[ChrisGonzales90]

The way I look at it is. If iOs 5 will be a major update then Apple would want to have some major hardware updates to go along with it.

[Lee10]

Hopefully new Ipad3 having more latest features with high pixel camera. I'm curious to see what other new hardware features it will have besides the new screen.

[iV1SHAL]

I think iOS 5, iPhone 5, and iPad 3 will be released together.

but that might be crazy.

This is exactly what im predicting but Apple always seem to surprise, so just holding my breath until the next event. Hopefully its three big hits as above!

[dmcmoran]

Well after having ipad 2 for nearly a week I have to say it's one of the best purchases I ever made. i will, however, still get a gen 3. Nothing to do with having to have the latest, it's all about the screen.

The screen ipad 2 has is good, but nowhere near the definition of iphone 4. If ipad 3 screen has that kind of viewing comfort then it's a given for me.

If anyone is looking to buy an ipad and isn't too bothered about retina display, then go ahead and get an ipad 2. I fully recommend it........... and I'm mainly anti-apple!!

My laptop has been but in a case, only to be used for serious application use and my cd player has been archived! I've just stumbled across the Alesis IO dock which, coupled with apple tv, pretty much wraps up my needs. All good!

[Jmsully]

What if on september 1st ( or wheneve Apple has the iPod event) they have the 'one more thing' and release the iPhone 5 and the iPad 3.

[dmcmoran]

Be a giggle for all the right and wrong reasons'

Isn't the iphone 4S coming first?

[LCW]

From what I know about the 3rd generation, yes. Very much so. And people in Cupertino say the 3rd is the true iPad upgrade.

I get what your saying about the iPad 2 - had mine for a few days now... But with that same logic, I'd say iPad 2 is what iPad 1 should have been in 2010 and what we *should* have had as gen 2 is a retina iPad 2 aka iPad 3

[LCW]

Well after having ipad 2 for nearly a week I have to say it's one of the best purchases I ever made. i will, however, still get a gen 3. Nothing to do with having to have the latest, it's all about the screen.

The screen ipad 2 has is good, but nowhere near the definition of iphone 4. If ipad 3 screen has that kind of viewing comfort then it's a given for me.

If anyone is looking to buy an ipad and isn't too bothered about retina display, then go ahead and get an ipad 2. I fully recommend it........... and I'm mainly anti-apple!!

My laptop has been but in a case, only to be used for serious application use and my cd player has been archived! I've just stumbled across the Alesis IO dock which, coupled with apple tv, pretty much wraps up my needs. All good!

I'm in the same boat as you... Have had my iPad 2 for a bit less than a week... And I REALLY want a retina display iPad... As a standalone, ipad 2 display isnt bad.... But switching between it and an iPhone 4, I gotta say it makes the iPad display look like ****... Can see the individual pixels and it drives me nuts! As soon as iPad 3 gets released, even if sooner rather than later, I'm buying one the day of release... This 132 ppi or whatnot is just not cutting it these days...

Plus even with the A5 in the iPad 2 I still find the iPhone 4 snappier... iPad 3 w/ retina and A6 processor would be the cat's meow...

[Gym]

This could be the opportunity to perhaps create a tiered iPad offering, ala iMac vs Mac Pro. With iPad there's more scope to create a higher end offering, unlike iPhone, where talk of a cut-down, mass-market product just doesn't seem to fit Apple's MO. There could be the mass-market iPad, ie: what we have now, and an upscale, hi-res version at greater cost.

One things for sure, it's an exciting time to be a geek

[Singlestick]

This could be the opportunity to perhaps create a tiered iPad offering, ala iMac vs Mac Pro. With iPad there's more scope to create a higher end offering, unlike iPhone, where talk of a cut-down, mass-market product just doesn't seem to fit Apple's MO. There could be the mass-market iPad, ie: what we have now, and an upscale, hi-res version at greater cost.

One things for sure, it's an exciting time to be a geek

The iPad is already pretty expensive. Among their other problems, competitors are already having problems coming up with tablets that match the ipad's price with a similar build and feature set. A "higher end" iPad would be the kiss of death for the product and might stall tablet development in general. You would end up with a boutique or niche product with limited growth potential.

The challenge is for Apple to find a way to improve the product and keep it within reasonable range of its current pricing. Along these lines, many analysts think that a retina display iPad would add significantly to its cost. And while such a display would be really "cool," I am not sure that it would be a huge increase in screen quality relative to cost.

And while stuff like retina display and a 5mp camera might show up the iPad, this stuff does little more than add old stuff that already exists on the iPhone. The next iPad needs to have new features and capabilities that exploit the capabilities of IOS5 and beyond.

[Gym]

The iPad is already pretty expensive. Among their other problems, competitors are already having problems coming up with tablets that match the ipad's price with a similar build and feature set.

You seem to debunk your own argument there. Competitors are struggling to match the current iPad on price so I don't think the iPad is expensive at all by way of comparison.

I believe there's a willingness in the market to pay for a higher-res, higher powered iPad and perhaps some other new features. Having said that, 'new features' these days seem to be increasingly reliant on Apps rather than hardware. Smaller, thinner, faster can only entice people so much.

[Jeremy]

I think iOS 5, iPhone 5, and iPad 3 will be released together.

but that might be crazy.

Or not so crazy?

[Singlestick]

You seem to debunk your own argument there. Competitors are struggling to match the current iPad on price so I don't think the iPad is expensive at all by way of comparison.

