This week the European Trademarks and Designs Registration Office confirmed that one of Apple's new iPad designs is displaying an extra left side 30 pin connector to allow it to dock in landscape mode under application 001222905-0001. The first sighting of this design was noted on September 25, 2010. This time around, we see that Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive have signed off on the design.
Using the iPad docked in horizontal mode with the physical keyboard accessory would simulate the wide-screen experience of working on a laptop, as well as allow users to view and access additional settings menus that only appear when the device is tipped sideways, which can be found in the company's Pages, Numbers, and Keynote apps.
Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20019886-260.html#ixzz12je00X5S
Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20019886-260.html#ixzz12je00X5S
