iPad 2 Rumor Roundup

Near Field Communications (NFC) chip

There is a possibility of a iPad with a 7" screen . I wouldn't count on this one.

April release date:

Elton John has been quoted as saying.

"I'm a Luddite. I don't have a phone, I don't have a computer. ... But this is going to be a problem for me because they're coming out with a Skype iPad in April and I've got to get one because I want to see my son when I'm not there."

Processor:

Ming-Chi Kuo of Concord Securities claims the new iPad will sport a dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 processor. That's in line with what I've been expecting, and if Apple sticks to its guns this processor will be marketed as the Apple A5.

Graphics Chip:

The graphics processor will be the Imagination Technologies’ POWERVR SGX543 GPU, as reported here. What's critical here is that this graphics chip supports OpenCL, meaning that the power of both the graphics chip and the main CPU can at times be combined to handle intense computational tasks. The new iPad will be super-powered.

RAM:

"iPad 2 has 512MB RAM, same as iPhone 4 and twice as much as iPad 1, but running at higher clock 1,066 MHz for getting bigger memory bandwidth (iPhone 4 memory clock is 800 MHz)," Ming-Chi Kuo said.

Camera:

iPad 2.0 will host a low-res front-facing camera and a low-res back camera. Apple is already seeking an expert in digital photography to work with the iPad development team. This could mean improvements in PhotoStream, MobileMe Gallery and should also equate to new tools for image editing on your iPad. This has to also mean iPhoto will reach the iPad (at last), as the existing Photo App doesn't edit images. I'd stick my neck out to suggest a version of iMovie - already available on the iPhone -- will also reach iPad.

Resolution:

Ming-Chi Kuo of Concord Securities recently claimed the new iPad display will retain the same 1024 x 768 resolution, but will be anti-reflective, so it will be a much better device for reading -- think a Kindle, but better.

IDC analyst, Tom Mainelli believes we will see a Retina Display, but not until version 3 of the iPad, presumably next year. “I don’t believe anybody is ready to produce that resolution in volumes at this point. And Apple is going to require huge volumes for the iPad 2,” he said

Connectivity:

Primarily, WiFi-only, GSM, and CDMA. You'll be able to get an iPad for Verizon or for AT&T.

Accelerometer/Gyroscope controls:

These are going to be improved. Expect a 3-axis gyroscope

Carbon Fiber Body:

The iPad 2 will have a carbon fiber case, reducing weight and improving flexibility.

There is also an interesting read from Tim Cook, Apple's COO

Apple slams other tablets, says working on iPad 2

If anyone has any questions, feel free to leave a comment.

Excerpts from Computerworld.com