Apple fans hoping for first glimpse of new iPad

Kevin Rawlinson
Wednesday 02 March 2011 01:00 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Today sees the much-discussed launch of Apple’s iPad 2, the successor to company’s popular tablet product. Or at least, that’s what Apple is expected to unveil at an event it has organised for this afternoon.

True to form, the company has steadfastly refused to confirm or deny anything other than the fact it “is hosting an event”, fuelling the kind of “self perpetuating speculation” a leading technology journalist has called: “the golden key to its success”.

“Apple almost doesn’t need to do any promotion because we are locked into a cycle. I would imagine there is some managed, strategic leaking of information going on. There are also things that leak from third party manufacturers, such as cases with holes for camera lenses which fuel speculation,” said Martin Bryant, European Editor of technology website The Next Web.

Apple launches are typically hotly-anticipated affairs with hysteria whipping-up among the Californian company’s die-hard advocates often months in advance, despite Apple’s strictly adhered-to policy of refusing to release any details.

Bryant said: “The wall of silence adds to the anticipation and the excitement that surrounds an expected Apple launch. It is self perpetuating: the less the company says, the more people want them to speak and the more the attention to the announcement they eventually make grows.” But he admitted that he did not know how long that kind of interest would last.

He added: “Certainly in terms of technology, a lot of announcements happen without any notice so that all of the bloggers get the information at the same time, creating a burst of excitement as they all rush to cover it at the same time.” An Apple spokesman refused to comment further.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in