Leaked images of purported cases for Apple's iPad 2—or whatever the successor device will actually be called—have hit the news site 9to5 Mac and the trading site Alibaba. However, don't run over there expecting to see exactly what Apple's to-be-announced product might look like.
Why's that? An unnamed company has allegedly contacted said sites with takedown notices for the case pictures. And according to Padgadget, which spoke to a company involved in Apple's supply chain, the reasoning behind the takedowns is that the leaked images are "extremely accurate" to the design of the iPad 2.
The iPad 2—again, based on the leaked pictures—looks as if it will run with a contoured structure in a manner similar to Apple's rectangle-to-curves redesign of the iPhone and iPod touch devices. Also, expect to see tapered edges on the iPad refresh. The iPad will gain a larger rear speaker and, more importantly, a rear-facing camera. While it might appear silly for one to hold up a giant tablet device to take a giant picture, camera support is certainly one feature that iPad owners (or wannabe owners) have been clamoring for throughout the year.
A mysterious, unidentifiable port found on the iPad 2's design schematics is validated by the existence of an opening on the left side of the iPad 2's rumored case shots. While many are citing this as proof that the iPad will be the first Apple mobile device to come with a built-in USB port, the jury's still out as to which kind of USB port it will actually be—a regular USB connection, a mini-USB connection or, if neither, a boring ol' SD card slot.
The details unveiled by the alleged case still don't cover many of the rumors persisting over the iPad 2. And that's even assuming that the cases themselves are legitimate—nobody's revealing the mysterious company behind the case image takedowns.
"We do not know whether these products are what they say they are, but we have received a legitimate takedown request and are removing the listings," said Alibaba Group spokesman John Spelich in an interview with the Wall Street Journal this past week.