Tag Archives | iPad 3

iPad 3 Announced: New Tools for Lawyers

By on March 7, 2012 in News, Uncategorized

A couple weeks ago I collected some rumors and made my predictions about the iPad 3. Apple unveiled the new tablet today, calling the new device “resolutionary.” Let’s check out the new device and see how my predictions fared.

  • Launch Date. I “predicted” a March 7 announcement and that was correct. I hedged on availability hoping for March 9 or 10. Actual availability in the US will be on March 16th with pre-orders being taken now. 2 dozen more countries on March 23d. Looks like I will be able to get one before I go to Chicago for ABA TechShow on March 28th. Looks like memory configurations remain unchanged as does pricing: 16 GB $499, 32 GB $599 and 64 GB $699.
  • Retina Display. You bet. 2048×1536 resolution, double that of the iPad 1 and 2. For context, that is 1,000,000 more pixels than your HD television at home. 264 pixels per inch, for those counting. Apple claims the new display will have 44% better color saturation than the previous model, which should be a difference you can see. All the stock applications on the iPad have been updated to take advantage of the new resolution. App Store apps will be able to take advantage of the new resolution as soon as they are updated by their developer. Apple did preview a couple apps that take advantage of the high resolution display including an air combat game called “Sky Gamblers”, professional drawing application “Autodesk.” and a new Infinity Blade release called “Dungeons.”
  • 8 inch iPad?. Nothing more than a silly rumor, as predicted.
  • 4G/LTE. I missed this one. The iPad 3 will support high speed LTE networks. That means speeds of up to 21 Mbps on HSPA+ plus, 42 Mbps on DC-HSDPA networks and 73 Mbps on full LTE networks. That’s faster than your home connection people. LTE partners are Verizon, Rogers, Bell, Telus and AT&T as well as others around the world. Sounds like Apple will still have separate devices for AT&T and Verizon networks. Also contrary to my expectation, Apple is claiming the same battery life as past models, 10 hours (9 for LTE devices). LTE models will be $629 for 16 GB, $729 for 32 GB and $829 for 64 GB
  • Thicker. Yes, it is thicker. 9.4 mm. The iPad 3 was 8.6 mm. About a 10% increase. Weight goes up to 1.4 lbs compared to 1.33 lbs for the iPad 2, a 5% increase. I suspect all these changes are to accommodate more battery.
  • Better Camera. Yep. 5MP iSight camera with 5 element lens, IR filter, illuminated sensor. That is the same camera as the iPhone 4 which is incredible. The new camera has auto-exposure, auto-focus, face detection, video stabilization. The front camera is now described as “iSight” quality. Unknown what that means.
  • A6 Chip. I missed on the name. The new iPad will have something called an A5X chip. The new chip has 4 times the performance of the Tegra 3 chips that powers many Android tablets. I’m reading that this chip is dual core CPU and quad-core GPU. Will need that horsepower to drive that giant screen.
  • Siri. Close, but not quite. Looks like Siri will still be an iPhone 4S only capability but the iPad will support Siri’s dictation capabilities. I think Siri is terrific for dictation. For me, the iPad is a much more natural place for that type of task. I think lawyers will like this feature.
  • iPad 2 Discontinued? As predicted, the iPad 2 will continue with improved pricing. $399 for 16 GB wifi model.
  • RAM. I didn’t offer a prediction for RAM configurations, but commentators infer from Apple’s comments that the iPad 3 will have 1 GB of internal RAM.
  • New Apps.I didn’t offer predictions here either. Sounds like Apple updated its iWork apps (Pages, Numbers and Keynote) to take advantage of the Retina display. iMovie and Garage band got display updates as well as a few new features. The big app news was a new app, iPhoto for iPad. Lots of user-friendly editing and management functions as well as an easy way to move photos between devices. The new iPhoto will be $4.99. The other apps are at the same price as before (free upgrades if you already have them).
  • Will I Be Getting One? Yes. :)

So there you have it. Will you be getting one?

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iPad 3 Rumors Roundup

By on February 15, 2012 in Opinion

Rumors are flying fast and thick about the iPad 3, so I thought I’d throw together a quick summary along with my thoughts about what we might see.

