iPad iPad 2nd gen - Wishes and Expectations?

[Dylrob]

You know what is going to happen: Sometime early 2011 Steve Jobs is going to walk on stage to announce the next generation iPad. With a release date around April.

I'm certain it will have a front facing camera for FaceTime. I also expect a moderate boost in hardware performance, consisting of a somewhat faster CPU clock speed and a doubling of RAM. I would like to see a more responsive touchscreen technology; There now exists screens which are simultaneously [multitouch] finger friendly, glove friendly, and stylus friendly. Another addition I would like to see is a second dock connector port.

So what features do you predict the iPad 2g will have? What features would you like to see?

[tubemonkey]

• USB x2 (eliminate proprietary port)
• mSD card reader
• HDMI
• webcam
• user replaceable battery
• 7" version

[murraypaul]

If we are talking predict rather than hope then a second docking port or switching to standard USB sockets will never happen.
A second docking port would make things very complicated unless one was just for charging, and Apple don't do complicated, they do simple.
Ditto replaceable battery. Have you seen from the teardowns how packed in the iPad batteries are? You have to reduce battery size, and more importantly, make it complicated, see above.
I think you'll see a webcam.
It may be too soon after Job's recent bashing to see a 7" iPad, although I hope there will be one eventually.
It is probably too soon for them to get Retina display levels of PPI on a iPad sized screen yet, but I think within a year or maybe two there will be a version with 2x or 3x the resolution. (So that apps can be easily scaled)

[Wasabihound]

Hi Dylrob

Thanks for opening this discussion.

One of my big gripes about the iPad was the lack of USB ports and the camera.

I am with MurrayPaul though, I reckon USB ports are not in the iPad future. When I was in Hong Kong I saw an (Apple) iPad adapter so you could transfer images from your camera to your iPad without needing the cable and to be honest I think this is the way it will go: if Apple do release something related to USB it will be an adapter that plugs into the docking port - ditto an HD SD card reader.

I wouldn't mind a secondary power only port - although not being an iPad owner I am not in touch with the convenience or inconvenience of iPad power.

A little more memory would be good and I reckon that will be part of the next gen roll out.

I reckon a 7' is a long way off given Jobs comments.

On the native app side I wonder if Apple will role out some native handwriting recognition app as well?

[Seanette]

Wonder what Apple's huge announcement tomorrow (11/16) is going to be?

[Wasabihound]

Hi Seanette.

According to Apple Insider it may have something to do with iTunes. Check their post here

Of course you can't trust everything you read in Forums!

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

If we are talking predict rather than hope then a second docking port or switching to standard USB sockets will never happen.
A second docking port would make things very complicated unless one was just for charging, and Apple don't do complicated, they do simple.
Ditto replaceable battery. Have you seen from the teardowns how packed in the iPad batteries are? You have to reduce battery size, and more importantly, make it complicated, see above.
I think you'll see a webcam.
It may be too soon after Job's recent bashing to see a 7" iPad, although I hope there will be one eventually.
It is probably too soon for them to get Retina display levels of PPI on a iPad sized screen yet, but I think within a year or maybe two there will be a version with 2x or 3x the resolution. (So that apps can be easily scaled)

Outside of a webcam, nothing I listed will ever see the light of day on an iPad. Jobs is an obsessed individual bent on a minimalistic approach taken to absurdity.

[Seanette]

Originally Posted by Wasabihound

Hi Seanette.

According to Apple Insider it may have something to do with iTunes. Check their post here

Of course you can't trust everything you read in Forums!

Yeah, I know to take anything not coming from the official source with at least a few grains of salt.

[Crowl]

I expect we will get cameras for facetime, a faster processor and more memory and probably nfc hardware, the ipad is in a strong position with the lead it has built up in the market so they probably won't go all out on upping specs or adding a retina display in the same way that 3 gens of iphone stuck with the same resolution since it kept that part of things simple when it came to apps.

I personally can't see myself buying one whatever changes the make since my existing ipad works just fine for what I need and only a change of size would lead to new uses for one, but looking at the way I use my current one, I would like the connector to move to one of the long sides as the times when I would want it standing up in a dock also seem to be better suited to landscape use as well.

[Rob_E]

Wishes and expectations are two very different things. My expectations are for a front facing camera and a faster processor. Those are pretty much my wishes, too. I don't actually have need of a camera, but maybe when my wife gets her iPhone we'll want to use Facetime.
As for wishes, I don't know. It does pretty much everything I want it to. Having a USB port instead of the dock port, like tubemonkey said, would be nice because it would eliminate the need for the camera connector kit, but it's unlikely to happen. Like Crowl, I don't anticipate upgrading. I expect 2.0 will be an improvement, but I don't expect it to blow 1.0 out of the water.
I would like to see some on board file system that let you share files between apps more easily, but that's really an iOS wish more than an iPad wish. Likewise I'd like to see wireless syncing, but again, that's software.

[Dylrob]

Originally Posted by Rob_E

Wishes and expectations are two very different things.

Well yes, I am asking two separate questions: what people think it will have, and what they would like it to have.

Originally Posted by Rob_E

I would like to see some on board file system that let you share files between apps more easily, but that's really an iOS wish more than an iPad wish.

That would be a very welcome change. It would eliminate the need for awkward web-based workarounds.

[Seanette]

So we now know Apple's oh-so-earthshattering announcement was adding the Beatles to their iTunes store. Whoopie.

I like the Beatles, but I'm just not seeing why this is SUCH A HUGE THING as to justify all the hype about how unforgettably world-changing this "big announcement" was going to be.

[harakiri]

getting more memory and and a facetime camera.

I never had any memory issues so far, but its possible that having a camera you need more.
Apart from that they probably need to change the connector. There is a campaign in Europe to have a standard micro-usb connector for charging devices. It seems that Apple even agreed to use it for iPhones, so it would make sense for them to do the same on the iPad.

Apart from that I guess not much will change (maybe the new mute switch will disappear ....)

What I would like to have is more software related. A version of the Photo.app that simply can do more than being a cool picture frame. Like support for my USB card reader for example, or be able to integrate better with iPhoto.
On the hardware site maybe make it a bit lighter. 7" is too small for my liking, maybe 8" or so. But don't make it 16x9 format. 4x3 is perfect

[holterzoff]

Hi, I wonder why nobody mentions a better display (retina) on their wishlist. It's the only thing where the iPad suffers as a reader in my opinion.
Regards

[harakiri]

I think the current display is good enough

But I guess the real answer is that its unrealistic. If you keep the iPad at its current size having a display with the resolution of a retina display is much too pricey for a consumer device