It’s been six months since the iPad first reached Australian shores and there still hasn’t been a solid iPad competitor released locally. Now, we’re beginning to hear rumblings about the next iPad.
Rumours suggest that Apple is eyeing a 7 inch model to complement the 9.7 inch model that exists right now. You can probably expect a whole heap of iPhone 4-related goodness on these new models, including a higher resolution screen using that nice Retina display technology and a front-facing camera for FaceTime video conferencing. We’re also hearing that Apple might push the memory capacity to a total of 128GB inside the high-end model.
You can now find microUSB on more handsets than any other format.
And if you’ve ever been in a situation where you’ve needed an Apple docking cable – and everyone needing to charge an iPod or iPhone has been here before – relief may be on the way. Last year, Apple was one of many companies that signed an agreement to make the microUSB format – commonly found on Android and BlackBerry handsets – the standard for connectivity in mobile phone devices.
While the iPhone 4 uses Apple’s docking connector, we might finally be seeing the fruits of that agreement with a possible microUSB connector in the next iPad. If this happens, it would be great news for people who already have microUSB on other devices, giving them the option for one charger that takes care of every device.
Sadly, if you expected a new iPad with all of these features before Christmas, you’ll be left disappointed. If the rumours are true, the new iteration won’t be coming to life in product form until at least the first half of 2011, when Apple is expected to refresh its product range.
