We know that the iPad 3 should get its debut on March 7th, but the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the tablet will be the first Apple product to be compatible with 4G LTE technology. While the report only names AT&T and Verizon as recipients of the high-speed tech, Canadian carriers like Rogers, Telus and Bell use the same frequencies as AT&T for their LTE devices. As a result, we can confidently say that if LTE comes to the U.S. it will also come to Canada.
The iPad 3 is expected to be slightly thicker than the iPad 2, with a bigger battery and double-resolution “Retina display” of 2048×1056 pixels. The A6 processor is slated to be a high-powered dual-core SoC with an upgraded PowerVR graphics processor, and there will likely be 1GB of RAM, upgraded front and back cameras, and a slew of other improvements.
WSJ is also reporting that, despite Steve Jobs’ claim that anything smaller than 10-inches is too small for a tablet, Apple is testing and considering releasing an 8-inch model with the same 1024×768 pixel resolution. This would make sense, since it was the 7-inch genre Jobs derided, and there are likely plenty of people itching for a smaller iPad. It would put them into direct competition with Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which undercuts the iPad 2 in may ways including price, while keeping the existing app ecosystem intact. If the rumour is true, it would be a shrewd move: imagine releasing the 10-inch iPad 3 with the same pricing structure we’ve come to expect — $499 for the 16GB WiFi version, and so on — while the 8-inch, perhaps 8GB version would start at a modest $299.
Does the prospect of LTE, or a smaller version of, the iPad make a difference in your buying decisions? Let us know in the comments.
