On iPad 3 In Fall
Some mumbling that iPad 3 will debut this fall (not soon after iPad 2, which hasn’t even announced yet but will most likely drop this spring).
Sounds a bit odd, but consider the iPod Touch, which for the past few years has tailed the iPhone by a few months, taking on its features to where people consider it an iPhone without a cell connection. Perhaps positioning the iPad after the annual debut of the new iPhone indicates the same strategy.
Meaning, iPad 2 shows up this spring, with a front-facing camera and FaceTime. But then iPhone 5 appears in the summer, with features we can only guess at. But perhaps there’s something cool enough that people want it in the iPad (or iPod Touch) sooner than later. Right now, a spring iPad means waiting nearly a year for any new iPhone accouterments.
So my two cents: look for a really cool feature in iPhone 5 that makes you say “I wish that were in the iPad.” That personally would be a huge indicator of iPad 3 in fall.
And what might this feature be? I’d guess NFC interconnectedness across several Apple products.