iPad Mini production may hit 4M per month – DigiTimes

Apple Inc. may be manufacturing up to four million units of a seven-inch version of its iPad tablet starting September, a Taiwan-based tech site reported.

DigiTimes cited sources in the supply chain who said the supply volume for the 7.85-inch iPad is in preparation for the holiday buying season.

"The sources pointed out that the supply chain already started supplying a small volume of 7.85-inch iPad in June with a monthly volume at around several hundreds of thousand," it said.

Apple has been rumored to be making the smaller iPads to compete with smaller and cheaper tablets like the Kindle Fire.

DigiTimes noted rumors in the IT market showing Apple will launch its 7.85-inch iPad in October with a thinner screen frame.

This will allow the new iPad to have a bigger display area than other competing products.

Also, the mini iPad is expected to have a resolution similar to that of the iPad 2.

DigiTimes also said the device is being priced at $299, way above the $199 of Amazon and Google's 7-inch tablet PCs, but added its sources expect the smaller iPad to "create a strong impact on the two devices." — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Smaller iPad out to challenge Google Nexus

Apple Inc. is planning to build a smaller and cheaper iPad tablet to go head to head against Google's Nexus, and may come out with it before yearend.

Bloomberg quoted two people with knowledge of the plans as saying the smaller iPad will have a screen measuring seven to eight inches, compared to the current iPad's 9.7-inch screen.

However, the report quoted one of the sources as saying the small size comes at a price - it will not have the high-resolution screen of the latest standard iPad .

Still, it will likely have a price close to Google’s Nexus 7 tablet and Amazon’s Kindle Fire - at about $199. By comparison, a standard iPad costs $499 to $829.

The report quoted Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne Agee & Leach Inc., as saying the smaller but cheaper iPad may stop any inroad by competitors like Google and Microsoft dead in their tracks in the tablet market where iPad is currently king.

“It would be the competitors’ worst nightmare. The ball is in Apple’s court,” Wu told Bloomberg.

While Google’s Nexus 7 - manufactured by Asustek Computer Inc. - has a faster processor and better battery life than Amazon's Kindle Fire, it may find more challenge going up against a smaller iPad, Wu said.

This is because Apple has some 225,000 apps that have been tailored specifically for the current iPad.

Apple also has more than 360 retail stores where the iPad can be purchased and tested by consumers. Google said the Nexus 7 will be available only from its online store, while Microsoft will sell its tablets online and at its smaller chain of 20 stores.— TJD, GMA News

article source: gmanetwork.com

Apple iPad's connector cable gets 'upgraded' too

Not many people may notice it, but the display is definitely not the only feature that got an upgrade in Apple's new iPad tablet.

The iPad's 30-pin dock connector – which links the iPad to a power charger and other accessories – has become thinner and tougher, tech site The Next Web reported.

While the new dock connector has been shipping with iPhone 4S smartphones for some time, this was a welcome upgrade for iPad users, it added.

"The cable has been made slightly thinner in circumference, an upgrade that should help the cable be more flexible and less prone to kinking," The Next Web said.

It said this should make it easier to wrap the cable either around itself or around an accessory made for the purpose.

Moreover, it said one of the major problems with Apple’s dock connector cables has always been the relatively sparse amount of strain relief.

The strain relief is the extra coving around the cable near the USB and dock connector, and helps prevent the dock connector cable from creasing and tearing at the ends.

Also, The Next Web said the strain relief on the dock connector end has been extended and should make the connections more durable at both ends.

"Not a huge change, but it is nice to see that Apple noticed the issues with the cable and has made a move to improve its strength," it said. — LBG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com