iPad 2G Predictions - Will we finally see a USB Port?
We have been hearing many rumors and predictions of what the iPad 2 will end up being, but which of them make the most sense? And not only that, but are some of these upgrades even possible?
Personally, I feel that the most accurate, and seemingly most reliable source, is that from the Chinese Economic Daily News. They are reporting that the iPad will add five new features; video capturing capabilities, be built for enhanced mobility, will host a USB port, have a new display technology, and be packed with 3-axis gyroscopes.
Darrell Etherington of GigaOM also believes we will see, both a front-facing and rear-facing camera. The front one being VGA, and the back one being 5MP. He also went on to mention that he thinks we’ll end up getting two dock connectors; one for vertical positioning and the other for horizontal positioning. It’ll be slimmer and lighter, and will have an aluminum backing, unless of course Apple is ready with its nitride coating for stainless steel. He finished by saying we’ll see an A4 processor (probably running at 1.5GHz), at least 512MB of RAM, Retina Display, and storage up to 128GB.
In my opinion the iPad will pack features we’ve all expected, but I think they might surprise us. First, the iPad is definitely going to have a front facing camera to use with Apple’s Facetime service, and based upon what we saw with the iPod Touch, there’s a definite possibility of a rear-facing camera. Why I feel that this is only a possibility is because the iPad is huge and quite frankly awkward especially if you had to take a picture with it, but nevertheless it definitely is a feature you might see.
The design of the iPad won’t change much; it is going to get slimmer and more compact, maybe lose a little of its bezel and get trimmed down in the back. Apple has currently been bringing back the square shape with its iPhone 4 and I think we could see the same thing with the iPad. The design changes are also going to have material changes - most sources believe that if Apple can get the nitride coating for stainless steel ready in time, then they will release it with an option. Can anyone say white iPhone all over again?
An upgrade to their A4 processor is definitely going to happen along with more storage available, probably the same storage options as the 11” Macbook Air. SIM card changes are definitely in store, whether or not they will build different models for GSM or non-GSM networks is yet unknown, but many believe they will go with a universal network set-up. The last upgrade that Apple will do and the most controversial, is the Retina display upgrade. Apple’s Retina display is on the cutting edge of technology, and to be quite frank, may not possibly be ready for this size of a display.
Whatever the iPad 2G ends up hosting, we’ll do our best to post it up as soon as any details leak our way. In the mean time, why not drop your two cents into our comments section and tell us what you think what upgrades the iPad 2 will have.