What’s Going to be New in iPad 2

Processor

Most if the news stating that new iPad 2 will be equipped with multi core cortex A9 processor. However there is argument about processing speed. Most of the information sources saying that it’s going to doubled the speed as previous iPad which will make it 2GHz. For me its seems realistic since there are already smart phones with that kind of amazing processing power, Apple will never wanted to be the 2^nd in the market. After all, in order to handle the high resolution images and video it will have to have that kind of processor. Else users will feel delayed response and it will spoil the magic in apple products. In order to deliver maximum graphical experience there will be upgraded dedicated GPU as well. When it comes to memory it is expected to be 512 MB, but personally I expected it to be little bit more around 768 MB since 512 MB is general average in current market.

Display

In iPhone 4 the most attracted feature was its retina display. Most of the people expect to iPad 2 to have same kind of retina display. However, it will consume great amount of power and it will be critical since iPad is having 7” display. And if it will be a retina display, resolution has to be around 2048×1536 which is exceptionally high. It’s way bigger than 1080p high definition video resolution.  For me it seems like unrealistic and not practical in few aspects like power consumption and required processing power. I’d say it will come with a display having resolution 1280 X 960 with wide screen aspect ratio though the previous iPad was having 4:3 ratios.  Further, apple engineers will put extra effort to make the display more energy efficient and on success it will add an extra value to iPad 2 in future competitive markets. Then comes a most common complain for most of the tablet devices which is ‘The display reflects sun light when working outdoor’. I hope iPad 2 will give us a solid solution o this issue on its arrival.

Operating System

iPad 2 will be having the latest iOS 4.3 and it’s already released for developers. As a special feature it equipped with ‘Multi-touch gestures’ which will probably attract iPad users. Unlike before now iOS have multitasking so users will be able to enjoy many applications running background at the same time. Further, Apple app store is continued to expand exponential, so there will be millions of great application for forthcoming iPad 2. The application will be using upgraded hardware capabilities of iPad 2 like probable front camera to come up with cool applications.

Multimedia

Most of the people expect the iPad 2 to have improved speakers for music listening without head phones. Same as in latest HTC phones it will come in 2 stereo speakers in both the end of phone which can create surround effect in audio playback. However some people argue that there is no pint of having good external speakers why most of the users are using head phones and they have serious point too. The most discussed feature in iPad 2 is its front camera. Sometimes ago iPhone didn’t have front camera and it was a hot topic everywhere. As long as iPad is also evolving to be a wireless communication device, yes we can expect it to have front camera for video conferencing. And as always there will be a 5 MP rear camera with a flash. Some rumors saying that it will be having a ‘Video out’ which will come in handy since another rumor saying that it will be capable of recording 720p videos. Personally I’m pretty sure about 720p video recording since most of the latest smart phones are already having it, yet can’t say for sure about video out.

Connectivity

In the previous version if iPad there were 2 versions which is having GSM/CDMA connectivity and other did not. However, new iPad 2 will be having GSM and CDMA connectivity as a default option. Further it will be capable or extend its operations to 4G connectivity technologies. And there is another rumor that it will be having USB port which seems pretty realistic. I guess if apple engineers are planning for USB port, it will be USB 3.0. Additionally as always there will be Bluetooth connectivity and Wi-Fi. Even previous selected version of iPad having GPS receiver and we can expect is as a default feature in iPad 2.

Storage

For some reason entire iOS devices doesn’t support external SD memory cards. When it comes to iPad, it’s limiting its capabilities especially in multimedia playback. Most if the uses store many number of movies in it and watch them on the run. This will require easily expandable memory storage and it required to be hot swappable as well. It’s not clear why the engineers in Apple ignoring the perfect options which is SD memory cards. Further, increasing the internal memory won’t solve the issue ‘Hot swap ability’ though it will solve the problem of storage up to some extent. I hope there will be a solid solution to these problems in new iPad 2 and probably it will be external SD card slot.

Usage Possibilities

Multimedia Applications

iPad was very popular for it multimedia capabilities and it will continue with the arrival of iPad 2 also. With the increased processing power, RAM, GPU and display it will deliver never better multimedia experience to the users. If the screen will be wide screen and device will come with SD card slot iPad will be THE portable multimedia device for next few years. Additionally, there will be games which are using its hardware capabilities like multi point touch screen and accelerometer. Even now there are many games out there and with iPad 2 they will use its increased screen resolution and multi touch gestures also. As always people will be using to iPad to read books and surf internet on the go.

Capita Market Applications

Other than multimedia usage, I have noticed that iPad was getting popular in financial world. Most of the day trades in stock markets were using iPad to analyze trends in stocks and momentum of market. The 7” high resolution screen, multi point touch screen and internet connectivity gave a solid plat from to run trading software and advance charting software. Most of the trading software provides also have came up with iPad versions of their software after identifying this possibility. With the improved high resolution display, high speed connectivity and operating system support iPad 2 will continue to getting popular in capital market.

Further Evolution

Tablet PC trend will continue and iPad will always play a significant role in there. We can expect more extensibility and compatibility in future iPads. Most of the hardware vendors looking forward for open standards and we can see the trend in smart phone world. However, Apple was trying to develop own hardware specific culture with iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. I expect them to join the open standard and come up with iPad like tablet portable communication devices which will be compatible with cross vendor platforms.

