It’s the most definitive assurance yet that Apple’s next iPad will include a screen with a near “retina display”-quality resolution: DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim has told CNET that “production has started” for 2048x1536, 10-inch-class tablet screens, and three manufacturers—Samsung, Sharp and LGD—are supplying parts to Apple.

“It takes a couple of weeks for the production to go to the [the manufacturers],” Shim told CNET. “Then the manufacturer puts them in the housing. Then, that goes off to shipment. We could start seeing finished devices produced in December. And then being ready to be shipped in January. With volumes gearing up in February and March.”

Shim’s words bear a confidence that’s been missing from most discussions concerning the iPad 3’s display aspirations.

Just three weeks ago, when I directly asked DisplaySearch Senior Vice President Paul Semenza if he thought Apple would be able to deliver an iPad 3 with a 2048×1536 screen resolution by the first quarter of 2012, he told me, “We don’t have a forecast on it, no. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t get there. They’re dealing with a lot of new technologies.”

Indeed, producing relatively small, ultra-high-resolution displays is still a significant manufacturing challenge. The display industry’s manufacturing infrastructure hasn’t been optimized to deliver this type of display, and the fabrication machines— or “fabs” —that would produce the displays in mass volume have been slow to go online.

What’s more, because their pixels are so small, and packed together so densely in such small physical spaces, it’s very difficult for a manufacturer to maintain high production yields (a problem exacerbated by the slow roll-out of appropriate manufacturing machinery). Multiple displays are fabbed on a single poly-silicon wafer, and for every perfect display a fab produces, it may have to junk another.

“We know there are yield issues. This is certainly a huge step up as far as pixel format, and every time you do that, there will be yield issues. But this is going forward,” said Rhoda Alexander, director of tablet and monitor research for the research firm iSuppli.

So what’s a “yield issue” anyhow? It’s a term that’s been casually tossed around anytime the iPad 3’s super-high-res display is discussed—but what does it really mean?

“There are a number of reasons why a panel would be rejected—a dead pixel, a pixel stuck on, a pixel stuck off. You may get issues where luminescence is inconsistent from edge to edge, and all manner of other problems,” Alexander says.

Yield issues notwithstanding, industry analysts now seem confident that Apple is moving forward with a super-high-resolution iPad for sale in the new year, and if history tells us anything, the company is willing to pay high manufacturing prices up front for the promise of delivering a high-impact product that no other company is shipping.

In fact, says Alexander, Apple has been down this road already with the original iPad.

“When we look at the iPad 1,” says Alexander, “when it was first released, the yield issues were down around 50 percent. For every 100 panels made, 50 didn’t make spec. This is not an unusual situation, and this is at the point when the iPad 1 was released. So, while yields may be low, [the display manufacturers] can still produce acceptable products. But they will improve their yields and at a faster pace than you would expect them to. Panel prices go down over time, and Apple will realize efficiencies over an entire product cycle.”

It should be noted that if the iPad 3 arrives with a 9.7-inch, 2048×1536 display, that screen’s pixel density would still be 264 pixels per inch—far short of the 300 pixels per inch that Apple defines as “retina display” quality (“a pixel density so high that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels,” according to Apple marketing claims).

Whether Apple’s retina display claims are valid—when the iPhone 4 launched, one of the world’s pre-emininent display experts told us they’re not—the new iPad 3’s screen should still be spectacular. The current iPad 2’s display bears a pixel density of just 132 pixels per inch, so a purported 264 pixels per inch in the iPad 3 should be dazzling.

Perhaps even more dazzling: Shim told CNET that Apple is interested in making a smaller iPad with a 7.85-inch screen and late 2012 launch date. “If there’s demand, there’s no reason they wouldn’t build a 7.85-inch iPad,” Shim said.

Right. No reason save the fact Steve Jobs was vehemently opposed to smaller tablet form factors. Seeing Tim Cook scuttle the mandate of Steve Jobs post-mortem would be a spectacle indeed.

iOS Blog: American Airlines Receives FAA Approval for iPads in Cockpit
Dec 13, 2011 12:21 pm PST by Jordan Golson
The FAA has granted approval to American Airlines to use the iPad during all phases of flight, according to ZDNet. The first iPad-enabled flights are set to begin Friday on American's Boeing 777 aircraft.


On Friday, American Airlines is the first airline in the world to be fully FAA approved to use iPads during all phases of flight. Pilots will use iPads as electronic chart and digital flight manual readers. The airline will begin iPad operations on B-777 aircraft, and then implement across all other fleets. By using electronic charts and manuals, the safety and efficiency on the flight deck is significantly enhanced. Both the iPad I and the iPad II have been approved for use. Other airlines such as United, Alaska, and UPS are also reviewing this potential, but none have been approved to conduct flight operations in all phases of flight except American. This FAA approval cumulates the results from a 6 month test period whereby American flew thousands of hours with iPads to test and evaluate the product.

A number of aviators, including those in the Marine Corps and Alaska Airlines, have begun using iPads to reduce the number of paper maps flight crews must carry and fly with. The switch saves paper, and thus fuel, by reducing the weight of flight bags which can weigh several dozen pounds.

Japanese Apple Fans Line Up for Annual 'Lucky Bag' Discounts
Jan 2, 2012 10:08 am PST by Eric Slivka
Tech in Asia reports on the Japanese tradition of "lucky bags" in which retailers celebrate the new year by offering customers grab bags filled with unknown items at a substantial discount from their retail prices. In exchange for the substantial discounts, customers must simply accept whatever products are in the bags.


Apple lucky bag with iPad 2, Smart Cover, Camera Connection Kit, headphones, and more

Apple offers some of the most highly sought-after lucky bags, with customers paying hundreds of dollars for bags hoping to receive their favorite big-ticket items. This year's lucky bags from Apple were sold for 33,000 yen, or the equivalent of about $430.
I always considered myself a pretty big Apple fan, but this event seems to bring out the most hard-core fanboys. Back in 2010 I tried to queue for a lucky bag, arriving at the store at 5am only to find that overnight campers had filled all the spots. This year the bag cost 33000 yen (about $430), and most customers are hoping that there will be a big ticket item inside like an iPad 2 or a Macbook Air.

Japanese blog Macotakara posts a gallery of photos showing the contents of several lucky bags, with the biggest prize being an 11-inch MacBook Air bundled with a sleeve for the computer, a Magic Mouse, and a pair of headphones. Other lucky bags shown in the gallery offered either a 16 GB Wi-Fi iPad 2 or an 8 GB iPod touch as the main item.

Bloomberg is reporting today that the iPad 3 has gone into production ahead at Foxconn of a planned March debut — manufacturing will apparently be running at full-tilt by February. The new tablet is said to have a quad-core processor, a high-res display, and LTE — all specs we've heard in the past, but Bloomberg says it has three sources confirming the news. Apple's said to be okay with the increased power draw of the LTE chipset because of the iPad's larger battery, and the display is said to look like "printed material," which lines up nicely with the 2048 x 1536 resolution that's been rumored forever — that would be a pixel density of 253dpi, which isn't quite up to Apple's Retina Display standard of 300dpi, but still much higher than the current iPad 2's 132.