Or a R&D department at all, seems like it could be as simple as taking the same ipad design replacing some of the components with cheaper off the shelf componen

Or a R&D department at all, seems like it could be as simple as taking the same ipad design replacing some of the components with cheaper off the shelf components alternatives. They probably know more about how the ipad is made than most people at apple if they have the insider connections where it is being built.