Despite the talk that we’ll see a 7-inch iPad in time for the holidays, I’m dubious we’ll see any new incarnation of the Apple tablet before early 2011 Even then I’m not holding my breath for an “iPad mini.” However, I would be willing to hold my breath for more connectivity.
Right now you can only use one wired peripheral at a time with an iPad and very few wireless ones. I hope the iPad 2 will support wireless syncing and file exchanges with Macs. Currently, shuffling Pages documents — among other things — between the two, is a major pain. And wouldn’t the ability to send files to a networked printer be nifty-keeno?
Even though the iPad can’t replace my Mac (desktop OR laptop), I’d love to see a hub that lets you connect multiple devices for simultaneous use by the Apple tablet. Sort of like the Camera Connection Kit on steroids. Perhaps said dock could support: a wired keyboard (for those who want to use one; my Apple Wireless Keyboard works just fine with the iPad); a sync connection cable; a power adapter; and, yes, the ability to connect to a hard drive for easier file transfer in case the wireless syncing/file sharing doesn’t happen.
And speaking of peripherals, where is a speaker/dock combo for the iPad? With 10 bazillion of the Apple tablets sold, surely someone is making such a gadget. Ideally, it would let you dock your iPad horizontally or vertically depending on what you plan to do with/on the iPad at a particular time.
— Dennis Sellers
