The iPad still holds a commanding lead in the nascent tablet market, and though devices like the Samsung Galaxy Tab are now trying to give the iPad a run for its money, the iPad 2 is looming on the horizon and promises to leave competitors struggling in vein to keep pace with Apple.
Steve Jobs introduced the iPad last January and the device was subsequently released 3 months later in April. Apple, of course, likes to maintain consistent release cycles, and so it's therefore not too surprising to hear rumors that Apple will unveil the iPad 2 as early as this January. Will users, though, have to wait a few months before they can get their hands on the latest iPad? Hopefully the wait won't be as long as it was with the original iPad, but there a growing number of rumors suggesting that the iPad 2 will most certainly be released during the first quarter of 2011 with some optimistically reporting that it might even launch towards the end of February.
But in the grand scheme of things, the release date is inconsequential compared to what we all care about - new features.
Not surprisingly, a number of reports anticipate that the iPad 2 will come equipped with both front and rear facing video cameras, a'la the iPhone 4 as Apple will presumably try and push its FaceTime video chat feature further into the mainstream. Initially a iPhone 4 exclusive, Apple has since migrated the feature over to the 4th gen iPod Touch and to the Mac desktop.
As for other features, some rumored upgrades to the iPad 2 include a hybrid GSM/CDMA chip from Qualcomm (so long AT&T exclusivity!), a Retina Display, and most recently, purported iPad 2 casings recently unearthed online suggest a slimmer form factor in addition an an SD card slot.
Much like the MP3 player market that Apple continues to dominate, competitors always seem to be chasing Apple's previous generation of hardware.
via Reuters