So what’s next for the iPad? After all this is where the iPod started:

This is where George Clooney started:

In other words things can always get better.

The rumors have been flying about when the iPad 2 will make it’s debut and what enhancements will come with it. And as we get closer to having legitimate competition from Droid, Windows and Blackberry tablets there seems to be even higher expectations from the iPad 2.

So first of all when can we expect to see the iPad 2 launch? Well, Apple has gotten quite predictable in their launch schedule. Typically each product gets an annual overhaul. Since the original iPad debuted in April everyone seems to expect some announcements in March and a launch of the iPad 2 in April.

Over the recent months a wide variety of possible enhancements has been thrown out:

• front and back camera
• Face Time
• more memory
• SD card slot
• slimmer form
• multiple screen sizes
• Retina display
• both GSM and CDMA networks
• anti reflective screen for better viewing in sunlight
• upgraded processor
• flat back
• USB Port

I think the slimmer design and the front and back camera are pretty much guarantees, as for the rest, who knows? Many people are predicting these enhancements based on the specs from possible iPad competitors, but since when has Apple added features to a product just because the competition has them?

Remember how long it took for the iPhone to do such basic things as sending a receiving picture texts and cut and paste text? While every other smart phone could easily do these tasks. Apple has never been about adding features just for the sake of adding features or to look good next to the competition.

So I think when the announcement we will see some fantastic enhancements and some glaring omissions, but at the same time I think we can safely say that Apple will still be delivering the best tablet on the market.

There are many tablet devices that are hoping to dethrone the iPad as the tablet device and LG seems to think that adding 3D to their offering will do the trick.  But that’s not all they’ve added. In fact the LG G-Slate is shaping up to be the best Android tablet yet.

The G-Slate (I have to say I am NOT loving the name) runs the Honeycomb operating system and will be using the T-Mobile network. It boasts an 8.9 inch 3D display and a 3D camera. It runs off of a 1GHz Tegra 2 chipset that allows for 720p HD and 3D content on the tablet, and the ability to output 1080p HD and 3D content to TVs and displays. The 5 megapixel rear camera allows for recording of 3D video and the front facing 2 megapixel camera allows for videoconferencing.

It looks like this will debut sometime in the spring but no official launch date or pricing details have been released.

So what do you think? Does a 3D tablet get you excited? Keep in mind it will require 3D glasses to enjoy the benefits of 3D. I, for one, am not sold, but I am looking forward to giving it a try.

I found an interesting article awhile back proposing the iPad would eventually go 3D, I personally don’t see it, but if the G-Slate proves popular it just might happen.

In the roughly four months since its debut the iPad has sold in excess of 3 million units and has defined an entire category of devices. Apple’s monstrous success has every competitor scrambling to play catch up. So far Apple has had the tablet category all to themselves, but for how much longer?

Though Apple was the first company to hit a home run in the tablet category that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone in the market for a tablet will jump on board with the iPad. Forrester has released a research report that shows that while 27 million Americans will be in the market for a tablet in the next year, they are not necessarily looking at the iPad. Only 3.8% of these future buyers said they were going to buy an iPad. Meaning there is a huge target market for Apple’s competitors to hit.

So who is throwing their hat in the ring? Just about everyone. The Technologizer did a great article on what they have dubbed “iPadversaries” and listed 32 potential competitor devices. Some devices from relatively unknown companies and some from the big names like Google, HTC, HP, Dell, Windows and Blackberry.

Despite, all of this activity and this potential flurry of tablet devices hitting the market, I don’t imagine Apple is too concerned. Apple is not a company known to rest on their laurels. Despite the iPad being a huge seller we all know that Steve Jobs and company are hard at work behind the scenes on improving the iPad. This means that competitors not only have to bring a tablet device to the market that is better than the iPad is now, they have to have a device that’s better than the iPad 2 is going to be. And that won’t be easy.

So which of these devices are you most looking forward to? Are you putting off buying an iPad so you can wait and test out the competition first?

