On the eve of iPad 2 Day, this is a list of what I want from Santa Jobs. I’ve been a good boy; and I own the following Apple products:
- 13″ Aluminum, Unibody MacBook (Late 2008)
- 60GB 5G iPod
- 8GB 2G iPod Touch
- 8GB 3G iPod Nano
- 32GB iPad (Wi-Fi Only)
I love my Apple hardware, but on iPad 2 Day, I am hoping my personal wish list gets some attention. Let’s take a quick look, and see if we’re on the same page with our iPad wants.
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| What will Santa Jobs bring us..? |
Screen
Many people are hoping that iPad 2 will include a Retina display. Honestly, the screen is pretty amazing as it is. The colors are rich and the display is clear and bright. A Retina display will likely just drive the price up. Apple has a decent shot at making the iPad ubiquitous. Increasing the price is just going to jeopardize that.
The iPad has a 1″ bezel, which is a lot of dead space. I’d prefer a larger viewing area. If I have to have a bezel, I’d prefer if it wasn’t so large.
I’d also like to see an active digitizer in the device. Handwriting on the iPad is seriously painful, due to the iPad’s capacitive touch screen, which doesn’t require a stylus and allows you to interact with the device using your finger. I’d like to see the iPad use an active digitizer; but I also realize that this would kill using your finger as a “stylus.” I’m not certain what the right solution is, especially since Apple’s focus isn’t handwriting on the iPad.
Processor
The iPad needs a little more punch. Multi-core would be nice, especially since I’m very likely to be reading a book while listening to music, (or perhaps streaming a movie via Netflix or Amazon’s new Streaming Service); and then taking a quick detour when I’m notified of new e-mail, Tweets, or Facebook updates.
Memory
iBooks/Kindle, music, video, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, streaming audio or video… All of this is likely running at the same time on my iPad. It’s gonna be a smoother experience with more RAM.
Casing
While aluminum is fine, the device is heavy. I have a 2-hour, one way commute on Chicago’s commuter rail system. I use my iPad a lot. Anything Apple can do to make the device lighter would be a huge plus. Carbon fiber is nice, as long as I don’t sacrifice durability for weight.
Camera
A rear-facing camera is silly. I’m not going to take stills with my iPad. It’s too big and awkward for that. A front facing camera for video calls would be a nice addition.
Seems safe, right? No kidding. I’ve learned that speculating on what Apple is going to announce is risky, as they are very good at keeping a secret. Most people, including experienced analysts, don’t get it right. At the end of the day, we’ll just have to wait and see what we get from Santa Jobs; and that’s all there is to it.
