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!