Have you had some Facetime? It’s pretty impressive. I’ve held off on getting my iPhone 4 to see how this whole “death grip” thing pans out, but that hasn’t stopped me from appropriating my friend’s iPhone 4′s and making video calls.

Well, BGR is reporting that Facetime will be making its way onto iPads and iPod Touchs very soon along with this photo that is supposedly from an iPod Touch.

For iPod Touchs and iPads which do not have phone numbers

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The latest rumor is that the next generation of iPads will come in two additional sizes; a 5.6 inch and 7 inch model with OLED screens. Something tells me that this rumor is completely unfounded, but I’ll let you be the judge.

You can read more at iPad Jailbreak

It doesn’t seem very likely to me, but this image of a 1.2 inch square touchscreen device has people guessing this will be the new Shuffle. It has me guessing how in the world, someone would manipulate a touchscreen so small! If Apple did add a touchscreen to the Shuffle it would be quite a change since up until now the Shuffle was the only Apple device without a screen at all. Read the full story at  iPodNN

“3-D is a waste of a perfectly good dimension. Hollywood’s current crazy stampede toward it is suicidal.” – Roger Ebert

Apparently there are people watching the World Cup in 3D on their couches right now. Well, now it looks like the iPad is the next device to feature this newest craze.

It’s all been kicked off with Flight Control HD. Flight Control has been a hugely successful game on the iPhone and recently was released for the iPad with a graphical upgrade including, “a new 3D view that will allow you to see aircraft floating above the iPad with the aid of 3D glasses.” Of course glasses don’t come with the game but if you pick up a pair of the classic red and cyan 3D glasses it will allow you to see your aircraft flying out above the iPad.

But what if the iPad itself was 3D? One writer at Hubpages feels certain that 3D is the future of the iPad. The article guesses that Apple is using some of it’s 3D patents to work on an iPad with 3D technology similar to that of the Nintendo 3DS. The 3DS gaming device allows for 3D viewing without the annoying glasses. Pretty cool.

I often feeling like I’m the lone skeptic on the 3D craze that’s sweeping the nation. There’s been only a couple of 3D movies I’ve seen in the past two years where the 3D effects added something to the movie for me. Mostly I just wish I’d seen the movie in 2D. I have zero interest in buying a 3D TV for my living room or a 3D gaming device. And a 3D iPad seems like a novelty that would wear thin after the first day or two.

But what do you think? Will Flight Control HD be the first of many 3D games for the iPad? Are you excited about wearing 3D glasses to play games on your iPad? Would you be excited if the iPad itself was 3D? Do you think Steve Jobs is hard at work designing a 3D iPad?

It looks like RIM is serious about developing a Blackberry tablet and here’s what we know so far:

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Mobile Me is Apple’s cloud computing service that includes email address (@me.com), 20GB of online storage, syncing of email, contacts, calendars, photos, notes, and bookmarks and Find My iPad/iPhone. The service comes with the pricetag of $99 a year for a single user, which is almost reasonable when you look at all the features, but overpriced when you realize that most of these features can be used for free through Google, Dropbox and the like. The service works well but could use a redesign, mainly iDisk.

I’ve been a subscriber of Mobile Me for about a year and half now and I subscribed because it’s a simple solution and I’m not a techie. After the first year I wasn’t going to renew, but then Apple  add the Find my iPhone feature and I couldn’t find anything that would duplicate that so I stayed.

But according to MacDailyNews’ source Mobile Me will be free “sooner than later… depends on certain facilities going operational.”

Sounds good to me.

(Via MacDailyNews)

No, it isn’t. Yes, it is. No, it isn’t. Yes, it is. No, it isn’t. Tired of this? I am. Since the iPhone’s debut in 2007 there has been constant speculation as to when, not if, Verizon would have the iPhone. This is an iPad blog not an iPhone blog, but I even jumped into the conversation earlier this week, when the speculators pointed their fingers at the iPad as part of the reason for the delayed Verizon iPhone.

Now that I’ve commented on the debate it’s hard to ignore this latest rumor.
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