on a tad. They're are few people I've handed it too who haven't really enjoyed playing with it but if they do ever have any criticism its that it could be lighter to hold. Let's be honest too: if the next iPad if half the thickness, people will be falling over at the beauty of it.
  7. A bigger speaker Not particularly exciting but I suppose loudness is everything. In fact I do often just use it as a portable radio with the frankly excellent TuneIn radio app.
  8. A mini DisplayPort A Chinese case maker (isn't it always?) has released a picture showing another hole in the top of the case. It seems similarly sized to the DisplayPort on Mac's so one conclusion has led to another. I'm slightly unsure of this given they've just launched AirPlay. Why innovate without wires and then add a physical Video Out connection?
  9. It'll drop H.264 support Just a little Google Chrome gag there.

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