that's A LOT different, than an upgrade from 720p to 1080p.
the difference between 720 and 1080 is so marginal that unless your sitting like 5 feet away from your tv you won't be able to see the difference.
plus, a retina display is actually 4 times the number of pixels of what the current ipad has.
It's so funny how we Mac fans post so much about the hunger for more, more, more (better CPUs, latest graphics cards, retina displays, more storage in iDevices, more Flash in iDevices, higher resolution cameras, etc), except for this ONE thing where we somehow have convinced ourselves that less than the max standard is THE way to go.
4 times the number of pixels on a 9-inch screen makes sense, but just 2 times the number of pixels on a 40, 50, 60, 70+ inch screen doesn't. So funny.
It is not "marginal" differences for everyone; I find it very easy to see the difference in my own situation. That's not saying that 720p looks bad. It's more along the lines of "why not?". If YOU are satisfied with Apple 720p standard, GREAT! You could still enjoy it to the fullest on 1080p hardware too, as better hardware can always play lesser-demanding software. It just doesn't work the other way.
Just about every other set top
TV-like box has long been 1080p. If Jobs wants to turn the page (vs. BD), he needs to deliver something that competes in the most fundamental benefit of BD: picture quality. When it comes to the fundamentals of computing technology, "good enough" is rarely what people want... they want "great". Except, for some reason, with this thing.