Apparently mass production is to begin on the next generation Apple iPad, the iPad 2 in February of next year; however it appears that the iPad 2 isn’t the only iPad that may surface in 2011.
According to an article over on Slash Gear, DigiTimes has outed the iPad 2 suppliers which apparently suggests a Q1 release. But the big news here is that there may be another iPad making its debut in 2011 as well.
Apparently AllThingsD quotes Brain Blair and analyst for Wedge Partners as sating Apple has selected Qualcomm’s multi-mode GSM/CDMA modem for what is being called a “World iPad,” which could play nice on both the Verizon and AT&T networks.
Here’s what Blair said…“Recent checks … suggest Apple is going to be ratcheting down production of the existing 3G iPad over the next two months in anticipation of ramping up a new World iPad that is powered by Qualcomm and will run on both GSM and CDMA based networks around the world.”
And what would this new iPad look like? Blair reckons…“We … understand the new iPad is thinner than the existing model and is essentially made from one piece of metal with no pins needed. We understand it requires a new type of manufacturing process as a result, similar to the company’s unibody approach seen in MacBooks”
Now the thing is this, will people rush out and purchase the Apple iPad 2 if they know a newer World iPad will be coming along later in the year?