iPad

Guys, it’s been a while. I’ve dealt with a (cluster) of family issues, so iPad blogging went dormant for 2+ months. Now that things have stabilized a bit I’ll try to post more frequently – thanks to all of you who keep visiting the site and inquire about the blog.

I wanted to start a blog thread on the upcoming rev of the device (let’s call it iPad 2 for now) – there is a significant hype chatter on the web regarding the specifications of the device – nothing concrete for now (mostly whishlists) – yet, the speculations seems to be picking up the pace and I believe it warrants a post (or series of posts)…

In short, it seems to me that an investment banking research report released by Brian Marshal (Information Technology hardware sector equity research analyst at Gleacher & Company) sparked the most recent wave of rumors. Fox quoted Marshall on 11/22 and noted that the new model is seemingly in works and that it should hit the retail shelves before Easter (April 2011). So much on the background…

Now, features… The rumors here are more or less logical – the general expectation is that the new device will sport a built in camera with supporting Facetime capabilities. In addition, it’s generally expected that both storage space, RAM and processor power will be bumped up. Finally, it’s likely we’ll see an upgrade to the housing (see Apple’s Carbon Fiber Housing patent application – also, see the image below).

So, hang in for now – I’ll do additional digging over next couple days and summarize the position of the major analysis on the iPad 2.

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