A lot of discussion regarding the next iteration of the iPad has been making internet waves recently, with a Chinese newspaper claiming a source close to Apple has revealed five major new features for the iPad 2. Considering that the iPhone and iPods are on a 1 year release schedule, and the iPad is an iOS device, it would be predicted that it will run a similar release schedule but this may not be the case and Apple may prove us wrong. Moving onto the list itself, the supposed features in iPad 2 are:
Video Calling (FaceTime)
New Display Technology (Retina Display, 2048 x 1536!)
3-axis gyroscope
‘Better Mobility’
USB
Now, looking at this list, you’ll find the first three are pretty much a given after the iPhone 4′s release. But as soon as you hit point four it gets dubious and five is very unlikely. I imagine the main reason that Apple would not add USB to the iPad would be because it can be used to load jailbreaks onto the device, this is great for the jailbreaking community but not so much for Apple. Better mobility could mean anything, I imagine that it means a lighter frame, possibly related to the patent filed a while back for a reinforced carbon fibre body which would give the iPad a sleek, black back with a white logo (If you wish to imagine it). Or it could refer to a new form factor alongside the current 9.7 inches.
In my eyes, the top five new features for iPad 2 would be:
Video Calling
New Display Technology
3-axis gyroscope
Double Sided Speaker
The first three I agree with from the first post, FaceTime makes perfect sense, a Retina Display would be amazing, especially with the resolution it should bring with the iPhone 4 doubling the resolution from the iPhone 3GS. And the gyroscope again is more than likely. The speaker on the iPad is only on one side of the device, resulting in this strange feedback that feels unbalanced, if a speaker were on both sides of the device at the base, then this would not be an issue and it would effectively bring stereo sound to the device.
