Rumours of a new iPad 3 are never far away and over the last couple of months these rumours have begun to gather pace. Now, rather than speculate what slight changes we might see in a new iPad - we thought we write a list of 10 things we’ve been dreaming off since the first iPad – with rumours pointing to a release of March here’s what we think Apple should bring to the new iPad 3.
Siri For iPad 3
Apple's mild-mannered assistant Siri has been a key component of the iPhone 4S’s success. The virtual personal assistant shows us a glimpse of the future where devices can actually help you out in day-to-day life all controlled by your voice. At the moment Siri makes it easier to send text messages, write emails and generally helps you keep up-to-date with what you need to do. We'd love to see the stern talking assistant make the jump to Apple iPad 3.
A New Form Factor
Apple has been historically stubborn to change the size of their devices, the iPhone has been 3-7inches since its inception, and the iPad is the same with a 9.7-inch form factor. Well, we'd love to see Apple embrace change and consider two different sizes of tablet. Clearly consumers want to be able to choose. Apple offers a multitude of different MacBooks in a range of sizes – could this be something the Cupertino company might consider with the iPad 3? