New iPad 4 to go widescreen?

By Pamela Perez

 

Rumours are circulating that the new iPad 4 will have a widescreen of 16:9 aspect ratio, said Los Angeles industry analyst Paul Mueller who had a talk with some Apple insiders.

By Pamela Perez

 

Rumours are circulating that the new iPad 4 will have a widescreen of 16:9 aspect ratio, said Los Angeles industry analyst Paul Mueller who had a talk with some Apple insiders.

"I have talked to at least three people close to Apple who say that there are new iPad prototypes that have a 16:9 aspect ratio. They aren't talking about the upcoming iPad mini either," Mueller said.

There may just be some hope for this. Apple has gone for the widescreen with the iPhone 5- with its increased screen size to 4 inches. The 16:9 is the most common aspect ratio for TVs and is the standard format for HDTV content and analog widescreen TVs.

The current iPad has a screen that is just under 10 inches with an aspect ratio of 4:3.

There are however, some comments that the change, which would make the iPad taller and narrower, would make web browsing awkward. While this would really make movie-viewing better, it would also create a lot of dead space when users weren't watching something.

Also, with all the buzz about an iPad mini dropping in, a taller iPad counters what most analysts think Apple will do to a new iPad. A slimmer device is more feasible now that Lightning allows some free space than the 30-pin dock connector, but less horizontal space would mean less total usable screen area, something which seems like a step back in user experience design.

I suggest taking this news with a grain of salt, given that Mueller’s predictions don’t always pay off. He was wrong about an anticipated Verizon Galaxy S II launch date in the past.