Apple's 'Year of iPad 2' doesn't necessarily mean no more iPad updates in 2011

I do agree that spreading a rumor for an iPad 3 while Apple is still launching the iPad2 doesn't make sense as it will only have people wait for the next version - or go for competition.
Anyway, I'm hesitating for iPad 2, do you think it will still supports content download services like this one http://bit.ly/BooksForYourIPad . The flat-fee for downloading unlimited book/novels/comic books is seducing me but I need some feedback from other users before getting into it.

If you worry about iPad3, then just wait, at most you will wait a year, nobody ever died if they didn't buy an refreshed iPad.

some of the posters on here seem to live in their own distortion field, iPad2 not yet released and they yakking about iPad3. I have yet to hear of anyone looking at an iPad and say the screen isn't any good!!

Kids, Apple is a creature of habit and great product development cycles, they will not put out one version of the iPad2 next week and then change it in September. They will not cannabalize one product line's sales (iPod family), to sell an improved product just 6 months after they introduce it, especially if they are already selling millions of the iPad2. They spread out their product upgrades for this reason. A study of how Apple develops and markets its' products over the past several years is a study of how to run any product development cycle. Focus on one family of products at a time, to focus your customers' attention (and money) on one product at a time.

Their attention to fine detail reaches way beyond their amazingly well thought out products. Start the year out with higher priced product upgrades (Macs, iPads), then the next intro a few months later focus on lower priced product (iPhone), then in another few months, even lower priced products (iPods), so for the Back to School/Christmas/Hanukkah buying/gift giving season people have had longer to save up $$ for the higher priced "gifts", with less time for the lower priced - impulse buy gifts. Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, iMac, iPad, iPhone, iPod...

So the rumored iPad 2.5 will be a larger iPod Touch, meaning no 3G connectivity (which will be reserved for the iPad).

There's your lesson in Product Development/Design/Marketing 301 for today. Go research the last several years of Apple product delivery cycles for your homework assignment...

I don't agree with his premise. If they release an iPad 3 in 2011 it will make Steve Jobs a liar. Something they are not likely to do .

I think the logic behind the calendar thinking is completely backwards. The holiday season, Q4, provides a massive boost to sales all by itself. No brand spanking new product is needed for that.

In fact, a holiday quarter is a perfect way to get a massive sales boost for a product that is already > 1/2 way through its life cycle and has already reached massive scale in production.

A new/revised product in september doesn't need a sales boost - it's shiny and new and will sell well all by itself. It also doesn't give itself much time for a production ramp.

Not saying it won't happen (it happens with the iPod touch every fall, though i think that's more an outgrowth of circumstance than anything else) but I do think it's better planning to hold if for March 2012. The wildcats is whether and how much progress android tablets are making ithe marketplace. If (very) successful I could see Steve and co getting an ipad2 HD out the door in September.

There will be no retina display iPad this year.
A5's been finalized, and there's no chance they'll blow several million dollars to tape out an A6 or whatever to release another iPad in this same year.

Speculating that there will be an iPad HD or whatever is just undermining any reputation you might have as a reasonable source of information.

Jeez, it's like you want them to pull an Osborne or something...

Releasing it in September doesn't necessarily make perfect business sense. It would, if iPad was the only product Apple was selling. They refresh the iPod line every September. I doubt people will budget for two Apple products during Christmas season. The distributed pattern of spring refresh for iPads, summer for iPhones and fall for iPods works well. Releasing two iOS devices at the same time will only have one overshadow the other.

Other reasons that people have stated also hold true. Moreover, for most devices the cost price goes down as time progresses and costs are cheapest for Apple just before their next update. I doubt Apple will reset that clock much sooner than a year. It is partly due to this reason that Apple have almost never upgraded any product in less than a year (if one were to disregard processor bumps on macbook and iMac lines, which are relatively insignificant and easy updates).

There are so many reasons why Apple might not refresh in September. The only reason why it might refresh in September is that it is a perfect time for Christmas. The arguments for a September refresh just don't stack up.

I worked for Gateway computers as a financial analyst when they hit the earth shattering price point of $2000 for 42" plasma TV's a decade ago. What hurt everyone in the market was spreading the tooling costs over a small pool of products. And inversely, the reason Dell crushed Gateway was because they purchased their components in so much larger quantity's than Gateway. Gateway just couldn't match their price points without losing money.

I think Apple could introduce what is today wildly expensive for a reasonable price. And furthermore, IT WOULD HELP CRUSH MOTOROLA, SAMSUNG ET AL. Suppliers won't negotiate low price points unless you can meet volume targets. Everyone knows that Apple can deliver and they will get huge volume discounts. Suppliers will make up lost margin on low volume suckers like Motorola and HP. It would be to Apples advantage to push the competition into an area they don't want to go. It'll cause the competition to do the following.

1. Sell their tablets at a loss with a higher res screen.
2. Stick with a 1024x768 and look stale.
3. Abandon the tablet market.

Staying with a 1024 x 768 too long allows everyone else to catch up. The last thing Apple wants is commoditization.

The Ipad 2 isn't even out yet and it's obsolete.

So how many people didn't buy an ipad for Christmas because they were waiting for the ipad2? Yup, Apple is gonna nip that problem in the bud this September.

Introducing an Ipad 3 this September makes perfect business sense. Christmas is when people really open their wallets and Apple doesn't want to miss out. And it WILL have a better screen. Why? Because current ipad owners are asking for it. I think the current ipad is probably powered for it but production capacity just wasn't there.