I believe there's a willingness in the market to pay for a higher-res, higher powered iPad and perhaps some other new features. Having said that, 'new features' these days seem to be increasingly reliant on Apps rather than hardware. Smaller, thinner, faster can only entice people so much.

Competitors are struggling to match the current iPad on price, and are not selling anything. Some are even pulling out of the market altogether. These companies would be on an even faster rocketship to oblivion if they tried to push a "premium" tablet. On the other hand, ebook readers, which are cheaper than the iPad, are selling better than all tablets, according to a recent PEW study. This suggests that there is some price sensitivity with respect to what people are willing to pay for a new device.

Higher res and higher powered, unless there is some new feature, service or amazing app that provides a customer benefit starts pushing the iPad into the realm of a techno geek piece of frivolity. Similarly, segmenting the iPad into "cheaper" and "high end" dilutes the overall perception of the value of the product to no obvious benefit.

[erawsd]

I'd agree that an iPad 3 seems unlikely.

Such a quick refresh and releasing it along side the new iPhone feels very uncharacteristic of the company. If this were Motorola or Samsung then I wouldn't give it a second thought.

[tombubi]

Do you really think it will come this year? If it that happens, it kind of disobeys Apple's annual update routine.

[dmcmoran]

If they put a tiered product structure in, they'd have to offer ipad 2 at a heavily reduced price, which I doubt they could do if they don't want to operate at a loss with it. Other option would be to increase the price of ipad 3, which would price them out of the market. If they were to offer ipad 3 as a pro version, removing 3G from ipad 2 could be viable. But then they'd end up with a bastardized product

I don't see how they're going to manage it without offending someone. Only option I can think would give them a win win is to postpone the launch of ipad 3 and iphone 5 untill next year. This would give ipad 2 a reasonable life cycle and they could take iphone 4 off of the shelves, then launch iphone 4s in september with IOS 5 to keep the interest going.

Easiest way to describe difference betweeb ipad 2 vs iphone 4 dislpay is bitmap vs vector, but it is still a great piece of kit which I would be lost without. I now stream all content from itunes server in my loft (attic for our American friends).

[Jeremy]

Do you really think it will come this year? If it that happens, it kind of disobeys Apple's annual update routine.

That's already happened with no iPhone being released in the summer... And that doesn't mean a thing. Apple does not have to follow any rules of when they can or can't release a product.

[tengence]

So from what you know, is it going to be worth upgrading from a 4 or should one just wait until the next version? Also if you have an ipad2 should you bother selling the current one to get the newer one? Are they going to be LTE compatible at all do you know by any chance?

[Singlestick]

So from what you know, is it going to be worth upgrading from a 4 or should one just wait until the next version? Also if you have an ipad2 should you bother selling the current one to get the newer one? Are they going to be LTE compatible at all do you know by any chance?

No one knows the answer to these questions about when a new iPad will be released or what it might support. There won't even be any good rumors until the press and others get back from the Fourth of July holiday.

Some people who sold their old iPad apparently got a good deal when the iPad2 was announced. If the demand for the iPad continues to be strong, this might be something to consider.

[erawsd]

That's already happened with no iPhone being released in the summer... And that doesn't mean a thing. Apple does not have to follow any rules of when they can or can't release a product.

Apple pushes back annual refreshes all the time though, some things are nearly two years old before it gets a proper update. However, there is no history of them updating products in half the time nor are they known to launch two major products at once.

Of course they don't have to follow any rules, they could have released an iPad 3 on March 12th if they wanted. They didn't because its not how they've ever done business, which is what makes an iPad 3 hard to believe. If there is something new my guess is that it'll be a "nano" or "pro" iPad -- not a true refresh.

[oNly1pHone]

Simply can't see Apple releasing another new iPad so soon after the last one was released. The non tech geeks that make up the vast majority of all of the sales out there just end up getting turned off if new products are released one after the other! I can see Apple waiting out the usual full product cycle! I have no way of knowing this but it just seems like the smart thing to do!!

[dmcmoran]

Regardless of release dates, I can't wait to see the new display.

[jacmeister68]

That's already happened with no iPhone being released in the summer... And that doesn't mean a thing. Apple does not have to follow any rules of when they can or can't release a product.

Hi Jeremy, yes do agree with you that Apple does not have to follow any rules, they have the market power to release products whenever they see fit.

However, they must remember why people like myself have always used their products. One is the overall quality of product but also you could always count on not getting shafted by endless releases of new products. They have always been timely. People have only just bought the ipad2 to be told that 2011 was the year of the ipad2 only for a version 3 to be announced in October.

We do not want them turning into Microsoft which is what is happening with their dominance and funnily enough Microsoft are now trying to be Apple.

[Jeremy]

So from what you know, is it going to be worth upgrading from a 4 or should one just wait until the next version? Also if you have an ipad2 should you bother selling the current one to get the newer one? Are they going to be LTE compatible at all do you know by any chance?

I'm not going to tell anyone what they should or should not do. Can't do that. This thread isn't about the next iPhone but if I were in your position I'd hold off a few months regardless of the update. October is not that far off.

No one knows the answer to these questions about when a new iPad will be released or what it might support.

So not true...

[Jeremy]

This will be the last time I post in this thread - I spoke to "Cupertino" again today and verified that OCTOBER is the month the next iPad that's considered a true iPad upgrade... is scheduled to be released.

So you guys/gals take it however you want it and if it makes you feel better, I've seen a early version of it, high res screen and all.