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By Athima Chansanchai
Hot on the heels of Android competitors such as Samsung's 7-inch Galaxy Tablet, an analyst has said Apple is developing a 7-inch iPad that will have front and rear facing videocameras (like the iPhone 4) for videoconferencing using the company's FaceTime, and will come out by spring 2011.
The current iPad has a 9.7-inch widescreen, but those almost 3 inches seem to be causing a lot of commotion, as Apple's competitors gear up against the iPad with more mobile devices that fall somewhere between the iPad and the iPhone.
Just a few inches and ounces seem to make a lot of difference. Samsung's Galaxy Tab not only has a 7-inch screen, but also has the front and rear cameras. Reviewers have praised it for its comfortable handling and for being under one pound.
GigaOM and other outlets attribute the information to Rodman & Renshaw's Ashok Kumar, a managing director and senior technology analyst.
I talked to Kumar this morning, and he verified the information that has appeared in other outlets. But he gave us a little more, too.
He said the built-in cameras will be capable of capturing HD quality video.
He says he knows all this from talking to the supply chain, in particular Taiwanese contract manufacturer Pegatron, which he said is assembling 20 million CDMA versions of the iPhone 4, further fueling those endless rumors of the iPhone on Verizon.
"It's a near certainty, barring any catastrophic downfall in negotiations between Apple and Verizon," Kumar said.
As for the second-generation iPad, Kumar said since Apple uses "a select group of companies to manufacture iPhones, iPads, etc." the lead time on hardware specifications would have to be frozen by now in order to release the product by first quarter next year. But why come out with a smaller product?
"Apple might be trying to address a lower price point. They want to stay competitive," he said.
And what will happen to the current model?
"Maybe it's making a leap of faith they'll discontinue the 9.7 inch model, but they could continue," Kumar said. "On the flip side, it's a forecasting logistics nightmare." He said imagine juggling the demand between 9.7-inch and 7-inch wifi and 3G models and having to manufacture at least four possible combinations. "It's very likely the current generation will eventually sunset. It may not be a hard stop."
TheStreet called the development "puzzling," but brought up two good points: "Clearly it signals the possibility that Apple sees a threat to its tablet franchise at the lower price levels. But Apple may also want to shrink the device so it doesn't cannibalize its notebook sales."
GigaOM's Om Malik's theory is similar:
In the early days of the iPhone, the lack of competition allowed Apple to build up a sizable lead over others. However, the emergence of Android has started to take away some of the growth opportunities from Apple, as it has brought more options for consumers...
A typical upgrade from Apple would involve Cupertino retaining the same display size for a few generations, like they did with the iPhone. In this case perhaps, the 7-inch tablet can lower the bill of materials and make it easier to source components like the display. Which in turn allows Apple to stay competitive in the emerging tablet market
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On the other side of the Atlantic, ZDNet UK figures a second generation iPad would "fix" the flaws of the current iPad.
One defect with the original iPad is that Apple pushed it out without a forward-facing camera to support the FaceTime video chatting service that it was just about to introduce in the iPhone 4. In fact, as teardowns noted, the iPad already had a space for the webcam, so it might be that Apple originally intended to ship it with a camera. If not, it clearly prepared for the idea.
A generous soul might conclude that Apple simply couldn’t get the iPad finished in time, and didn’t want to delay the urgently-needed delivery of its new toy. A more cynical person might note that leaving out the camera would add more cash to Apple’s vast cashpile. After all, people happy to buy the first version without a camera would be even happier to buy the second version that included one. (Well, this approach worked for iPods.)
What's your theory on what a second generation iPad would have, or need?
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