Reports about the possible launch of a smaller version of iPad by Apple are pouring in and it is expected that Apple would not only launch mini iPad , but would also grace the event with the launch of an A6-equipped iPad 3. The report emerged on a tech blog whose source happens to be a developer who claims to have seen an iPad 3,6 in its app analytics software. As expected, there is no official confirmation from Apple about either of the two devices. Interestingly, the current versions of iPad 3 have emerged as iPad3,1; iPad 3,2; and iPad 3,3 in most analytics software and since each entry is about a different version of iPad depending upon the carrier, the emergence of iPad3,6 in analytics software might indicate a new version. However, the same tech sources also said that iPad 3 with an A6 processor was always expected to carry the name of iPad 4,x. Besides, since mini iPad is expected to use the hardware of iPad 2, the analytics entry about it happens to be iPad 2,6. Launch of an updated version of iPad 3 equipped with A6 processor, in addition to the launch of a mini iPad, makes perfect sense in the intensifying competition of the tablet market. Closest competitors of iPad include Amazon Kindle Fire and Google Nexus 7, with the expectation of Microsoft Surface tablet joining the bandwagon pretty soon. The trend of smaller tablets was made popular by Amazon with the launch of its 7 inch Kindle Fire with impressive specs and a reasonable price of $199. Although Amazon was not able to supersede the market dominance of Apple, it significantly captured the tablet market share. Late CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, denied that Apple would consider the launch of a smaller iPad but the immense success of Kindle Fire made Apple rethink its stance. After Amazon, Google also recently launched its 7 inch tablet, Nexus 7, running the latest version of Android called Jelly bean. This tablet also proved to be highly popular providing access to more apps compared to Kindle Fire. Besides, Microsoft would also soon plunge in the domain of tablets with the official launch of its Surface tablet whose price is expected to be inline with the high end iPad models. With the approaching holiday season, some also believe that Apple might not be able to fulfill the immense demand for the mini iPad which would result in reduced profit for Apple.

Apple has recently confirmed about a press event of the company that would take place on October 23 ^rd and as per the invitations that have been sent out, Apple says that “We’ve got a little more to show you.” The most anticipated product that is expected to come out of this event happens to be a mini iPad. However, Apple has not offered any details in this regard.
It is expected that iPad Mini would come with a 7 inch screen, mainly to compete with Amazon Kindle Fire and Google Nexus 7. Besides, quite evidently, it would also have a lower price, somewhere around $299. An analyst at Piper Jaffray, Gene Munster, also predicts that the device would only have support for WiFi, although Apple might decide to launch a 3G version in near future as well.

The timing for this launch is quite important since many tech giants have been launching smaller versions of their tablets and Amazon has recently launched the second generation version of its immensely popular Kindle Fire with HD display. The original version of Kindle Fire with HD display is available at a price of just $199 while 7 inch tablets form Samsung and Google are also available at the same price. Another expected launch is from Microsoft in the form of its Surface tablet which, however, would be a full-sized tablet and its price would most probably start at $499.

Various tech analysts believed that Apple was losing as much as 20% of the market by not launching a 7 inch tablet. And while the late CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, believed that launching a 7 inch tablet would be a bad strategy, success of other 7 inch tablets seems to have made Apple change its stance. Analysts have also predicted that depending upon the company’s ability to fulfill the demand Apple might sell as many as 5 to 10 million mini iPads before the end this year.

Fulfilling the demand is an important issue since iPhone 5, which was launched only three weeks ago, have been facing trouble in fulfilling the demand of the consumers which is causing Apple to lose the profit. Overall, Apple tablet is the most popular tablet ever since the inception of tablet computers back in 2010 and to the date, Apple has sold more than 75 million iPads worldwide. Other than the mini iPad, Apple might also launch other products like slimmer MacBook Pro laptop and revamped Mac Minicomputer during the same event.

Rumors about Apple gearing up to launch a mini iPad simply refuse to die and it seems that the demand is quite plausible, since the success of 7 inch tablets have made it clear that there is considerable scope of expansion in this domain.
 
Various tech analysts have made it clear that Apple needs to launch a 7 inch version of its iPad, without which there is a danger of losing considerable amount of market share. Patrick Moorhead is one such analyst who happens to be the president and principal analyst of Moor Insights & Strategy. According to Moor head, Google Nexus tablet would be a success which can harm the market share of Apple unless it acts before it is too late.
 
Apple has made a good move in reducing the price of the iPad 2 but still, the price of $399 is not very effective in competing with $199 devices like Amazon Kindle Fire and Google Nexus. Price would be the most important factor when it comes to a mini version of iPad, since Apple might find it real hard to reduce the price of the device to the level of Google and Amazon. After various estimates, the overall materials and manufacturing cost of the mini iPad can be about $185, which does not include the marketing cost and the cost associated with R&D.
 
At a manufacturing cost of $185, it would be real hard for Apple to launch the device at a price comparable to the price of Kindle Fire and Google Nexus. However, studying the cost analysis of the Apple products does reveal that iPad mini would have the smallest gap between the bill of materials plus manufacturing costs of any iPad. This means that if Apple finally launches the 7 inch version of its iPad, it could end up cannibalizing the sale of iPad with a better profit margin. This strategy would be against the trademark behavior of Apple and is highly unlikely to happen.
 
If Apple really decides to sell the mini iPad with a price tag of $299, this would give Google and Amazon a clear edge with a price of $199. A difference of $100 is certainly huge and in the domain of 7 inch tablets, where Apple’s monopoly is non-existent, it would be a hard time for Apple. Theoretically speaking, it would be great to have a smaller version of iPad, but practically, it seems a bit of a problem for Apple to make that possible.

Only three months have passed since the release of the new iPad and rumors have started surfacing that Apple is considering releasing another version of iPad this summer. The source which has claimed this happens to be Apple Daily, which is a Hong Kong based tech newspaper. According to this newspaper, Apple has been gearing up to launch another 9.7 inch version of its tablet as soon as this summer.

This certainly seems to be very impractical, considering that the new iPad has been doing pretty good in the market. But nothing can be said for sure about the tech industry these days since the trends keep changes at a very abrupt pace. As per the details of the report, the updated version of the iPad would come with “indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) panel technology to allow the device to feature an even thinner design and longer battery life.”

Another important change that would be seen in the updated version of iPad, as per the sources, is that Apple would change the panel supplier for its devices from Samsung to Sharp. There has been a legal battle going on between Apple and Samsung for more than a year now, where each is accusing the other of patent infringement. May be Apple does not want to relay on Samsung anymore and has hence decided to strike a partnership with Sharp instead.

There have also been other rumors regarding another iPad to be launched this year. Previously, a tech source claimed that Apple has been preparing for the launch of a 10 inch iPad in the quarter 4 of 2012. But so far there isn’t any official backing of these rumors and everything is purely based on speculations. Besides, it seems highly unlikely that Apple would launch another iPad only three months after the launch of the new iPad. Apple also needs to work on the updated version of iPhone that is set to be released in the fall of this year. So to see what actually happens, we would have to wait for a few months.

Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) is just around the corner and Apple has a tradition of introducing new devices during this event. Previous introductions during the event include iPhone and iPad. However, although there would not be any new device introduced this year during the event we certainly do expect the release of an updated version of iOS for Apple devices, iOS 6. Other than that, we can expect some updated Mac computers. iOS 6 would also be running on iPhone 5 which would be released later this year, so there have to be some important updates in this version of the operating system.
 
One of the most important things that are expected to be included in the updated version of iOS happens to be iMaps, a possible alternative to Google maps. Last week Apple removed Google app off its operating system which gives rise to speculations about an alternate Apple version of maps. Whether the app would be called iMaps or anything else is not confirmed, but there is an increasing anticipation about the release of such an app. The expectations are quite valid since Apple also purchased 3D-mapping company C3 technologies last year.
 
The new operating system is also expected to have closer integration with Facebook, just like the previous version had with Twitter. With this integration, users would be able to have system-wide Facebook log-in for apps. This integration would also be important for Facebook after a recent failure in IPO. Besides, Facebook is one of the main sources of traffic for Apple App Store. According to the official announcement by Facebook, users of the website went from the website to Apple App Store 83 million times. Related to Facebook, there would also be a feature of “App Liking” according to which users would be able to “like” apps from within the iPhone app store.
 
There just might be Siri for iPad in the new software update. However, so far this is a pure speculation and there aren’t any hints from Apple in this regard. However, it would be quite natural to expect such as update for iPad after using Siri on iPhone 4S. Finally, developers have also been expecting Macs with better displays to be announced during the event.

We have been long hearing rumors about Microsoft releasing an Office version for iPad, iPhone and even Android based devices, but so far any such thing has not materialized. Microsoft has denied such news but still there are various tech sources that are claiming that such a thing would certainly happen in near future. According to the unknown sources form Office sales team, the iPad version of the software would be announced by Microsoft during the SharePoint conference in November.
 
Microsoft, on the other hand, might have a few reservations about such a release. The company would launch Windows 8 in October which would be the first version of Windows to run solely on ARM based tablets. With such a launch, Microsoft would be in direct competition with Apple since Apple is the king of tablets market. Microsoft would certainly not like to release anything that would further improve the position of Apple and the release of Office for iPad would do just that. Although Office for iPad would generate a stable revenue stream, it can also result in the destruction of new Windows RT, Microsoft’s first true venture into tablets computing.
 
A clear fact is that the launch of Office for Apple App Store would result in 30 percent cut for Apple and hence would clearly benefit Apple. Besides, Microsoft also intends to make the next-generation Office compatible with the Cloud services, and iCloud service seems to be an inevitable obstacle. Microsoft wants to synchronize the desktop files with cloud based SkyDrive, but SkyDrive already exists for an application for the iPad. In the end, it might be difficult, if not impossible, for Microsoft to circumvent iCloud altogether and force its own option. This hurdle is certainly something that can prevent Microsoft from launching the iPad version of Office.
 
Apple would not be able to do anything effective if Microsoft decides to undercut Apple and bring Office to a rival platform. But if Microsoft takes it to Apple App Store and is vetoed by Apple, it would be an anti-competitive move and Apple would certainly not like to get entangled in another anti-trust lawsuit, since it is already facing such a lawsuit regarding the prices of the eBooks. Anyways, hopefully the situation would be clear within the next few months and we would find out whether Office is coming to iPad or not.

The market of tablets has grown very impressively over the last two years since the inception of the first generation iPad. With the passage of time the importance of tablets in everyday life is constantly increasing, even though they were initially criticized for their limitations. These days, you can use them to watch video content, stream music, interact with other on social networking forums and perform a variety of other tasks. This has given rise to the idea of ‘smart homes’ where the technical products would be completely integrated with each other. For example, you can use your iPad to control the Apple TV and with the passage of time, the penetration of tablet technology into over lives would certainly increase.

With the increasing influence of technology on our lives and the cloud technology, tablet can be used as the control center of the entire technically equipped house. For example, the security systems, television, lights and fans, alarms and even curtains could be controlled with the tablet in your hand sitting on the sofa. With the passage of time, it is possible that you would be able to perform all these tasks while being away from your home. Already we have manufacturers who have been developing apps for home automation system. Control4 is one such company that also has a iPad app and also owns a platform for which developers can create their apps. The company creates its own hardware for home automation and security systems. Besides, with this system you can also control the lights, temperature and operate electronics. A special iPad like product with the name of Comcast’s Xfinity Home Security product has been created by the company that can be used for these purposes. This device has its own iOS app and also comes with cellular data backup connection that can be used in case the broadband connection gets disconnected for some reason. Such systems are also being increasingly used for web-connected home security system, which are a cheaper and reliable alternative to rather expensive home surveillance systems. The Web Cam Technology used in these devices relies on the cloud based technology to maintain the footages recorded for security purposes. The footages recorded from these devices can be viewed from any tablet as long as you have the proper app installed.

So basically the increasing influence of tablets would enhance our everyday comfort with the help of smart phones where everything would be connected and automated and would certainly see the realization of all this in near future.

Finally we have some update, no matter how vague it is, on the upcoming model of ASUS Transformer Prime. A short teaser about the upcoming version of the ASUS tablet was released on the Facebook page of ASUS which, however, did not give out any details regarding the technical specifications of the device. The only thing that was actually said is that the upcoming version would be equipped with the “awesome new features”. So we are not sure what to expect on the device. There are various areas in which enhancements and improvements can be expected, such as GPS, operating system update and apps etc. but anything said right now would be nothing more than a guess. However, good news is that we can expect the device to be released soon and the firmware 9.4.2.21 is set to be released on 30^th of March. Release date of the device itself is also unknown. A few expected updates, derived from the Swedish Facebook site of the company are in order.

