Apple iPad 2 Will Face Tougher Android Competition

If the latest data updates from market research firm Strategy Analytics are to be believed, the Apple iPad 2 may have found itself a formidable competitor in the shape of Google's multi-headed Hydra, Android.

While the iPad managed to get 75.3 per cent of the worldwide market share of tablets, this is down from 95.5 per cent, a 20 per cent drop.
At the same time, sales of Android-based devices surged by nearly 1000 per cent in just a quarter. Interestingly, the "others" category made jumped from 1.2 per cent to 3.2 per cent.
Strategy Analytics reckons that Apple sold nearly 15 million iPads last year with almost half of it in the fourth quarter of the year alone.

In comparison, 100,000 Android tablet were sold in the third quarter of last year, growing to a staggering 2.1 million units by the end of the year.
Most of the tablets are expected to be the Samsung Galaxy Tab, although might highlight the fact that it is in reality a sized-up smartphone.
Either way, 2011 will prove to be a watershed year for tablets with up to 46 million units expected to be sold based on analysts predictions.
With Asus, Acer, HP, Dell, Motorola, HTC, Cisco, RIM and a raft of other smaller manufacturers expecting to push out scores of tablet PC, Apple may have to up its game with the iPad 2.

Digg founder: Don't buy an iPad, iPad 2 is imminent

You might want to return that iPad you got for Christmas.
Kevin Rose, the founder of the social news site Digg, claims the announcement and subsequent release of the iPad 2 is weeks away at most, so you'll want to hold off purchasing a new iPad because a better one is just out of reach.
Who knows if that's true, but then again, we didn't think we'd be getting a Verizon iPhone announcement within weeks of Christmas, and now all evidence points to that being the case. The Internet has been flooded with iPad 2 information as of late, and with so much junk being leaked and bouncing around between websites and tech blogs, it almost seems strange we haven't gotten the official word about the iPad 2 yet.
And then there's the Consumer Electronics Show 2011 in Las Vegas from the weekend, at which a supposed iPad 2 appeared — or at least, the shell of one, along with purported iPad 2 cases. Between that and Rose's tip, it seems like the iPad 2 has all the features we're expecting, like the new amped-up display and speakers, as well as front and rear cameras.
But the accidentally discovered iPad 2 is definitely suspect. Why would Apple (AAPL) just be handing out its (supposedly) secret products to case makers and the like? And why would that case maker be carrying it around and leaving it places at CES? At least over at Mashable, it's suspected the CES iPad 2 is a fake.
Another possible explanation is the iPad 2 was some kind of plant, rather than a simple accident: a shady move to get reporters wandering CES buzzing about this potentially impending iPad 2 announcement, just when talk about the Android and new tablets was at its peak. Basically, and this is just speculation on my part, I think Apple could have done it — to Bogart CES. And I think the information we've seen coming together about the Verizon (VZ) iPhone and its somewhat suspect announcement date (immediately following CES, with speculation and reporting about it exploding right in the middle of the show) was intentionally done for the exact same reason.
So I, for one, think an iPad 2 announcement before the end of February is a rumor that can be cautiously believed, especially if we see the Verizon iPhone show up on Tuesday in New York. This isn't a prototype iPhone 4 accidentally left behind in a bar, hidden in 3GS casing. The iPad 2 "leak" at CES seems too incredibly dumb on Apple's part, not to mention the case manufacturer carrying around an iPad 2 at a huge technology press show, to be a real accident. That shell is either a fake (which itself begs, "why?") or an elaborate publicity stunt. Either way, it's working.

Verizon iPhone or iPad 2 to probably be launched February 3

pple will probably launch the Verizon iPhone or the iPad 2 on February 3, according to Boy Genius Report. Yesterday, Verizon didn’t mention Apple during its Keynote speech at the CES, and another rumor broke about a week ago that Apple would hold its own event to announce the Verizon iPhone. Lots of Long Islanders can’t wait to get their hands on a Verizon iPhone, so this will no doubt cause waves in the area. According to Boy Genius Report, Apple has scheduled a “Vacation Blackout” from February 3-6, prohibiting Apple employees from taking vacations during this period. There is also an unconfirmed rumor on MacRumors that Verizon is implementing a vacation blackout at the same time. By connecting the dots of the previous rumors, and the vacation blackout, a major device should be launched, narrowing it down to the Verizon iPhone or possibly the iPad 2. It seems a lot more likely that the product launched February 3 will be the Verizon iPhone. All of the aforementioned rumors, along with Verizon liking to launch devices on a Thursday, which happens to be February 3, makes it fairly obvious the Verizon iPhone will be launched on the 3rd.

Apple iPad 2 Release Date and Rumoured 128GB Storage

We wrote earlier on about the iPad 2 mock up being on display here at the CES 2011 in Las Vegas.

The presence of a highly realistic looking and convincing model has increased the already pretty busy rumour mill around this device and now there are two new whispers about this long awaited tablet.

First up, the iPad 2 which has been on display here has a sticker on the back that states that it has 128GB storage space, which is double the space available on the original iPad. Now, because this is a mock up model we can’t take anything on it for granted but why would Apple, or anyone else for that matter, go to the bother of putting on a label with an incorrect storage space? In, fact why would they go to the bother of putting one on with the correct storage space you might ask.

I can only imagine that it was placed there on purpose to get people talking even more and build up some more excitement about the new product. If this is case then it is unthinkable that it could be released with less than 128GB on it, as this would be a huge let down for everyone. This type of storage puts it onto a whole new level and would let it compete against other, more traditional notebooks.

The other rumour which we need to tackle here is about the iPad 2’s release date. A lot of people are now starting to move towards the idea that an announcement will be made later this month and that it will go on general sale around April time at the latest. Kevin Rose, Founder of Digg posted “I have it on good authority that Apple will be announcing the iPad 2 in the next “3-4 weeks”,
possibly Tuesday February 1st.”

Now it is a question of sitting tight and waiting so if these rumours are confirmed before the CES is over. Will Apple give the show a huge send off with some welcome news or will we have to wait until February 1st or later?

Apple iPad 2: Apple iPad 2 Case Showed in CES

Apple iPad 2: Many high end Tablets has been showcased in Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2011 such as Samsung Galaxy Tab, iPad and Motorola Xoom. One among them is Apple iPad. Apple iPad 2 case has been showed in CES 2011. Apple iPad 2 case is having very stylish design.

Apple iPad 2 is having front and rear facing camera, large speakers, retina display, 3 axis gyroscope, USB port, video calls, high speed processor, 9.7 inch LED backlit glossys widescreen Multi-Touch display with 1024 x 768 resolution, 1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed processor, 256MB of RAM, and access to the Apple App Store where more than 10,000 apps are available for downloads.

Apple iPad 2 will be available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions. Apple iPad 2 is expected to be available by the first quarter of 2011. The latest Apple iPad 2 case is shown in silver color.