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iPad 2 rumour round-up: what to expect this Wednesday

Find out what 2011 might be the year of

iPad 2 rumour round-up: what to expect this Wednesday
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The iPad 2 is almost here. Later this week, stand-in Apple boss Tim Cook will show off the iPad’s successor and reveal “what 2011 will be the year of”. We can hardly wait.

So far, 2011 has turned out to be the year of iPad 2 rumours. Not a day goes by without some Chinese blogger, American news giant, or dodgy tweeter revealing a salacious crumb of info on the upcoming gadget.

So, just days before the rumours are put to rest, and the iPad 3 speculation mill starts churning, let’s recap all the plausible rumours and totally oddball hearsay that the web has whispered about Apple’s new slab of desire.

iPad 2 will be thinner

Most sources agree that the iPad 2 will be getting a tummy tuck. The 0.5-inch thick original is definitely starting to look a little plump, so a sleeker silhouette wouldn’t go unnoticed.

This information comes from analyst duo of Henry King and Kevin Lu, who cited supply chain sources; a report from Engadget and its anonymous sources; and repair shop iFixYouri, who say the iPad 2’s actual screen is thinner, which will result in an overall more svelte gizmo.

“The iPad 2's display is also lighter, and over a mm thinner than the current iPad’s display with a smaller surrounding frame,” said Apple rumour-monger 9to5 Mac. “This is a dream for a product designer like Jony Ive who now has some more tapering options for what looks to be a significantly lighter iPad 2.”

iPad 2 will get a higher resolution display

Some believe that the iPad 2 will sport a high resolution screen, akin to the Retina display on fourth-generation iPhone and iPod touch models.

The source of this rumour is a bookmark. A picture of a bookmark to be specific: a double-resolution ribbon image, named [email protected], that’s been hidden in the IPA file for Apple’s iBooks. A hint at the iPad 2’s screen, a cruel joke by Apple, or a mistake?

Whatever the case, pretty much every source says the tablet successor’s screen is the same, bog-standard 1024x768, and that you shouldn’t get your hopes up. Makes sense really: a 2048x1536 resolution would be hell for app developers, make the device’s price astronomical, and decimate your battery life. It’s just not realistic.

Also, while Engadget reported that the iPad 2 would have a super high-resolution display, sources mentioned vague "engineering issues" which forced some changes at Apple HQ at the eleventh hour. A Retina iPad was planned, sources say, but it won’t be announced this week.

iPad 2 will have an SD card slot

Some believe that Apple will sacrifice the iPad’s lush and untouched unibody design for an unsightly, but admittedly very useful, SD card slot.

This comes from our favourite Apple rumour-source: foreign case makers. These guys have a habit of getting their hands on Apple products early, designing specific cases and accessories for the upcoming device, and then having their products photographed and leaked online.

That’s the case (ho ho!) with the iPad 2, where a red tablet-hugger has a gap for an SD cart slot. The rumour has also been corroborated by sources, such as Engadget’s band of know-it-alls.

However, those same sources say that Apple’s been forced to ditch the SD slot at the last minute, due to manufacturing problems. Like the Retina display, a built-in SD card slot was planned, but won’t be coming to fruition this week.

iPad 2 will have a Mini USB port

A Chinese language newspaper has come up with a list of iPad 2 specs from a trusted industry source. The next tablet, the sources claim, will feature cameras, a better screen, a gyroscope and, strangely enough, a USB port. Analysts at Goldman Sachs reported the same thing.

The lack of a USB port has been the source of much moaning about the original iPad, especially as the ruddy camera kit costs a small fortune and is rarer than hen’s teeth. Giving users an easy access point for cameras, memory sticks, keyboards, and little light-up Christmas trees would be a surprising but welcome move.

iPad 2 will have A5 Chip and 512MB of RAM

Under the hood, the iPad 2 will likely get a new set of digital-organs. The original iPad has got half the memory of its pint-size iPhone 4 cousin, and the creaky A4 chip won’t hold up against the dual-core competition.

Engadget’s source says the device will have a powerful A5 processor, and 512MB of RAM - the same as the iPhone 4. Apple Insider believes the new tablet will pack two SGX543 GPUs for better games and video processing.

A developer build of iOS 4.3, on the other hand, makes mention of Imagination Technologies's next generation of GPU, with drivers for the SGX543 chip bundled in with the tablet firmware.

iPad 2 will have a pair of cameras

Everyone thinks the iPad 2 will have a camera. Every analyst, industry source, Chinese factory worker, two-bit blogger, and glam rock singer-songwriter knows that the iPad 2 will come equipped with at least one snapper.

Apple is pushing FaceTime hard, first by equipping both the iPhone 4 and iPod touch with front-facing cameras, and then plopping an official FaceTime app on the Mac App Store. It just makes sense for the big-screened slab to join the party.

If it doesn’t, it will start to look seriously archaic in comparison with pretty much every other tablet on the market. The Android-rocking Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a beefy 8-megapixel one, for instance, and the HTC Flyer, Acer Iconia Tab, and BlackBerry Playbook all have 5-megapixel cameras around back.

Leaked case photos have holes for cameras to poke through, too. And iPad-specific camera-based apps hidden in an early developer build of iOS 4.3 all but confirm the existence of a camera. Or two.

Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer