We’ve not heard much about the iPad 2G model presumably destined for a 2011 release yet, but now a new report has been published, with some eyebrow raising claims. Not only will the new iPad come with an OLED screen (Yes, that old chestnut), but it’ll even come in several sizes too. That iPod touch/iPad boundary could be about to be blurred in a big way.
Our favourite rumour monger from the East, Joseph Tsai of the DigiTimes, reports from sources that Apple has inked a deal for the iPad 2G already, with Compal manufacturing the device, which will now use OLED, rather than the current LCD, screen technology. OLED is traditionally more expensive and less power hungry than LCD and provides more depth of colour, but LCD has caught up in quality lately – notably on the iPhone 4.
That’s not all though. The report says the next iPad won’t just come in the 9.7-inch size already on sale, but smaller 5.6 and 7 inch sizes too, to take on the “e-book reader market”.
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While we wouldn’t object to an OLED iPad, we are taking this report with a fistful of salt. While DigiTimes is sometimes on the money with its leaks (Particularly regarding Nokia and its netbook plans), its Apple track record isn’t great, and more to the point, an OLED iPad 2G doesn’t make sense. If there’s one thing we can’t fault with the iPad, it’s the battery life, and the screen is certainly a beauty already. Add to that HTC’s struggle to acquire enough small OLED displays for phones right now, and it doesn’t sound like something Steve Jobs and co would be interested in adding.
Then there’s the supposed new iPad sizes. Apple takes its branding extremely carefully, and to fudge the division between iPod touch and iPad would make both difficult to advertise.
Since the original iPad was leaked several times before launch, we’d expect glimpse of the new iPad 2G to follow too sometime down the road: whether it’ll be OLED, as DigiTimes reports, is another matter. We’re not putting money on it. What do you reckon?