Among the new features, we can expect Press-able notification in Lock screen and the facility of checking the unread emails and notifications under the locked screen. There would also be updates in MyLibrary and MyCloud technologies and we would have an improved user interface along with enhanced media content. Some important functions would also be added in this version of the device. For example, it would have support for USB to LAN cable of UX series and there would also be certain improvements in the camera such as the automatic installment of the Camera FW upgrade with the image upgrade. This would remove the need of resorting to camera upgrade icon in the notification area. Besides, the device would also have support for the Ad Hoc mode. Among the software improvements, the users would have choice about the type of browser they would want to use. For example, you would be able to select among the tablet or the desktop version of the browser, although it seems quite unlikely that anyone would choose the desktop version on a tablet. As for the big software updates and hardware enhancements, we are not aware of that since there is no official word on that. We can, however, expect to have another Ice Cream Sandwich tablet in the market pretty soon. For rest of the details, you would have to wait for a while.

There is a lot of anticipation about the release of a Windows 8 based tablet from Nokia in near future. This would certainly be a delight to use since Windows 8 is already generating positive reviews everywhere. This can be among the tablets that can pose serious threat to the monopoly of iPad, but to make that sure, Nokia would have to take care of a few important things.

For the time being, there is no information about the technical specifications of this device and all we can do is guessing. First of all, let’s talk a bit about the display of the device. With respect to the resolution of the devices, we have seen some exciting progress in the recent months. Samsung has released its 7.7 inch Galaxy Tab with AMOLED display which is a delight to use. Apple, on the other hand, has released the new iPad with Retina Display which is the highest resolution in the market right now. So resolution is one front where Nokia would need to pay special attention. Secondly, battery of the device is very important for today’s busy and engaged user. Having a battery of less than 10 hours critically reduces the overall impact of the device. This problem has been found in most of the tablets and smartphones. One way around this problem is the approach that has been taken by Asus by placing a secondary battery in the keyboard. So a battery life of at least more than 10 hours would certainly increase the worth of the tablet.

After that, since the tablet would hardly be released before the end of 2012, it would certainly need to have a support for 4G, since by the end of this year, having no support for 4G would pretty much reduce the importance of the device. Other than the main technical specs, the design of the tablet also matters a lot since not everyone purchases a tablet just because of the technical specs. Besides, among the top end tablets, there is not much difference between the technical specs and under such a situation a lot of users prefer to purchase tablets due to their design appeal. But we can trust Nokia on this front. Last but not least, it would be better for Nokia to create a device that succeeds in producing its own worth in the market. The device might not even have technical specs better than iPad, but it should have some alternatives that make people go for it rather than other tablets. Hopefully, interesting technical specs coupled with Windows 8 would certainly result in one of the best tablets in the market.

Just when the release date of next version of iPad arrived, the rumor started circulating that it would actually be called iPad HD and not iPad 3. Several media reports that have been released about the device are calling it iPad HD. We are not sure if iPad HD and iPad 3 are the same devices since Apple might be considering two iPads this year. This is other than another possible mini version of iPad that, rumors has it, would be released later this year. It is also possible that the release date of iPad 3 is actually deferred and what we hear from the latest information, Apple has decided to release iPad on 16^th of March. So basically there is a lot of confusion about the release date, the name and the technical specs of the device. What we understand is that the device would be announced on 7^th and would be released on 16^th of March, which makes perfect sense.
 
As the release itself is getting closer, more and more sources are claiming that the device would actually be called iPad HD and not iPad 3. The HD with the name, as probably many of you would have already guessed, is because of the Retina display. The Retina display would certainly be a huge enhancement on iPad, even though it has previously been displayed on iPhone 4S. The rumors about the name are not new and previously, some people were speculating about iPad HD but majority was in the favor of iPad 3. But now it seems that the case for iPad HD is stronger. Other than the launch of iPad 3, Apple is also expected to announce the new streaming service for Apple TV. This release would most probably be also announced during the same event during which iPad HD would be announced and the service itself would be made available later this year, most probably on Christmas. As for iPad HD, other than the Retina display, other improvements that we are expecting are changes in iTunes and iCloud technology, availability of Siri, enhanced battery life, and support for LTE. As far as the support of LTE is concerned, Apple might or might not make it available on iPad HD. Other than this, the rumors about the possible release of a mini version of iPad this year are also gaining momentum and we have also heard that Apple has already started purchasing the 7.1 inch screen components for mini iPad. But for the moment, let’s just wait for iPad HD and see how it turns out to be.