'iPad 3' cases shipping to Best Buy ahead of Apple's announcement - report

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014


Best Buy stores have reportedly begun to receive cases sealed in boxes for Apple's third-generation iPad ahead of Wednesday's anticipated unveiling.



The cases have shipped in boxes with a pink sticker stating "Do not display until official iPad 3 launch," an anonymous tipster told PhoneArena.com. Cases for the so-called "iPad 3" are said to be shipping in bulk, as third-party manufacturers are planning for Apple to begin selling its next iPad soon after it is officially announced.



"The shipment is not of just a few cases — there's over 1,000 Targus Versavu 360 stands for the next-gen iPad shipping to Best Buy, meaning that it won't be long until the actual tablet hits shelves," the report said.



Multiple leaked components from Apple's supply chain have suggested the next iPad will feature an external design largely the same as the current iPad 2. The third-generation iPad is expected to be slightly thicker, with edges more tapered than the iPad 2.



Despite minor tweaks to the design, its expected that Apple's magnetic Smart Cover will still work with the next iPad. But Apple's protective accessory only covers the front, flat screen of the iPad, while many third-party cases cover the aluminum back.











The rumor that third-party cases are being delivered to Best Buy is supported by a picture that surfaced last week, showing the retailer's inventory system listing "iPad 3" accessories set to be in stock by next Sunday, March 11. The leaked inventory listings included ZAGG's InvisibleSHIELD.



The next iPad is expected to be unveiled at Apple's media event this Wednesday at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, Calif. The event will kick off at 10 a.m. Pacific, 1 p.m. Eastern, and AppleInsider will have full coverage.



[ View article on AppleInsider ]

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 26
    Sounds like BS to me, since when does it say Do not display until official iPad 3 launch. Usually it would say something like Do not open until 03/XX/2012
  • Reply 2 of 26
    brutus009brutus009 Posts: 356member
    Announced on the 7th, released on the 9th! I'm a PROPHET!!!
  • Reply 3 of 26
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    So we're supposed to believe this?



    "Oh, it's for the iPad 3. You can tell this because you can see 'ipad3' TYPED INTO that field up there, and not a static unit code on the description of the product itself.'



    Really?
  • Reply 4 of 26
    How much change can one expect to an iPad. I mean, the main feature is what happens under that slab of glass. Over time it will get thinner and with a smaller bezel. The camera is always going to be a hole. Maybe the home button will eventually morph to not being mechanical to touch sensitive.



    Over time the iPad will be a thin slab of glass with the screen going edge to edge. If the screen size changes at all it will be to increase in size so that it goes edge to edge in the current form factor and it will only change size maybe once or twice as Apple doesn't want to have multiple screen sizes.



    As for all this chatter over a smaller iPad, it won't happen. The smaller iPad screens people hear are being tested or shipped are for a new Apple product.
  • Reply 5 of 26
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple II Plus View Post




    As for all this chatter over a smaller iPad, it won't happen. The smaller iPad screens people hear are being tested or shipped are for a new Apple product.



    Perhaps the iPod Touch HD!
  • Reply 6 of 26
    airwireairwire Posts: 1member
    Remember that company that manufactured 50,000 iPhone 5 cases ahead of the launch of the later iPhone 4. When dealing with Apple it's always premature to come out with sonething before the launch because Apple doesn't want the new design to be leaked.
  • Reply 7 of 26
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple II Plus View Post


    How much change can one expect to an iPad. I mean, the main feature is what happens under that slab of glass. Over time it will get thinner and with a smaller bezel.



    Why would the bezel get smaller? It's not like current bezel thickness is required do to engineering limitations. It's a product of utility that fits your thumbs pretty well. Until they can work out how to make it bezel-free without interfering with your usage then it will remain about the same size as it always has.
  • Reply 8 of 26
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    So we're supposed to believe this?



    "Oh, it's for the iPad 3. You can tell this because you can see 'ipad3' TYPED INTO that field up there, and not a static unit code on the description of the product itself.'



    Really?



    that is the search field. the results show the iPad accessory (invisibleShield).



    that screen shot is not related to the first part about iPad 3 deliveries, but for that bit about 3rd party accessories flowing in.
  • Reply 9 of 26
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OllieWallieWhiskers View Post


    that is the search field. the results show the iPad accessory (invisibleShield).



    that screen shot is not related to the first part about iPad 3 deliveries, but for that bit about 3rd party accessories flowing in.



    And I'm saying it could be faked in less than a second by simply doing a search for "iPad 2", pulling up the result, and then typing "ipad3" [sic?] into the field.
  • Reply 10 of 26
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple II Plus View Post


    How much change can one expect to an iPad. I mean, the main feature is what happens under that slab of glass. Over time it will get thinner and with a smaller bezel. The camera is always going to be a hole. Maybe the home button will eventually morph to not being mechanical to touch sensitive.



