I have never been so happy to not be an early adopter. I wanted an iPad and I wanted one badly, but I figured I’d wait. No sense in buying the first generation of a device that Apple will just improve in a big way for version two. After the iPhone 4 announcement, it’s clear just what we’re likely to see on the new iPad.
First, a new screen. That “retina display” will be the envy of every iPad owner. Granted, it won’t likely be scaled to iPad sizes – there’s no way the chip could drive that dense a display – but the original iPad screen will likely get a refresh for version two.
Next up, you can bet on at least one camera. Steve Jobs said during the keynote that there would be “tens of millions of FaceTime devices this year so there’s going to be a lot of people to talk to.” No way Apple is selling tens of millions of iPhone 4 units, so there’s got to be something else. That’s where the iPad comes in. FaceTime doesn’t thrill me on the iPhone. It looks small, shaky, and mostly unnecessary when a computer is typically close at hand where there’s a Wi-Fi network. With an iPad screen, though, FaceTime could be more appealing.
As a longshot I’ll also suggest a body redesign. I love what Apple did with the iPhone 4 body. That’s the kind of engineering that makes Apple unique. If that design improves reception, I’ll be even happier. I could see the same happening for the iPad, even though the current design seems fine.
