What We Want In Ipad 3

What We Want in the iPad 3

By Chloe AlbanesiusMarch 5, 2012 12:14pm ESTComments Share Tweet   

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What We Want in the iPad 3Better Camera, Smaller Size, MoreThe iPad 3 launch is just days awayand the rumor mill is churning outstory after story, but what do we actually want to see in the next-gen tablet? We polled PCMag staffers about their most-wanted iPad 3 features, and it seems like Apple better be working on a retina display device with a USB port and an attractive trade-in option.What Cupertino actually plans to reveal is anyone's guess until Tim Cook takes the stage on Wednesday in San Francisco. PCMag will be there will full coverage, but until then, here's a look at a few of the things we hope Cook will unveil.10. Lighter iPad: One staffer requested that the new iPad be lighter than its predecessors. The iPad 2 currently comes in at 1.33 lbs, which is slightly heavier than rivals like theSamsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (1.24 lbs) and the Asus Transformer Prime (1.3 lbs). If Apple is going to be packing its new tablet with a variety of new features, though, it remains to be seen if it can also shave off some weight.9. Lower Cost: Having sold 15.43 million iPads in the fourth quarter, it's clear that cost is not deterring people from purchasing the Apple tablet. Still, there were requests that Cupertino drop the price of the iPad, which starts at $499 but can cost more than $900 with accessories, more storage, and 3G capabilities. There were reports that Apple might actually increase the price of the iPad by as much as $70-$80, butthe latest rumors point to the same pricing scheme as the iPad 2. If price is an issue, Apple dropped the price of the original iPad by $100 after the release of the iPad 2, so you might be able to snag an iPad 2 on the "cheap."8. Upgrade/Trade-In Path: On the same front, iPad 2 owners requested some sort of incentive to trade in or upgrade from their current iPad to the next-gen tablet. At this point, iPad owners looking to make some cash on their older devices have primarily used third-party reseller sites like Gazelle or eBay. Apple will give you 10 percent off a new iPod if you're trading in an old one, but that does not extend to other Apple products, like the iPad. But what if it did? Would Apple sell even more iPads with a trade-in discount? Only one way to find out.7. Flash: I know, I know. We can dream, though, right? Apple has been notoriously averse to including support for Adobe's Flash in iOS devices. When Adobe announced in November that it would kill development of Flash Player for the mobile Web, many joked that Steve Jobs was likely chuckling from above. Mike Chambers, principal product manager for developer relations at Adobe, later admitted, however, that Apple's decision not to support Flash Player on iOS was one of the major factors in its demise. As HTML5 development ramps up, Flash support will likely become less of an issue, but it can still be aggravating to get the "Flash not supported" notice when surfing to a video on your iPhone or iPad.6. Near-Field Communications (NFC): NFC, which lets you use your tablet or smartphone as a mobile payment device, hasn't really caught on in the U.S., but that's likely due to the fact that it's not available on a wide variety of devices here - not to mention some security concerns. Could Apple help spur its adoption? NFC was a rumored feature for the iPhone 4S, but it didn't happen; will it make its debut on the iPad? We'll have to wait and see, but on the NFC front, PCMag's Sascha Segan last month wrote about Texas Instruments' new WiLink 8.0 chip, which could help spread NFC in smartphones.
5. Better Camera: The iPhone 4Sincluded a souped-up camera with a higher resolution sensor and improved lens. Staffers here hope that that technology will now come to the iPad, which got a camera with the launch of the iPad 2.4. Smaller Size: One of the bigger rumors making the rounds is that Apple is prepping a smaller, 7.85-inch iPad to go along with its larger tablet. Jobs, however, slammed the 7-inch form factor as "dead on arrival" back in 2010, so it remains to be seen if Apple will break with their late co-founder for a smaller iPad. But PCMag staffers are eager to nab one, which would likely leave Amazon's Kindle Fire and the Barnes & Noble Nook in the dust.3. 4G LTE: Who wouldn't want their iPad to be faster? Citing "people familiar with the situation," The Wall Street Journal said recently that AT&T and Verizon will offer versions of the iPad that work on their respective 4G networks. At this point, the iPad and iPhone still run on 3G networks - Apple chose design over function since current LTE chips are just too bulky. Slimmer, single-chip LTE solutions that come from Qualcomm won't be outuntil the third or fourth quarter of 2012, but Apple has a bit more space with which to work on the iPad, so perhaps this request isn't too far-fetched.2. USB Port: Keeping that slim form factor is likely another reason that the iPad does not include an SD card slot or USB port. Plus, with iCloud, it's assumed that you can do all your data transfers in the cloud. But it's still a much-requested feature. Can tablets truly replace PCs without it?1. Retina Display: The iPhone 4 and 4S include Apple's stunning retina display screens, but that has reportedly been difficult to replicate on the iPad's 9.7-inch screen. Might that come to an end on Wednesday? As PCMag's Jamie Lendino noted, a retina display would be a bonus "not for gaming or photos, but for text. With the iPad 2, whenever you view Web pages in portrait mode, the initial zoomed out view is blurry. And even text in ebook apps like Kindle for iPad and iBooks doesn't look nearly as sharp as an E Ink screen," he wrote. "E Ink will still be superior for reading, but higher resolution would go a long way."Anything we missed? What do you want to see? Let us know in the comments.

Source : http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401135,00.asp

By :  Chloe Albanesius