iPad 2.0

[JulianL]

If not retina, how about a higher resolution? I'd like to see 1280x960, assuming Apple is unwilling to budge on delivering a widescreen aspect ratio. 1280x960 could run iPhone 4 resolution apps with a nice pixel-to-pixel unscaled ratio while minimizing the pixels wasted to black bars. It would also make the screen perfectly display 720p HD video with no scaling and minimized black bar wastage.

Actually, I don't know why that wasn't the iPad's resolution in the first place. 1024x768 just seems so bizarre. It's an ancient res. It has nothing in common with the iPhone's res, the new iPhone 4's res, or HD movie resolutions. No matter what it does, it has to scale. Wouldn't all that scaling chew up more CPU than just supporting 1280x960 natively?

Actually I've been thinking the same for a while, but for slightly different reasons.

Do you remember how the iPad existed as a mythical thing for an unusually long time - it was rumoured, everyone was pretty sure for ages that Apple was working on it, but month after month there was no announcement of the product from Apple. I think that Apple were desperately trying to launch at 1280 x 960 and were probably trying to source the panel at a cost that let them hit their launch pricing and/or trying to squeeze a bit more performance out of the hardware/software to get a satisfactory user experience. Eventually they decided that they couldn't hold off the launch any longer and had to go with a lower resolution for the first product for either cost or performance reasons or both.

I'll take your word on your arguments for 1280 x 960 for HD video, I'm not very knowledgeable on that. I'm actually not so sure on the scaling of old apps. If all the decent iPhone apps update to iPhone 4 retina display then those would render quite nicely on the existing 1024 x 768 screen with no scaling and reasonably acceptable black bars.

The reason I think that Apple really, really wanted to be able to launch at 1280 x 960 is because they do want to switch to a retina display on the iPad as soon as the technology is there to do that (yes, my earlier post a few minutes ago was a joke!) and the ideal way to do that is how it was done with the iPhone, i.e. a doubling of the horizontal and vertical resolution to give a perfect 1 to 4 pixel conversion. Unfortunately doubling the figures for the 1024 x 768 screen doesn't give a > 300 ppi iPad screen whereas doubling a 1280 x 960 does give a pip figure that is very comparable with the iPhone 4 figure (I did do the arithmetic but I can't remember the exact number now).

If Apple really do believe that they need to get to a > 300 ppi figure for the "retina display" version of the iPad (whenever that happens) then at some point they will need to make a resolution change that isn't a perfect 1 to 4 mapping so that will be disruptive to existing apps and so I can see a case for Apple wanting to do that sooner rather than later while there are fewer apps that will be impacted which would lead to a shift to 1280 x 960 in the next revision.

- Julian

 

[Julien]

Actually because of poor sales/demand and the fact that the factory is idle the iPad 2 will be out early summer and the iPad 3 will be released in the fall. Hopefully one of these will sell well enough so that Apple won't have to release the iPad 4 before x-mass.

It is probably going to get release a year from now, if not later, because of the high demand, and because it is not available in A LOT of countries yet. Keep wishing ....

Guess spotting sarcasm is not one of your strong points.....but thinking someone is actually stupid enough to believe that Apple would release 3 hardware generations in 6 months is, well

 

[redscull]

.

 

[JulianL]

If the iPad's resolution was 1280x960, an iPhone 4 app could play natively (no scaling) and maximize the filled real estate, with black bars only on one side-pair instead of all the way around. This would also let older iPhone double-scale (4 pixels to 1) and maximize filled real estate (non-wrapping black bars) while keeping everything pixel-perfect to the app designer's layout.

That's why I just never understood the initial res. It should have been 1280x960.

Ah. Display the iPhone app in portrait on an iPad landscape orientation. Now I'm with you - good point.

Regarding initial res, I really do think that it's simply that they couldn't source 1280 x 960 panels at the price or power characteristics that they required, or that the A4 just couldn't quite provide enough grunt to drive those extra pixels and hit their performance target. Sure, it's not an issue today, but they were probably doing this sourcing and performance analysis about a year ago. They really did want to launch at 1280 x 960 so much that they delayed and delayed the initial launch in the hope that they could put the pieces together but eventually couldn't wait any longer. I also believe that this is why the iPad existed as a rumour (almost an open secret) for so long prior to launch.

- Julian

 

[Angryipadguy]

Guess spotting sarcasm is not one of your strong points.....but thinking someone is actually stupid enough to believe that Apple would release 3 hardware generations in 6 months is, well

The funny thing is all the fanboys would buy 3 in 6 months. They gotta have the new model even if it's no better than the old model.

 

[hcho3]

What do you expect to be on the iPad 2.0 which presumably will be released this fall? Hopefully this will be my first one

No ipad 2 until next year around fall...

 

[WRXHokie]

I love all the posts from people who are so sure the iPad 2.0 isn't coming until "next Fall (at the earliest)". There a few people in here that sound like it isn't coming until 2013. All these people have no clue.

Truth is its coming when its coming. Likely next year, probably first quarter. I don't have one so i'm not biased enough to say its not coming for years to justify my version will be the latest longer.

 

[AnthonyCM]

Data Plan

For 2.0, Steve will announce a "revolutionary" data plan deal with AT&T. Unlimited use for only $30 a month; stop and start as you wish. This deal will last all of about a week or two before they pretend they never made such an announcement.

What a bunch of dicks.

 

[MikeTemple]

I'm not sure why an OLED display is even seen as desirable. Their performance in sunlight is worse than LCD. Bit of a drawback for use outside.

 

[afireintonto]

Will be released in the fall, with 3.5" display and called the iPod touch or itouch.

This. Except not itouch. iPod Touch.