IF resolution does indeed improve...

It technically CAN be done, and Apple has more power than anyone else to get developers to keep adapting their apps to new screen resolutions. But I just don't see it happening here. Not this year. None of the competing tablets recently announced run at any higher of a resolution (unless I'm mistaken), so why rush it on just the 2nd gen? Apple doesn't usually work that way.

I think resolution will remain the same this year and perhaps go up the next. Just my guess.

 

I would imagine that they would keep the aspect ratio the same, so the width and height would both increase by the same multiple.

In that case, some apps may look a bit blurry until updated, but all of them that use the native iPad controls (meaning they don't use custom user interface graphics) will look correct.

Obviously it's been discussed at length how a 2x increase in both dimensions is impractical, but if it's something like a 1.4x increase in both dimensions I think they could make it work.

 

Personally I hope the resolution goes up on the second generation. I find my iPad harder to read from after using my iPhone 4. This may be just me and I notice it a lot but it does sometimes bother me. Now I highly doubt the iPad 2 will get the same pixel density as the iPhone 4 but I just hope it goes some.

As for the apps, I think they should run fine and the developer can update if they choose. Just like older apps run fine on an iPhone 4, even though they don't look as good they work fine.

 

The problem there is that if they don't exactly double the pixels both vertically and horizontally, any original iPad apps would look very distorted, just like an image on a computer LCD looks bad if it's not at native resolution. However, it would be worse with the iPad, as you are going to have it closer to your eyes than a computer screen, so it will be even more obvious. It would also be much more of a pain for devs, as the conversion between standard res and higher res would be more complicated. Rather than just taking one pixel and splitting it into four, it would be splitting it into fractions.

Or, if they were to do like they did with the iPhone and iPod, and double the pixels in each direction, the resolution would be rather high, and it could create problems for the GPU or require a more powerful one, thus reducing battery life or increasing weight. The panel would also likely be very expensive as well, so cost would become an issue. This works well on the iP4/iPT4 because 960x640 is still a relatively low resolution, and is easy to power. The current iPad screen has a higher res than that to begin with, so quadrupling the amount of pixels would be no easy task.

I'd love to see it, and I think we will eventually, but I don't believe we will see a different display in the second generation iPad.

 

I'm afraid you are mistaken. Here is a bit about the Xoom.

Motorola has also given out some details on Xoom’s specs. The tablet boasts a 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor, 1 GB of DDR2 RAM, a 10.1 inch capacitive touch screen which supports a 1280 x 800 resolution , a 5.0 MP rear-facing camera with 4x Digital Zoom and Auto Focus, 720p video recording and 1080p video playback, 32 GB of storage, 802.11 n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. If you’re into sizes, you should know that Motorola Xoom is a 249.1 mm x 167.8 mm x 12.9 mm tablet, weighing 730 g. Oh, good news about the battery life: Xoom will be able to last for up to 10 hours of video playback!


Now, for a few words about the accessories that will accompany the new Xoom tablet. The Speaker HD dock is a pair of speakers for hands-free video chatting and media viewing. The Standard Dock allows you to use your tablet at the most convenient angle while it is charged up. Other accessories include a Bluetooth keyboard, which is also compatible with your phone, and a portfolio case (available in two versions, leather and durable). Pricing is a mystery at the moment, for both the Xoom and for its accessories. We promise we’ll come with more news once we get some.

 

Point taken. Though I will say that this is a fairly small increase over the 1024x768 of the iPad, and most of the extra pixels are used in the horizontal direction to facilitate the widescreen format of that device. That means the pixel density is not necessarily higher and it won't solve the issues with text readability and such that people are raising here.

 

Is the xoom also 4:3 aspeqct ratio? I think the resolution will be increased slightly as there are way too many rumors from sources "in the know" saying it will go up.

Debs will just have to make do after all why would apple care, if devs want the monies they'll have to adapt.