I’ve decided that going back into the on-the-road life of a consultant an iPad is going to be an excellent complement to the standard issue work laptop. Private email. Slingbox so I can catch Red Sox games. A rich content consumption experience (books, movies, TV shows, etc.). Maybe most importantly, entertainment for the 150 flights I’m expected to take / airports I get delayed in. Given that I’m armed and loaded with a cache of Apple giftcards from Christmas, I’ve found the iPad rumors to be extremely interesting. Thus far, the legit rumors as far as I can tell are:
- Dual core processor (on CNet)
- Shipping February (on CNet) but a host of other reports looking at a January announcement with a ship in April
- USB port (Tom’s Hardware) in addition to or as a replacement to the iPod dock connector
- Verizon iPad (USA Today) will be introduced in addition to the AT&T and WiFi only model
- Front and rear cameras (Business Insider) are almost a lock, especially with Apple’s push to the Facetime platform for video conferencing
- More robust internal speaker (PC World) for sharing content amongst a group
- Crisper display, but not necessarily a Retina display (as was recently introduced on the iPhone 4)