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While the resolution 'rumor' is likely to be true, I don't think we're set for a 2011 iPad 3 just yet.
 
Interesting rumour. Firstly because the resolution is 2.5x the current one in each dimension, when the obvious guess would be 2x (2048x1536) for scaling of assets. The end effect is true retina display on the tablet, whereas maybe 2048x1536 might still have had perceptible pixels. I can see why Apple would decide to go for true retina even if it meant a non-perfect scaling of resolution, and oddly enough it adds a bit of credence to the rumour.

Secondly Apple could move to Samsung's 32nm process (or TSMC's 28nm process) from the current 45nm process, and in the process upgrade to an MP4 graphics chip from an MP2 - a doubling of graphical power that would be required for such a display, and keeping games rendering smoothly. There is also the possibility of getting a quad-core CPU too, like NVIDIA's Kal-El Tegra 3.

So it is just the timing that is odd - it's still quite soon after the iPad 2 came out. Possibly the iPad 3 would be the top-end product, with iPad 2s filling out the $499 - $699 price points.
 
if its really true i would wait for it while i was planing to buy an ipad 2 within next couple weeks!! but how can i be sure ?!! its only a rumour!!!

Please someone help me :D
 
Wow, it seems iPad 2 just got finished launching in some countries a little while ago.

The 2560x1920 is a bit baffling, not what I would have expected.

The iOS graphics calls are based on "points" not pixels (where points are a resolution independent unit of measure.) Such a resolution is possible, but seems very high for a 9.7" screen.

Perhaps the native resolution on the built-in LCD screen might be lower - but when hooked to an external display you can achieve 2560x1920... Might be a step in making a "mac-mini"-like computing environment. Add a monitor and keyboard to your iPad to have a full "desktop" experience? I don't know, seems a little weird. So does a September launch date.

It's unlikely Apple would announce the iPad 3 in September, then wait until November/December to launch it. They'd kill iPad 2 sales that way. Apple would have to be ready to start shipping iPad 3's in September -- that means suppliers would be ramping up right now. I don't think September is going to happen.

If Apple does do an iPad 3 this year, I'm betting on a late November announcement with pre-orders starting the day after Thanksgiving. That would nail the holiday shopping season in the USA and make life miserable for the other Tablet companies.
 
I don't get why people still spread rumors like this—there won't be an iPad with a resolution that isn't exactly doubled (or quadrupled, or some other even multiple) in each direction. It's not about some arbitrary high resolution or dpi, it's about allowing for a high-res display while preserving backwards compatibility with existing apps.

1024x768 x 2 = 2048x1536 (right!)
2560x1920 x 2.5 = 2560x1920 (wrong!)

Why not ? don't need to be full screen; still possible to display "legacy" apps within black frame filling the gap. It's finally more a software issue then a hardware one...
Don't want to know the price tag though ...
 
2011: The Year of iPad 2

I highly doubt Apple will launch iPad 3 this year. If it does, Mr. Jobs will lose his credential for making a bold statement in early March. Doubt it's gonna happen.
I believe, however, there's a chance for the introduction of iPad 3 this year with the device being available 1st Q next year.
Holiday season or no holiday season is not really gonna hurt Apple's sales. We can see that Apple has been struggling to keep supplies of iPad 2 now in several countries.

Just my .02 though..
 
I don't believe that. Even iMac 27's with far more powerful CPU's and GPU's than those in the iPads struggle with pushing nice graphics at decent framerates in 2560x1440, and that's a lower resolution than this. This resolution would be devastating for iPad 3 gaming. 2560x1920 on a mobile CPU+GPU sounds like a bad joke to me. Unless they run in a lower resolution, but that means the games will look either blurry or have borders - no way around that.

Edit: Yeah, it'll probably be 2048x1536 if anything, not x1920. 1920 would break backwards compatibility for no good reason. At least 1536 would be a slightly lower resolution, which also makes more sense. But it's still ridiculously high for mobile gaming.
 
It can be easily 2560x1920. Old apps can just scale 2x, not 2.5x leaving small black border around. It cannot be 2048x1536 because that is not enough for "retina" resolution.
Graphics performance is not that big of a problem. iPad 2 boosted GPU speed by 9 times, that is already enough to run 2560x1920 resolution at iPad 1 speed (which was not slow at all) And surely iPad 3 chip will be even faster.
About "2011: Year of iPad 2". A new device that is available for just a couple last months of a year does not in any way invalidate the whole year as being "year of iPad 2". So what that for a tiny part of the year there was a newer device available? The year overall would be year of iPad 2 anyway.
And surely there is nothing wrong with launching two devices at the same time (iPhone 5 and iPad 3). It's basically the same as launching one device, but with all the fun doubled.
 
What if it is not iPad 3 sth else?

I know it sounds stupid. But what if this new device is a spiritual successor of iPod Classic + iPod Touch? Or may be it is more like tabletised version of MacBook?
 
I think we'll see it in the normal refresh time around Feb-Apr of Next Year, no reason to come sooner the Ipad 2 is still selling like Hotcakes, it will do well again this holiday season. If the came out with a smaller device on a mid refresh like a 7" Ipad for a bit lower money that could be a huge market grabber too.
 
The resolution is wrong. Apple will NEVER use any resolution other than 2048x1536, not only is there no need for higher resolutions, but there are cons to using 2560x1920.
 
Here we go again.. I don't think it'll happen. Yes, I stood in line for 4 hours to get my iPad 2. If I could've waited like 8 months for iPad 3.. then I would.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8J2)

I've posted this before.

My good friend in Apple R&D said they're shooting to release the iPad 3 with Retina screen alongside the next iPhone in September.

Give it up already. Making up stories about "good friends in Apple R&D" just makes you look desperate for attention.
 
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