I just read PCMag’s article on what it’s staff hopes to see in the next iPad… due to be announced tomorrow. Here is PCMag’s list:
10. Lighter iPad
9. Lower Cost
8. Upgrade/Trade-In Path
7. Flash
6. Near-Field Communications (NFC)
5. Better Camera
4. Smaller Size
3. 4G LTE
2. USB Port
1. Retina Display
Get a grip.Let’s take them one at a time.
Lighter iPad – really… it is too heavy at 1.33 lbs.. but you want all the other stuff. Whatever. Go to the gym and workout.
Lower Cost – You’re kidding, right? You will be able to buy the old iPad 2 for a slightly lower price until they run out. Apple is selling iPads by the truck load. Why lower the price? Make money… that’s the ticket. Until people stop buying them because of the cost… $499 is the price of admission. Save up!
Upgrade/Trade-In Path – Since when does Apple want to sell used iPads. Forget it… no trade in.
Flash – Haven’t we beat this dead horse enough already. Let me put it this way… NO FLASH!!!
Near-Field Communications (NFC) – Finally… a maybe. I can see this one… but I can see it not happening as well. Remember, Apple is slow to jump on bleeding edge technology. They prefer to give the technology a chance to mature… then stomp on everyone by doing it in a simpler, more elegant fashion. And if it is not quite as good as someone else… it doesn’t matter. Simple and elegant will win. Also… I don’t see Apple doing this unless they can get a cut. You make a payment by taping your phone on something at a store… and you expect Apple to enable this without collecting a penny each time. The problem with NFC is that it will likely be billed through your phone bill. I already hate my phone bill with more cryptic charges than I can shake a stick at. That’s why I like an unlimited plan… at least the bill is the same every month. Not so with this, so I say this is less likely. Besides… I still haven’t see a place that has the receiving end of this in any of the stores I shop at. This can wait until it id more mature. Wait a minute… this is not the iPhone 5… forget what I said above. I was thinking the next iPhone. There is no reason to have this in an iPad. Who in there right mind is going to pull an iPad out of their pocket to pay for something.
Better Camera – I can see this one too, but I hope they don’t do it. People look pretty silly holding up an iPad to take a picture. Wait a minute… I have never seen someone take a picture with an iPad. Why waste your time on this. Please don’t do it, but they probably will. They will do this only because it must be easy to just drop in the camera from the iPhone 4S.
Smaller Size – I must confess, I think it is conceivable that Apple will launch an 8 inch-ish size iPad. And this is the only chance of getting a lower price. In reality… I have a hard time believing this one. Surfing the web on the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet is a bit of a let down compare to a larger screen. Web sites were designed for computers… and they still show the size of that. So going smaller might be an issue. Also, this would require developers of all those apps to target three sizes…. the iPhone, and 2 sized iPads. So although I can see this happening… I have a lot of doubts.
4G LTE, – How many people really use the 3G of the current iPads? Do we really need the extra speed? A lot of people use the WiFi most of all. I can only see this if they can swing the same price for the service. No more than $30 a month… without a contract.
USB Port – Never going to happen.
Retina Display – Strong maybe here. I do think that the iPad is due for a higher resolution screen. But… what about all the apps? They run at 1024 x 768… full screen. What would be the point of getting more resolution? So you can jam lots more stuff on screen. How well will your finger be able to touch smaller buttons? I do not see the resolution quadrupling (double in both directions… 2048 x 1536). I would like this one but it doesn’t matter that much. And remember… I think having a smaller iPad… with a different resolution… is going to cause chaos. Maybe if a smaller iPad comes out with the same resolution as the iPad 1 & 2, so all the apps fit on it just smaller… then a higher resolution full size iPad could be possible. But that is a big change to expect from Apple on its 3rd generation… especially when the iPad 2 sold over 15 million in the last three months of 2011 alone.
What do I expect. Not a lot. Apple tends to make incremental improvements on its products. The iPhone looked pretty much the same from 1 –> 2 –> 3 –> 3S. I expect the iPad to be an evolutionary step up. Meaning a faster processor, faster graphic processor, better touch gestures. Stuff like that.
That being said… I am getting a bonus this week… so maybe I will buy one. I already had a co-working ask me about it… because they too are thinking about spending their bonus on an iPad or a laptop.
Tomorrow I will review this list and see what happened. And tell you what I think of what is in the iPad 3.
See you then.
