14 DAY TRIAL // Although the iPad 3 release date is highly uncertain, it appears that component manufacturers are already gearing up to serve up the goods, with the very first iPad 3 part leaked on the web this week.
A reliable source of Apple leaks in the past, Apple.pro claims to have obtained what appears to be the dock connector of the third-generation Apple tablet.
Unlike the connectors on the iPad 1 and iPad 2, this one has a white connector (which would suggest Apple has plans to match the tablet’s color with the plug), and a 90-degree bent ribbon (also a notable difference between this part and the ones found inside the first- and second-gen iPads).
The part is labeled “821-1259-06″. By comparison, the iPad 2 dock connector is designated “821-1180-A”.
Lastly, the Taiwanese source says the hardware is sourced from Apple’s “internal inventory.”
The leak could not be traced to anyone in particular, according to the site. Not that anyone expect it to be traced anyway.
Apple.pro has been responsible for accurately leaking several Apple components and device chassis in the past.
One example is the sixth-generation iPod nano which emerged looking exactly as the site had predicted. Other similar leaks saw those products materialize as well.
However, they haven’t been 100% accurate either. For example, last year a camera-enabled iPod nano enclosure was shown by Apple.pro in alleged leaked pictures.
While Apple may indeed be testing prototypes of camera-equipped nanos, the media player is yet to see the light of day in the form depicted by those respective images.
As for the iPad 3, Apple is reportedly talking to various component makers and assembly plants to get the show on the road.
While previously thought to have chosen two manufacturers for its third post-PC device, Apple has reportedly been convinced by longtime partner Foxconn Electronics to allow it to handle the entire workload.
A launch date for the iPad 3 is difficult to forecast at this time, though most analysts who track Apple believe it will happen sometime in early 2012. Some fall 2011 rumors persist as well.