iPad 3 retina display supply and app problems likely

Apple is having its iPad event next week where three versions of the iPad 3 are expected to launch. The big feature of the new iPad is expected to be a retina display with a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels. It sounds great, but what many may not have thought of is applications designed to take advantage of that high-resolution screen will certainly be larger downloads. That could spell trouble for people who like to grab new apps on the go. The file size limit right now is 20 MB over 3G from the App Store. App developers who want to take advantage of all the resolution the new iPad will have to offer have to include “@2x” graphics, which are high-resolution image files. The problem is the inclusion of these high-resolution image files will certainly push file sizes on some apps over the 20 MB limit meaning there will be more apps that users will not be able to download to the iPad 3 over a 3G connection. A good example is the Bjango app Consume, which was 18.3 MB for the current iPad and will be about 35 MB for the new retina screen iPad. DigiTimes is reporting that Apple might not be able to ramp the supply of the iPad 3 due to that high-resolution screen. Sources are telling the publication that the Apple supply chain has failed to ramp up supply of the new panels. The result is the iPad 2 will continue to be the mainstream tablet shipping in Q1 2012 and the iPad 3 will start gaining shipping momentum in Q2 2012.