If the rumors that we’re hearing are true, Apple is deep in the production of an iPad that would include a multimode GSM-CDMA chip. That chip, barring all else, would supplant the current iPad 3G chip, turning the iPad into a worldwide-enabled device.
According to All Things Digital, Apple is planning on building 48 million iPad devices in 2011, but there is no word as to how many of those would contain the new chip. As we reported earlier, Apple’s 2nd-generation iPad is already primed for production, but this is a new twist to the story which would put Apple into a definitive power position with global wireless providers.
Other details about the world-edition device sound a lot like what we talked about in our earlier report. It’s likely slimmer, lighter and wouldn’t require pins as the present model does. Given people’s initial complaints over the heft of the current iPad, these ideas all seem solid.
We’ll be keeping an eye out on further news about a global edition iPad, and of course we’ll let you know anything we find.
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