    Over time the iPad will be a thin slab of glass with the screen going edge to edge. If the screen size changes at all it will be to increase in size so that it goes edge to edge in the current form factor and it will only change size maybe once or twice as Apple doesn't want to have multiple screen sizes.



    As for all this chatter over a smaller iPad, it won't happen. The smaller iPad screens people hear are being tested or shipped are for a new Apple product.



    Personally, I am looking forward to the day when the iPad can be folded like a piece of paper. Nano technology will make it possible. The step before that will be an iPad that weighs a mere 2 ounces due to Apple having taken out many of the excess atoms and replacing them with weak forces.
  • Reply 11 of 26
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by David Scubadiver View Post


    The step before that will be an iPad that weighs a mere 2 ounces due to Apple having taken out many of the excess atoms and replacing them with weak forces.



    That's Plancktech, not nanotech. We're a few centuries away from that.
  • Reply 12 of 26
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    And I'm saying it could be faked in less than a second by simply doing a search for "iPad 2", pulling up the result, and then typing "ipad3" [sic?] into the field.



    Zagg also has its iPad3 page ready (although) no pics of the ipad there):



    http://www.zagg.com/invisibleshield/...ns-shields.php
  • Reply 13 of 26
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Maybe it hasn't sunk into the minds of the Appleinsider staff yet but the iPad is a tablet. As such there is little room for external design. It is sort of like a StenoPad in that regard, the design was fitted to the task years ago.



    The real design of the iPad or any tablet for that matter is internal. That is the screen, electronics and the battery. In this regard if even half the rumors are true iPad 3 is a major redesign.
  • Reply 14 of 26
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by brutus009 View Post


    Announced on the 7th, released on the 9th! I'm a PROPHET!!!



    I'm going to counter with the 10th, if it is this weekend



    Why? That's the date the Apple tv is said to be available at the actual Apple store and it is too good of an upsale to launch without it fully restocked. In fact I wonder if a new stb is the mystery accessory. With perhaps a revamped Apple Remote app for the iPad
  • Reply 15 of 26
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    And I'm saying it could be faked in less than a second by simply doing a search for "iPad 2", pulling up the result, and then typing "ipad3" [sic…] into the field.



    The whole thing is meaningless anyway given that *most* iPad 2 cases will reportedly fit the iPad 3 just fine.



    The case in question is obviously one of those (you can tell from the picture of it how flexible it is), and is really just a matter of last year's case being put in a box that now says "iPad 3" on it.







    There is no "leak."

    There is no security issue.

    There is nothing this company knows that every company making cases doesn't know.

    There is no reason to keep it under wraps until the announcement.



    It's all just hot air, hype, and geek obsession.

    In other words the typical media landscape prior to an Apple announcement. \
  • Reply 16 of 26
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post


    I'm going to counter with the 10th, if it is this weekend



    Why? That's the date the Apple tv is said to be available at the actual Apple store and it is too good of an upsale to launch without it fully restocked. In fact I wonder if a new stb is the mystery accessory. With perhaps a revamped Apple Remote app for the iPad



    Well, I would bet Friday (likely the 9th) for Apple Stores, and possibly a Sunday for other channels (Best Buy, Target, etc. Though I bet Best Buy goes first). Sunday just happens to be 3/11, and the same day new "Weekly Ads" are available. Especially with items of high demand, retailers often hold stock to ensure there are at least a minimum number in stock on Sunday when the ad hits.
  • Reply 17 of 26
    If this is the Best Buy I know - somehow they will mess it up. Most inept group of people I've ever tried to buy stuff from.
  • Reply 18 of 26
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rickybill View Post


    If this is the Best Buy I know - somehow they will mess it up. Most inept group of people I've ever tried to buy stuff from.



    I once stopped a Best Buy employee (blue shirt, no Apple rep for that store) from selling a young couple a 21.5" iMac and a nVidia GTS 450 to go with it.



    That's right. He tried to sell them an extra GPU that was thicker than the iMac itself.
  • Reply 19 of 26
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cwoloszynski View Post


    Perhaps the iPod Touch HD!



    Naw. It will be nothing like an iPod Touch. Instead, it will be a smaller iPad, which shares zero in common with the iPod.
  • Reply 20 of 26
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post


    Why would the bezel get smaller? It's not like current bezel thickness is required do to engineering limitations. It's a product of utility that fits your thumbs pretty well. Until they can work out how to make it bezel-free without interfering with your usage then it will remain about the same size as it always has.



    You only need a thick bezel because of the weight. It gives you leverage.



    If the iPad were lightweight, the bezel could be narrow.
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