Additionally, they were having less extensibility in hardware. Generally, in a PC if hard disk is not enough we can plug bigger one and if RAM in not enough we can do the same. But with iPad and also iPhone users are not that free to extend the device the way they want. Specifically, we can’t even a plug a SD card to iPad to extend the storage and make it hot swappable. I hope apple will take steps to let us to extend hardware capability as far as they can in future releases of their devices.

References

• Brownlee, J. (2011, January 10). Kevin Rose’s iPad 2 Predictions Are Unlikely, Here’s Why. Retrieved February 02, 2011, from www.cultofmac.com: http://www.cultofmac.com/digg-co-founder-kevin-rose-retina-display-ipad-2-in-next-few-weeks/76344
• Coldewey, D. (2011, January 17). iPad 2 Rumor Roundup. Retrieved February 02, 2011, from www.crunchgear.com: http://www.crunchgear.com/2011/01/17/every-ipad-2-rumor-roundup-and-evaluation/
• Marshall, G. (2011, January 20). iPad 2 rumours: what you need to know. Retrieved February 02, 2011, from www.techradar.com: http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/ipad-2-rumours-what-you-need-to-know-900232
• Yarow, J. (2011, January 19). iPad 2 Not Likely To Get Super High Resolution Retina Display (AAPL). Retrieved February 02, 2011, from www.sfgate.com: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/01/19/businessinsider-ipad-2-no-retina-display-2011-1.DTL

Specification and Features

Its operating system is similar to iPhone’s operating system and has custom designed A4, Apple 1GHz Processor. It has 1024 x 768 resolutions, 9.7 inch LED touch screen, 1.5 pounds weight, 0.5 inch thin and it has around 10 hours of battery life as well. iPad has the fasters built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi connection, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and 7.2 Mbps 3G data speed. There are particularly designed games and apps available for iPad and an iWork suite which contains word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software especially for business use also announced. The starting price will be around $499 (16 GB). If you want to use AT&T connectivity, which is Apple recommended, another $130 will be added to the price. Apple’s iBook the virtual bookshop is one of the main features in iPad. You can turn pages with a single tap in the right-hand margin.

In addition, you can have a bunch of photo album in your iPad, and when it’s charging state, you can use it as a digital photo frame. Moreover, its high-resolution screen makes it perfect for watching any kind of video such as HD movies, TV shows and music videos. It has a unique YouTube app where you can easily navigate videos and organize videos. With the iPod application, you can browse, organize and listen to music with the powerful built-in speaker. The iTune store lets you to browse, buy music, TV shows or you can buy or rent movies with thousands of collections or you can sync with your Mac or PC to share the contents through iTune. There are around 140,000 applications available for iPad and you can easily browse, buy and download them from App Store.

The Google powered helps you to navigate with high-resolution satellite images where you can use your current location as well as you can get the directions. To taking notes, iPad has an onscreen keyboard and in landscape view, you can see your list of notes and the current one will shown win a red circle. From the Home Screen, you can have access to everything in your iPad in a tap and you can move apps around the screen in any order you want. Finally, the Spotlight Search allows you to search across iPad and its built-in apps.

Lack Of Functionalities

Even though iPad has the entire above-mentioned feature, it has failed some functionality as well. Due to lack of multitasking that means that you cannot listen to music while editing a photo. It’s a major issue in iPad. It does not have a camera. Even the iPod nano has a camera, so a business product without a web cam or at least a normal cam. So no video chatting, no photo snaps. It does not include a USB port, so file transfer between other devices will be difficult and inconvenient. Users have to depend on a USB adapter. Most of the users never accept this. iPad doesn’t support Flash. Which means you cannot view Flash embedded sites and applications. The main arguments against Flash running on the iPad are that it’s a resource hog and a security risk, but the lack of Flash support is nonetheless a hindrance for users. While the iPad’s display has been praised as crisp and sharp, its screen — LED-backlit with In-Plane Switching (IPS) — has its downsides. The iPad’s screen is not as power efficient as OLED devices, which don’t drain batteries as quickly. Moreover, LED screen tends to be harder on the eyes than the e-ink screens used on eReaders such as the Kindle. Apple has its own App Store for iPad and it has a lot of restriction on apps like no porn, nothing that infringes on the Apple trademark etc. The Free Software Foundation has already criticized the product, saying iPad is bad for freedom.

People have to think is it worth to buy this product for $500? Moreover, user has to depend on the iStore.  We can expect more features and bug fixed updates in future. However, for now its people have to decide do they really want to replace their current device to iPad.

References

• (n.d). Retrieved on January 2010 from huffingtonpost.com: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/29/apple-ipad-review-photos_n_441770.html?slidenumber=Dpqk1VkFkhM%3D&&&&&&&&&
• (n.d). Retrieved on January 2010 from apple.com: http://www.apple.com/ipad/
• (n.d). Retrieved on January 2010 from sindhtoday.net: http://www.sindhtoday.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/apple-ipad_tablet.jpg