The U.S. manufacturer Apple expected to unveil on Wednesday a new version of its tablet computer iPad, which should be given additional features to better counter the competition from devices left by other manufacturers lately.
On the eve of the conference format in San Francisco (California, western United States) from 1800 GMT, the blogosphere was buzzing with rumors about the new waiting.
Apple, for its part has merely invite journalists by sending them a picture showing the corner of a calendar sheet is covered on an iPad.
A year ago, the Apple boss Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad, calling it "revolutionary and magical product really." This year Mr.Jobs, 56, is on sick leave since mid-January, but according to the news site specializing All Things Digital, however it would consider making an appearance to attend the presentation of the iPad 2.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs, "the device should provide a first line of defense against competing tablets expected in the coming months."An enhanced memory, a more powerful microprocessor, cameras front and back, perhaps a thinner design and more angular, could characterize the new device.
"In today's market, we can not wait long to deliver an update," he told AFP by Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney, who said that "other tablets have caught at least ( capacity) of the model last year. "
Monday, Motorola's Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha said he was pleased with initial sales of its tablet Xoom, running the Google Android Honeycomb: very noticed the large electronics show in Las Vegas in January, the unit is stores since Thursday and it has "started well", despite its hefty price tag.
Samsung sells for several months his Galaxy Tab, and BlackBerry prepares its playbook for its part, while Hewlett-Packard has announced its TouchPad for next summer.
In February, the consulting firm Deloitte predicts that it would sell a total of fifty million tablets this year. Apple has sold some 15 million iPad 2010.
