

IPad 2 introduces new headphone jack - bensummers
http://fury.com/2011/03/ipad-2-introduces-new-headphone-jack/

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zavulon
Whew, I almost got a heart attack reading the headline. As long as it's
compatible with my Shure EC2 headphones, I don't care what the headphone jack
looks like. Still remember the iPhone 1 headphone jack fiasco ...

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ugh
My iPod touch (3rd generation) also seems to use pogo pins. I got a toothpick
and played around with the contacts to see if they buckle. (Would be nice if
someone could confirm that.) The headphone jack also looks otherwise exactly
the same. (The iPod touch has, like the iPad 2, tapered edges.)

~~~
kfury
All headphone contacts buckle, and that's not enough to determine whether
they're cantilever or pogo pins. The biggest difference I've seen in Apple
jacks is that in their cantilever design the pins alternate from one side to
another, while their pogo pin patent shows all the pins on one side.

Can anyone who has access to an iPad 2 look inside the jack and see whether
they're alternating or not? I could absolutely be wrong with my assessment
based on the few photographs I found online prior to the iPad's availability.

I'd also be very interested to see a photo of what a headphone plug looks like
plugged in to the jack, to see how much of the ground pin is still exposed by
the tapering.

~~~
ugh
Ah, ok! Looks like my iPod doesn't have pogo pins after all, those pins
alternate.

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arrogant
You know, I didn't even notice the new headphone jack design, but that's very
clever. The iPad 2 is a very thin device; it's frankly amazing how they fit
everything into this case. It might not be the most technically powerful
device on the market but it's the feel of the device, not the specs, that are
impressive. There is a bit of the headphone plug exposed when you have some
plugged in, but touching it doesn't produce any sound issues, so I imagine
this is a nonissue.

~~~
ugh
The specs aren’t technically unimpressive. I thought they would be, too, but
Anandtech just started with their benchmarks and CPU performance is great [1],
GPU performance leaves everyone in the dust [2]. This, together with best in
class battery life makes me wonder why anyone would currently buy a
competitor. (The cameras are horrible. I guess if you really love cameras –
seriously love – then you might want to check out competitors.)

[1] [http://www.anandtech.com/show/4215/apple-
ipad-2-benchmarked-...](http://www.anandtech.com/show/4215/apple-
ipad-2-benchmarked-dualcore-cortex-a9-powervr-sgx-543mp2/2)

[2] [http://www.anandtech.com/show/4216/apple-ipad-2-gpu-
performa...](http://www.anandtech.com/show/4216/apple-ipad-2-gpu-performance-
explored-powervr-sgx543mp2-benchmarked/2)

~~~
EwanG
At the risk of being labeled an Android fanboy - I've bought three Viewsonic G
tablets after owning an iPad 1 for a few months. There's this thing out on the
web called "Flash" that quite a few sites seem to use that the Froyo on the
G-Tab supports. With Dolphin HD I also have integrated Password and Bookmark
sync with my desktop computers using LastPass and Xmarks. In Android I am able
to do some very nice things with Live Wallpapers to keep me updated on
weather, and give me a nice animation of the current conditions. Since the
G-Tab uses a Tegra 2 it has similar CPU and GPU ratings (Fruit Ninja HD looks
positively lovely). Oh, and it's WiFi, comes with 16 GB of RAM, a Micro SD
slot, a USB connection (external keyboard or USB stick) and costs $359.

So, there might be a FEW reasons to check out the competitors...

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arrogant
Yeah, there are definitely reasons to check out the competition. I don't know
why this has to be a competition between owners. I enjoy the device I own but
I acknowledge it has limitations.

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kfury
I'd like to reiterate the 'probably' I mention in the OP. I don't know that
this jack uses the new pogo pin design, but even if not, the tapered lip and
exposed ground pin is something new.

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wizawuza
"...since the ground ring is, well, grounded..." fyi, not true at all.. think
about it, how is a device that you're holding in the air (and NOT connected to
a power outlet through any sort of cables/adapters/etc) grounded? It's not. If
you plug your ipad into a wall socket via the 5V battery adapter it would be a
different story, but not until then.

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rish404
[http://www.9to5mac.com/28032/aapl-patent-watch-advances-
in-i...](http://www.9to5mac.com/28032/aapl-patent-watch-advances-in-iphone-
photography/)

Check the post date.

~~~
kfury
Yes, I noted in my blog post that the story about the patent application came
out September. 'Breaking the pogo pin story' wasn't the purpose of the post.

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tricross
iPod touch 4th gen is same curved body design and you can clearly see pogo
pins - so its nothing new in iPad 2

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adrianbye
so this means my headphones will work now with VOIP sip calls on my ipad?

