If i found a comment thread made right after the prospect of the next iPhone having a 960x640 resolution display was initially speculated, after finding the EXACT same kind of evidence they're showing here, but changed "iPhone" to "iPad 2" and "960x640" to "2048x1536", you would think everyone was talking about the iPad 2. I remember people literally saying the EXACT same things: that kind of resolution on that size of screen would be overkill, it would require a ridiculous graphics chip, it would eat way too much battery, and it would be way too cost prohibitive. Pretty much everyone said it would be impossible.
It's not like they're talking about quadrupling the display or something, this is a relatively minor 2x bump. The dual core processor coupled with the dual core graphics chip that's all but guaranteed to go into the next iPad could easily push a display like that. As far as cost is concerned, Apple has an extremely unique position in the tablet computer field. They're guaranteed to sell tens of millions of devices in the first year alone. They have unparalleled bulk purchasing power that will allow them to sell an ultra high resolution display while maintaining their infamously high margins.
Apple knows they're dominating in the mobile arena and they're not about to slip up. They've already got the software aspect nailed down and if they dominate in the hardware aspect as well, there's no stopping them. The first thing you notice when using any mobile device is the screen. Creating a screen that makes every other tablet computer look like it came from a decade ago is one of teh smartest things they can do hardware wise. Their biggest competitors are targeting, and just barely beating, the current iPad with their soon to be released tablets, (at least hardware wise) but when Apple drops a 2048x1536 bomb on them, they won't even see it coming and their pathetic attempts will look like last years news.
