The current Apple iPad has a 9.7 inch, 1024 x 768 pixel screen, but today DigiTimes reports that Apple is preparing to launch new version(s) of the famous iPad tablet with  5.6 inch and 7 inch OLED displays.  The  digtimes article cites sources at computer component makers who say that Apple is buying up a lot of OLED displays.  DigiTimes goes on to speculate that the new devices could be available as soon as the fourth quarter of 2010, and that Apple will continue selling 9.7 inch iPad models, but there could be some slight changes in the design.

As always, it’s Digitimes, so take these reports with a few grains of salt.  They have been right before, but they’ve also been wrong once or twice.

Tablet Review UK has news of Germany’s iPad killer- the Neofonie Wepad.  It’s a tablet device with a 11.6″ screen, powered by a1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 all running on a Linux OS.  The device looks pretty impressive & supports flash and HD video as well.   You can check out the full specs and the first hands-on video after the break.

The tablet will be available for pre-order in Germany on April 27th and should be generally available starting this summer.

Neofonie Wepad Specs:

• Display: 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel multitouch display
• CPU: 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450
• OS: Linux-based WePad operating system (Plus ability to run Android apps)
• Storage: 16GB or 32GB plus SDHC card slot
• Webcam: 1.3Mp
• I/O: 2 USB ports, card reader, SIM card slot, headphone jack
• Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, optional 3G
• Battery: 6 hour Li-ION
• Dimensions: 11.3″ x 7.5″ x 0.5″
• Weight: 1.8 pounds (1.9 pounds with 3G module)

Hands-on video, courtesy of NetbookNews.de

Cnet, in the States, has pitted Apple’s new iPad against one of Asus’s budget netbooks  – the Eee PC 1001P (available for £229).   A few things were compared – an obvious win for the iPad was start-up, or boot time.  The iPad was up and runing in 23.1 seconds vs. 50.1 seconds for the netbook.  That’s largely due to the optimized OS running on the Apple, and the solid state hard drive vs. the spinning type in the netbook.   The little Asus, however, did win in overall processing power, running the Javascript benchmark in 2,272ms vs. the iPad’s 12,591ms.

The iPad was praised for it’s intuitive touch interface, and general ease of use.  Battery life on Apple’s device is great too – at about 10 hours.  Pricewise, the netbook comes in at about half the price of the iPad.  Check out the comparison video for yourself here.

The iPad has been on sale in the US for less than 24hrs and a lot has already happened in that time.  Here’s a rundown of the one weekend in the life of the iPad.

- Rumoured sales of up to 700,000 units in the first weekend.

- The first iPad may already be Jailbroken.

- iFixit has posted a detailed teardown examination

- PC World has conducted a brutally destructive real world iPad stress-test.

- The iPad’s A4 processor has been pitted against Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor.

Just a few more hours until the first iPads hit consumers in the States, but those eager to find out what’s under the hood have to wait no longer thanks to our friends at the FCC.  These links courtesy of the FCC web site, show the new iPad in detail.  Most obvious is the huge 24.8Whr battery, which helps give the iPad it’s impressive 10 hour+ runtime.

The first commercial for Apple’s upcoming iPad aired last night in the States during the Oscars. It’s pretty much what most are expecting – a larger iPod touch, but the comericial brings up an interesting question.  How do you hold this thing?  Sure, you can prop it up on a table, but what about when there isn’t a surface to place it on in front of you?   Almost every shot of a person actually using the iPad shows legs contorted into unusual positions.

Check out the video after the break.

Apple’s European PR team has confirmed that the new iPad will hit European shores inside of two months.  Here’s what they said to Techcrunch.com:shores.

“The Wi-Fi version will ship worldwide in March,” said a spokesperson, but she added, “Watch this space for Wi-Fi plus 3G.”

Reading between the lines, it seems Apple is still shopping for a mobile carrier (O2?, T-Mobile?) to partner with for the 3g data portion of the 3g equipped iPads.

Also, no word on international pricing – but don’t expect direct conversions from the US prices ($499-$829).  An educated guess would put UK starting at £399 or maybe, £349 if we’re lucky and topping out at £599.  Also, interestingly, no sign of the iPad yet at the UK Apple Store.

via [Techcrunch]

After much anticipation and speculation, as well as a few hoaxes, here it is at latest, the Apple iPad.  Announced today at 10am PST in San Francisco, Apple’s iPad looks like a 9.7″ screen’ed iPhone and, indeed, it will run all of the iPhone apps.

Here are the specs:

-1ghz Apple A4 Processor
-9.7″ IPS Display
- Full capacitive multi-touch
-16-64GB SSD
-802.11N, Bluetooth 2.1EDR
-Claimed 10 hour runtime, one month standby time.

-.5 inches thin
-1.5lb weight

More pictures after the break.