Leaked images suggest smaller dock connector for Apple iPad3

Part photos revealed by an Asian supplier website, purporting to represent an Apple iPad 3 prototype design, seem to indicate that the next generation of the tablet PC will feature a slimmer, smaller connector that shrinks the familiar 30-pin configuration into a streamlined form factor that would presumably result in incompatibilities with current dock connector accessories.

As reported by The iPad Guide's Fred Straker, "It's possible that if a new connector is introduced on the iPad 3, other Apple products including the iPhone would follow. A simple adapter could be produced for backward compatibility with larger dock connectors assuming the 30-pin innards of the parts have not changed. A smaller connector would give Apple more latitude in designing even thinner and lighter mobile devices."

The tech bloggers at PadGadget, however, speculate that rumors of the smaller connector will prove false, while holding out hope that the iPad 3 will instead bear Apple's MagSafe connector. We shall see!

Apple share dive stuns Wall Street

Reuters is reporting that Apple has experienced some rare disappointment as its share value plummeted in the wake of lackluster quarterly results. Revenue and earnings for the world's most valuable technology corporation reportedly fell short of Wall Street's targets, as sales of its flagship iPhone also came in well short of expectations. The company's CFO explained that iPhone sales came in ahead of internal expectations but were hurt in September by customers waiting for a new version. The September quarterly report was Apple's first under new CEO Tim Cook, who takes over during a critical juncture for the company. As noted by Reuters, Apple is currently battling the fast-rising Google Inc. in the mobile arena, while fending off consumer electronics giants such as Samsung and Amazon.com.

Sources: Foxconn Brazil's $12B iPad deal could implode

According to sources cited in a Reuters report, Apple contract manufacturing partner Foxconn's much publicized $12 billion plan to produce iPads in Brazil is now "in doubt" due to "stagnant negotiations over tax breaks and Brazil's own deep structural problems such as a lack of skilled labor." The report states that, while the initial proposal to build Apple's sleek tablet PCs in Brazil was hailed as a sign of the country's burgeoning economic ties with Asia and overall economic growth, hopes for the "Brazilian iPad" have reportedly since withered, as certain local realities have remained unchanged. These include factories that have struggled for years with high taxes, an overvalued currency, and a lack of qualified workers due to poor education and a tight labor market.

Full Story: Brazil's $12 billion iPad deal is in trouble: sources (reuters.com)

Steve Jobs made technology luminaries of us all

BusinessWeek has gathered an assortment of quotes from the world's foremost technology and new media executives, offering thoughts, memories, and reflections on the passing of one of the true titans of the Internet age: Apple's Steve Jobs. His extraordinary acumen in melding the realms of technology and business with creativity to provide the vivid, integral template that the Apple ethos has come to represent for millions in their digitally connected lives will be best remembered in terms of gratitude. He has been compared to Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and John Lennon in the epochal nature and magnetic popular appeal of his conceptions. For the democratizing effect of bringing the benefits of "insanely great" computer technology to the common person for their traversal of our now irrevocably interconnected digital world, history may yet place his legacy at an even higher plane. He will be sorely missed; but, for the brilliant execution of his universal vision in the devices he conceived for us, safely said, never forgotten.

Apple issues Micro USB to dock connector for iPad, iPhone

In Europe, Apple will soon be offering a Micro USB to Dock connector adapter for the iPhone and iPad. The heavy emergence of the Micro USB standard, specifying a small form factor USB connector, was officialized when the connector was approved by the Open Mobile Terminal Platform (OMTP) and three global industry bodies as the industry charging standard for mobile handsets, on the heels of its approval in Europe as the industry standard universal connector for all mobile handsets. These moves came in an effort to consolidate handset charging connectivity with an eye toward reducing the volume of electronics product in landfills globally, as each subsequent generation of handsets' "proprietary" dongles go into them as trash.

Apple's issuing the new adapter, however, has Macgasm's tech blogger Joshua Schnell scratching his head:

"Thankfully it’s cheap enough that it may encourage people to pick up the connector instead of purchasing numerous cables. However, I’m not exactly sure how the EU thinks creating connectors will help the problem, despite allowing companies to create adapters instead of changing their devices to meet the new standard. In addition to shipping all iOS devices with a dock connector cable, Apple will also begin shipping a Dock to USB conversion connector. Doesn’t that just double the stuff going into landfills? Apple met their requirements in the EU, but something tells me the EU folks calling these shots didn’t exactly realize that they could be making the problem worse. Instead of looking for a new cable, customers will begin looking for a new dock connector conversion adapter. What’s the difference?"