iPad

Here is another piece of news on the rumored iPad upgrades, this time via Digitimes (the source was historically reliable – hence this post).

• The 9.7 in device version will sport a faster ARM A9 processor and will have a 512MB of RAM (should start selling in 2011).
• The 7 inch version (1024×768) is an addition to the product line and should be released in the same timeframe.

Here is the source note:

Apple is set launch an upgraded 9.7-inch iPad adopting a new ARM Cortex-A9-based processor and 512MB RAM in the first quarter of 2011. Meanwhile, the company will also launch a 7-inch iPad using the Cortex-A9 processor and an IPS panel with a resolution of 1024×768, according to Digitimes Research senior analyst Mingchi Kuo.

Source Link: Digitimes.
Read more about the chip here: ARM Cortex A9 Processor

The chip comes in two flavors running on 800MHz and 2GHz respectively [(A) Cortex-A9 Single Core - Soft Macro Trial Implementation and (b) Cortex-A9 Dual Core - Hard Macro Implementations] – the source article does not specify what flavor will be built into the iPad yet given the current iPad processor speeds it’s almost certain that Apple will go with a 2GHz version.

Previous article on the original iPad Processor: A4 Chip

From the Wired Gadget Lab comes an interesting story on the A4 chip. Wired claims that the chip is a SOC with the following components:

• ARM’s Cortex A8 single-core processor – http://www.arm.com/products/processors/cortex-a/cortex-a8.php
• Imagination Technologies’ PowerVR SGX GPU – http://www.imgtec.com/PowerVR/sgx.asp

Here is a quote regarding PA Semi’s role in the chip development:

If the A4 SOC’s parts were outsourced, the role of PA Semi, a semiconductor manufacturer that Apple acquired in April 2008, remains unclear. Stokes speculates that the PA Semi team may have helped optimize the A4 to extend battery life for the iPad, which Apple claims will last 10 hours with active usage and one month on standby.

Read more at the Wired’s site here.

A quick note on a brief article published in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (link):

The article focuses on Apple’s decision to go with A4 instead of Intel or Qualcomm’s chips. I reckon this topic will become more discussed in next couple of months as it underline’s Apple’s strategic decision to keep focus on hardware in order to shape its future growth.

Also, I’ve seen a number of iPad unit sales volume projections for the iPad but interestingly enough Goldman’s projection seems to keep popping more frequently than others.

Goldman Sachs estimates that Apple will sell 6 million iPads this year. By contrast, the market for mobile phones will reach 1 billion units and PC sales will be about 300 million. Still, the iPad is a high-profile attempt to crack a market that Qualcomm and Intel have set their sights on, said Jagdish Rebello, an analyst at research firm ISuppli Corp.

“Intel would have wanted to get into this device, Qualcomm would have wanted to get into this device,” Rebello said. He also expects Apple to use the A4 in future models of the iPhone.

“IPad is powered by our own custom silicon,” Jobs said at the iPad’s introduction. “We have an incredible group that does custom silicon at Apple.”

The A4 image comes to you via iFixit’s Twitter feed