No 7" Ipad? Merciful Buddha! Ipad the next generation is on!
There was this doubt, lingering deep in the back of my mind. Cold sweats, insomnia...What if Apple is really doing what a bunch of the rumors floating suggest---making a 7" Ipad? Of course, Apple doesn't make products based on rumors, and many like His Gruberness, who has deep connects, had discounted such an idea as somewhat ludicrous. Nevertheless, I had doubts.
One of the main things that was bugging me was the resolution of the current Ipad. The pixel density is so much less than the Iphone 4 with its "retina display." Of course under ideal circumstances for consumers the 2nd Gen Ipad's display will possess a pixel density at least so fine as to be called "retina" (which means something on the iphone 4) and also be able to properly scale the existing Ipad content for a smooth transition. The argument for a 7" was that it would be easier (CPU/memory/battery-wise) and cheaper to support such pixel density in a smaller form factor. This is what pained me. Of course that argument has valid points, but if Apple implemented it we'd all be getting screwed.
The Samsung Tab strikes me as infinitely less useful than the Ipad. Half or 45% of the display area means you won't be able to web pages for shiz compared to the Ipad. Also one big reason (amongst key others) behind my wanting to get an Ipad in the first place is to read ebooks that I already have. Many of them have pages the same size as normal book pages and the text is set in a single page (can't be scaled). I think one of the main reasons the Ipad is 10", has to do with the size of a standard book page. I have nothing against buying new ebooks from a kindle or ibooks app (where the text can be scaled), but I don't want to just ditch my precious partially legitimate collected library of ebooks that I have. Now, Jobs has come through and ruled out that brazen piece of 7" sheet rumor. Word. If it would have come to a decision between a 7" 2nd Gen and a 10" 1st Gen, I would have had to go with the 10", but it would have caused me oh so much pain.
Just as Picard's ride was so much more fine than Kirk's, I think the 2nd gen is going to have:
Definitely:
-Front facing camera (which I might use once)
-Microphone (Will come in handy)
-More memory 512MB-1GB (This is rather important)
Likely:
-A faster processor (Maybe even dual)
-Improved Speaker System
-New Form Factor (Aluminum, Liquid Metal, or Steel Back, I doubt glass.)
Quite Possible:
-Mac OSX integration (Itunes or similar directly on the Ipad, mark my words!)
-Ability to sync an Ipad and Iphone
-Resolution Bump
-Better Battery Life (This will depend a lot on whether there are large processor, memory, and resolution bumps. I would take the same battery life as the current Ipad with the fore-mentioned bumps over better battery life, though all of them together would be the best.)
-Extra Button(s) and/or Extra Lock Switch
Possible:
Resolution Bump to a Retina Display
Added Ports, (USB would be nice, but I doubt it.)
Don't Rule Out:
A larger Ipad (This might come after the 2nd Gen, but, it is inevitable I say!)
Don't expect a holodeck (we can dream), yet all in all, I think the 2nd Gen Ipad will be quite better than the 1st. The key difference I see in the new Ipad will be its ability to function as a complete computer. Apple has to realize that this must come to pass. Whether it means that there will be some new added docking ability to a keyboard to function more like a laptop, or that the IOS software itself along with hardware bumps will allow more independence, I think Apple knows that the touch interface is the future and they would be short sighted to not work towards making it as independent as possible. There is an enormous market of PC laptop users, whose hearts are ripe to be plucked by the nimble ninja fingers of Jobs. Mind you, the shackles of the Ipad will be unleashed. Freedom is coming, especially with that 7" rank rumor gas blown away. Engage.