  • Launch Date. I think the reports of an announcement for the iPad 3 on March 7 are probably accurate. That doesn’t mean the iPad will be available that day. Apple has dropped new iPads on a Friday (iPad 2 released at 5:00 p.m. Friday, March 11, 2011) and on a Saturday morning (iPad 1 released 9:00 a.m. Saturday, April 3, 2010). Based on this, I’d expect the iPad 3 as early as Friday, March 9th or Saturday, March 10th. I just hope it is released before I have to go to Chicago for ABA TechShow on March 28th.
  • Retina Display. You can count on this. Expect the same size display with 2048×1536 resolution, double that of the iPad 1 and 2. I expect the March 7 announcement will display apps that take advantage of this extra resolution, like Infinity Blade 2 and Real Racing.
  • 8 inch iPad?. No way, no how. I don’t care what you read in the Verge, I just can’t see Apple adding an 8 inch iPad to its product line up. Doesn’t fit the story of their other devices, doesn’t have a compelling use case, nothing. I do suspect that they test other size devices all the time for research reasons or just to throw off technology blogs, but this is nothing that will ever see the light of day.
  • 4G/LTE. Despite being more or less confirmed by Apple’s unofficial media outlet the Wall Street Journal, I’m skeptical. Unless the iPad 3 is as thick as my old Property Law hornbook, I don’t see how it will be able to drive the new Retina display and support a (notoriously power hungry) 4G radio while still offering the same battery life.
  • Thicker. From what I’ve read about the new Retina display, a slightly thicker form factor seems likely to accommodate the additional battery. Anyone with a form fitting may still be in luck. The predictions call for only a 1 mm increase in thickness.
  • Better Camera. You bet. In fact, a thicker device makes it easier for Apple to include a better camera. All that said, I’ve never used the rear facing camera on my iPad 2 and I only use the front facing camera to video conference or FaceTime chat. This is not terribly important to me.
  • A6 Chip. I think the faster, A6 chip is a given. What we don’t know is whether it will be quad core. Latest rumors I have read point to a dual core A6 chip with improved GPU, but no quad core. I’d think the graphics bump in the GPU is more important to driving the new display than quad core. That said, I can’t think of a time I’ve complained about the processing speed of the iPad. This is more one for the developers: apps we haven’t even seen yet. I won’t miss a quad core, but would love to see what developers can squeeze out of it.
  • Siri. I can’t think of any reason why Siri would not be included. I’d love for this to be the case as I am constantly holding the home button of my iPad expecting Siri to accept my voice commands. I’ll be glad when that muscle memory is not going in vain.
  • iPad 2 Discontinued? I don’t think so. Expect the iPad 2 to continue to be available at a lower price point, much like Apple does with prior iPhone models.
  • Will I Be Getting One? I still don’t know. If I didn’t write this blog, I’d be hard pressed to justify another new iPad. Heck, even with this blog its a bit much. But other than season tickets for the Portland Timbers, tech toys is one of the few places I splurge. I’ll probably decide after I see the announcement. If I do upgrade, it will be primarily for the Retina Display and Siri. Quad core, LTE and camera won’t really change my use case much.

So there you have it. What features are you most looking forward to?

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iPad 3.0 in 2011?

By on February 9, 2011 in Opinion

Another thoughtful post from John Gruber at Daring Fireball with his speculation about what the future holds for iPad development. John speculates, like the rest of us (and as reported by the WSJ), that late-March or early-April will bring iPad 2.0 with a processor bump, a front facing camera, more RAM and a slightly different physical configuration. He goes on to theorize that the next iPad (2.5?, Pro?, HD?) could come as soon as September 2011 and perhaps feature Retina Display type screens, the next version of iOS or other improvements. Annual revisions to the iPad would then follow on the September schedule to optimize holiday sales.

The main feature in iPad 2.0 that I’m looking for is the front facing camera and the processor improvements but I don’t think either of these things changes the basic device from a lawyer’s use perspective. I am excited to see what iOS 5 will bring and how app developers will be able to leverage the new OS with the improved power of the next generation iPad

Worth reading in its entirety.

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