Apple Inc. has started manufacturing a new version of its iPad tablet computer with a
built-in camera and faster processor, said people familiar with the matter.
The new iPad will be thinner and lighter than the first model, these people said. It will
have at least one camera on the front of the device for features like video-conferencing,
but the resolution of the display will be similar to the first iPad, these people said. It
will also have more memory and a more powerful graphics processor, they said.
Apple has started manufacturing a new version of its iPad tablet computer with a built-in camera and faster processor. WSJ's Yukari Kane joins Stacey Delo to discuss.
The new iPad will initially be available through
Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc., but not Sprint
Nextel Corp. or T-Mobile USA in the U.S.,
according to some of the people familiar with the
matter.
A spokeswoman for Apple, Cupertino, Calif.,
declined to comment.
The production of the new iPad shows how Apple
is moving forward in the wake of Chief Executive
Steve Jobs's disclosure last month that he was
taking a medical leave for an unspecified ailment. The iPad, which debuted last April, has
opened a new market and is critical to Apple's
success.
Since the iPad's release, Apple has sold 14.8
million units of the device. In Apple's December
quarter, its most recent financial results, which
it reported last month, the tablet contributed
$4.6 billion in sales, or 17% of the company's
overall revenue.
The new iPad is expected by Apple watchers to
debut in the next couple of months at a similar
price range as the current iPad, though exact details couldn't be learned. It currently
costs between $499 and $829.
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