General Discussion

I like the idea of an iPad, and I like the idea of having AirVideo to stream all of my tv shows, and having Netflix to watch all my instant TV shows and Movies. I like the idea of using all the neat iPad organization apps for my school, and I like the idea of playing games on my iPad. I also like the idea of surfing the web on my iPad, and browsing my RSS feeds. 
 
But, I have an iPhone 4, and there are a few things I don't like the idea of. 
 
The low-res screen (well, compared to the iPhone 4). 
 
That's pretty much it I guess. I also don't like the idea of getting one in September and then Apple releasing the next one in April or whatever. $500 is a lot to get an iPad mid-product cycle, but I don't see Apple doing a price drop until December or November, and by then it really won't be worth it. 
 
Maybe I could rent an iPad or something...

With it not being that old yet, I'd expect you have to wait a while, the other iOS devices are on about a yearly cycle, so I wouldn't expect to see a new iPad prior to the 1 year anniversary of the first iPad.  Though I'd be very surprised if we didn't see one then.

I'm on the same boat, with Apple more than any other manufacturer I feel the need to buy on release day due to the yearly refresh we all see coming. 

I think a retina screen is almost certain, possibly a front facing camera for Facetime and perhaps better battery life will come in the next upgrade 

@intoblivion said:

" I think a retina screen is almost certain, possibly a front facing camera for Facetime and perhaps better battery life will come in the next upgrade  "

Don't you just hate the term Retina, I want to break one of those screens every time its mentioned.

@brianmcdon:  Can't say im a fan of it 

@intoblivion said:

" @brianmcdon:  Can't say im a fan of it  "  

They had to be different and make up a crappy name and some bull about the eye and its ability to see pixels.

Technically the "retina display"(apple's proprietary 960X720 display) is lower resolution than the iPad's 1024X768 screen.

I'd buy a 7", lighter iPad but atm it's too big and expensive for me.

I think with the upcoming focus on Games from Apple's perspecticve, the iPad will have to stay roughly the same specs-wise to allow any significant development to take off on the platform. Writing things like Project Sword and Rage isn't something that can be achieved to a full extent within a traditional Apple refresh cycle as we've come to know them - development teams will have to take time to wrap their head around the limitations of the device from a specifications point of view and then develop in such a way that takes as close to full use of the device as they can.  
 
The resolution, as stated, is larger than that of the iPhone 4 - upgrading the resolution to a retina-esq level would be madness as performance would drop significantly (you can even see that the iPhone handles the Epic tech demo a little better than the iPad does thanks to the slightly smaller screen real estate). To upgrade the resolution would mean an upgraded processor at the very least, but more than likely additional memory, reduced battery life (perhaps compensated by a larger battery) and, more importantly, a higher cost. The price point of the iPad is important as there's still a good divide between the iPad and the entry level MacBooks -- a position which I am sure Apple wish to maintain.
 
What I see Apple doing instead is perhaps slimming down the iPad to a 7" if that form factor takes in the public domain with devices from Samsung, Dell, etc. They would keep the same 1024x768 resolution but the density would then increase on the device (they could then market it as an 'enhanced' display). With the 7" device they could then add a couple of features - the inevitable front-facing camera, perhaps a traditional camera, thinner bezel, while keeping the iPad (perhaps at a reduced cost or with similar upgrades) at its 10" form for those who perhaps prefer the larger pad for typing (I know I could not stand that keyboard on a 7" screen).  
 
This would allow them to have feature-parity across all their iOS platforms and allow further development to be undertaken on the platform before yet another 'full' refresh. I could totally see a time where at an Apple conference all the iOS devices are refreshed at the same time (akin to this year's iPod refresh - sans the Classic *sob*).   
 
Then again they might not, just my two pence. =] 
 
tl;dr - iOS devices should contain the same internal hardware if they wish to unify their gaming service, and perhaps focus on adding peripheral-based features such as cameras. The internal hardware such as processors and memory should not be refreshed too often so that both Apple and the developers have enough time to optimise their gaming experience before the market is then segmented again 6/12 months down the line by a hardware refresh. There is more than enough power in the iOS devices as it is to make them compelling devices with the right amount of optimisation from Apple and the app developers.

There's been a lot of clamor for retina-display like pixel density on the next iPad.  Personally though, I think it's extremely unlikely for several reasons.  For one, quadrupling the pixel density on an 11" display is going to be significantly more expensive than on a 3.5" display.  Secondly, the iPhone 4 could handle the resolution bump because it got upgraded processing power to go with it.  However, the processor in the iPad is already pretty close to cutting edge for ARM architecture.  Any significant increase in resolution on the iPad is going to have a negative impact on the speed of the device.  Lastly, one of the main reasons the iPhone 4 got such a high resolution display was to set it apart from all of the 800x480 OLED Android phones that were saturating the market.  By contrast, the iPad has practically no competition right now, and thus no need to set itself apart from alternative devices.