Suppliers of the parts for the new iPad 2 have revealed that they are preparing the components for the next generation tablet wonder.
Five different companies in Hong Kong, chip designer Wintek, battery maker Simplo and cover manufacturer AVY Precision — confirmed they were preparing for the next round of iPads. Two camera companies, Genius Electronic Optical Co Ltd and Largan Precision, confirmed they had started a new supply deal with the Cupertino, Calif.-based, company.
At least two of the companies mentioned, said that they were already producing parts for the next generation iPad. Components for front and rear camera’s, increased screen resolution, and an external SD card slot for owner upgradable memory storage will be on he new device.
The case for the new iPad will be approximately the same dimensions in length and width as the first generation model, but just slightly thinner. The introductory price will be about the same as the first generation at $499.99 for the 16 GB WiFi, up to about $799.00 for the 64 GB WiFi 3G model.
Speculation that a 128 and 264GB solid state drive will be also available as an upgrade for the next generation iPad at a modest price as solid state storage has drastically decreased as production has increased. With the promise of millions of consumers upgrading to the higher storage capacities that will be available, the price for a much larger memory drive should only be slightly higher.
Whatever the actual specs actually turn out to be, it is for sure that this next generation iPad will fly off the shelves at an even a faster rate than the current model. Around the world the iPad has become the “Got to Have” electronic device for millions of consumers.
It will be interesting to see how close to the introduction date of the iPad 2 the older models begin selling on eBay and what the going rate will be. It is expected that if the iPad 2 does have major technical upgrades that the repurchase rate of those who have owned the iPad 1 will be very high. This teamed with increasing world-wide demand for the device will undoubtedly drive sales of iPad 2 to new records.
This author already has plans to put his two iPad 1 models on eBay in February or March in anticipation of purchasing the newer model, should it include many new improvements.
