iPad 3 Retina Display speculation, “tween” sized iPod touch, shifting sizes and shifting sands—Apple rumours, ho!
On the iPad 3
Forget the iPad 2. Old news! It’s not even out yet, but such is the ferocity of online rumour and speculation that we’re going to talk about its barely there successor now instead! According to AppleInsider, trusted source and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of Concord Securities has sacrificed the appropriate number of virgin calves and now has some insight into the iPad 3’s 9.7-inch high resolution Retina Display screen.
A third point relayed by Kuo was that a successive iPad 3 model would incorporate a 9.7 inch IPS panel with FFS (fringe-field switching) technology, which enables a wider viewing angle and clearer visual quality under in sunlight. Kuo previously reported last May that the upcoming iPhone 4 would incorporate a double resolution, 960×640 display using IPS/FFS, which Apple subsequently released under the name Retina Display. He was also correct in nailing down in advance that iPhone 4 would supply twice the RAM of the iPad.
In other words, he’s got a pretty good track record. This isn’t too much of a stretch to “predict” however, given Apple’s made such a stink about how magical and beautiful the iPhone 4’s Retina Display has been for user’s eyeballs. It would be welcome-yet expected that this tech migrate to the iPhone’s larger cousin. rumoured iPad 3 resolution would double to 2048×1536, in case you’re curious.
On the iPod Touch Redesign
But wait, there’s more! How about a bigger iPod touch? Apple’s said many times in the past that a 7-inch screen is pointless, of course, but this latest rumour pegs the mystery device with a 5- or 6-inch (or 7-inch?) screen. Splitting hairs? You betcha!
With a 5 inch screen, a “big iPod touch” at its existing resolution would offer a 230ppi screen density; stretched across a 7 inch screen the same resolution would deliver 164ppi, still higher than the existing iPad’s pixel density of 132ppi. Rather than trying to crush the full sized iPad’s resolution into a smaller screen, something Apple’s chief executive Steve Jobs quipped last fall would require filing down users’ fingers, such a device could simply serve as an expansion of the iPod family, offering a larger view of the simpler iPod touch user interface.
Again, rumour and speculation for now, although the source has a good track record. A larger iPod touch would also mean Apple execs were technically “telling the truth” about tablets being unable to function properly at 7-inches or so. Not that you care about such things. As users, you care about usability. Would a 5-inch form factor make your iPod touch experience better, worse or “what’s an iPod touch”? [AppleInsider]