Apple Testing Keyboard Case for Potential Release Alongside iPad 5

According to ex-Apple Developer Relations employee and industry analyst Jamie Ryan, Apple has been testing a first-party keyboard case to be potentially released alongside the upcoming fifth-generation iPad. The case itself would reportedly be similar in nature to Microsoft's Touch Cover, which is made for the Surface line of tablets...

Ryan also adds that the primary motivation behind the development of the case is that Apple's current Bluetooth keyboard is not as integrated as Microsoft's Touch Cover, and that Apple is interested to create a better keyboard solution for the full-size iPad in order to distinguish it from the iPad mini. The analyst also adds that other cover-like accessories are also being looked at for release...

Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours

iPad 5 Rumor Roundup

If history is any indication, we can expect Apple to unveil the latest iPad and a new iPad Minisometime this fall. In October 2012, Apple updated its popular Retina Display iPad with slightly better specs and introduced a smaller, more portable tablet called the iPad Mini.

The rumor mill quieted for a few months after last fall's iPad launches, but it didn't take long before people started wildly speculating about the next generations of Apple's tablet line. Now, with possibly only a few weeks to go before we expect to see some new iPads, the rumors of a delayed iPad Mini with Retina Display and a thinner iPad 5 are cropping up every few days...

Read the full story here... Source: CNET

iPad 5 Rear Shell Leaks, Shows Off iPad Mini-Like Design

Apple has been unusually silent over the past several months—we haven’t seen any big announcements since the iPhone 5, which was back in September of last year. We’re quickly skipping over the company’s annual iPad announcement, and that vow of silence may tell us a lot about what to expect when a reveal does finally come. We’ve heard a lot about the likelihood of a redesigned full-size iPad—we’ve seen pictures as proof—and today’s leak further backs up rumors we’ll see a bigger iPad mini-esque for form factor.

Just last week reports suggested Apple would introduce an iPad that’s “25 percent lighter and 15 percent thinner than the fourth generation iPad.” That’s all hearsay based on an analyst note. But there was also a case leak based around the rumored thinner design, while another report said the iPad 5 would slim down because of a more efficient LEDs. There’s plenty of talk right now, but obviously we have no way of verifying anything until Apple decides to address the world about its next generation iPad.

We’re expecting Apple to send out event invites any day now, but the more likely scenario will be to wait until WWDC. If that’s the case, will Apple use the conference to announce multiple hardware devices in addition to new software? Will it now just hold one big event mid-way through the year instead of several events throughout the year? We’ll have to wait and see. It’s not typical Apple form, but nothing has been quite typical for awhile now.

MacRumors highlights another possible leak in the same iPad 5 report having to do with the iPhone 5S’s SIM try. They look identical, which is no surprise given the fact that many expect the 5S to keep the iPhone 5’s same form factor.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

More 'iPad 5' Cases Surface Showing Smaller and Thinner Design

With both front and rear casing parts and several case designs for the fifth-generation iPad having surfaced over the past several months, we are starting to get a very good idea of how Apple is drawing on design cues from the iPad mini to design a thinner and narrower full-size iPad. 

Building on this concept of an iPad mini-inspired design, several more cases have appeared today offering a additional glimpses at what we might be able to expect from the next iPad.

iPad 5 case (left) and iPad 4 case (right)

The first set of images comes from case maker Tactus, which shows cases for both the current iPad and the fifth-generation model, with a clear plastic mockup of the fifth-generation model showing how its features would mimic those of the iPad mini. 

[Source: MacRumors - Click here to read more]

iPad 5 May Slim Down Thanks to More Efficient LEDs

The fifth generation iPad may be going on a diet of sorts as one analyst believes Apple is working on a new LED lighting system that would allow the popular tablet to slim down.

Speaking with CNET, Paul Semenza, an analyst at NPD DisplaySearch, stated that he felt Apple was looking to slim down the fifth generation of the iPad in multiple ways. ”It’s likely that part of the thinner/lighter design will be reducing the size of the LED backlight, partly by making the display more efficient and partly by using more efficient LEDs,” Semenza said.

NPD DisplaySearch has contacts throughout the display supply chain, but it sounds as though Semenza may be speaking more from a speculative point of view than from some form of evidence.

A back panel that appeared in Jan. and alleged to be a component for the iPad 5 did seem to indicate that the next version would be trimming down to look more like the iPad mini. And a leak from this week that is supposedly the front panel showed thinner bezels along the side, which would also support the idea that Apple is playing around with the display.

There is no question that Apple is obsessed with making its devices as thin and lightweight as possible, so don’t be surprised if at least some of these come true when the iPad 5 hits the shelves.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

iPad 5 Case for Rumored Redesign Surfaces

With numerous specs circulating for the iPad 5, it isn’t surprising that we have seen the first potential case surface.

Case maker MiniSuit has supplied MacRumors with an image of a case the firm has already made for the fifth generation iPad based off of specs it has received from a source. The case is similar to the leaked iPad 5 rear shell that surfaced back in Jan. that showed a relocated microphone. It also follows along with the rumors we’ve heard that the new tablet will share more design characteristics with the iPad mini, and also come in somewhat slimmer than the fourth generation iPad.

It is not unusual for case manufacturers to begin work on cases based solely on rumors. While they could end up being wrong, if they’re right, and able to get their cases to market quickly after the announcement, it can be a financial windfall for them.

Currently rumors for the release of the fifth generation iPad range anywhere from March to October, but June seems to be taking the lead as of late as the probably release window.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]