As expected, the "new iPad" (as termed by the good folks at Apple, instead of continuing their previous numbering pattern from 2 to 3) hit stores with a boom!
Though the new iPad make-up is more of an evolution than a revolution, it has again received positive initial reviews. However, the overall theme from critics seems to be the mere aesthetics of the device and can be properly summed up in one simple word: screen! One critic went so far as to say "[i]f you take just one look at the screen, you will never view any kind of screen in the same light again. Even the iPad 2's stunning display begins to look like a 1990s television."
Criticisms, as with the iPad 2, have focused on the absence of standard computer ports, such as HDMI connections or USB ports.
As with previous Apple releases, the impact is not only on the consumers, but on the big business behind the scenes of this Oz magic. So think of that when you see the investment banker at the table next to you in the Red Cat on his new iPad with the latest mod-rocker boots and haircut.
A careful look at the device reveals which component makers are the real big iPad winners! Specifically, the popular gadget website iFixit, shows that at least three Southern California semiconductor companies are doing the heavy electronics lifting inside Apple's new device: San Diego-based Qualcomm, Irvine-based Broadcom and Skyworks Solutions, with operations in both Irvine and Newbury Park, have major chips in the new Apple product.
Broadcom racked up with three components within the new device. In addition to a FM transceiver chip, the firm also has an I/O controller (Broadcom BCM5973 I/O controller) and a microprocessor (Broadcom BCM5974 microprocessor) in Apple's latest tablet. Not surprising, Qualcomm is also an iPad winner, with a power management chip (Qualcomm PM8028 Power Management IC) lurking inside the tablet, as well an RF transceiver for 3G and 4G LTE and a wireless modem (Qualcomm RTR8600 multi-band/mode RF transceiver). Widely regarded as one of the best positioned companies for the push to4G networks, Qualcomm previously provided a power management chip and a transceiver for the Verizon CDMAversion of the iPad 2. Lastly, as with the iPad 2, Skyworks has a front-end module in the tablet (Skyworks SKY77468-17).
These are the technical details, of course, but what you need to know is that they both reveal and record to create your experience with the device. That is a point worth noting about the daily life of photosharing, filedownloading and the macroeconomy. If you had bought one share of Apple ten years ago for $12.19, it would be worth $585.57 today. Who knows what it will do now that iPads are new. More on the ramifications of that appreciation later, even if you really only want to appreciate clear images on and LCD.
But for now, shares of Broadcom, Qualcomm and Skyworks were all up the night before the iPad was officially released in the United States.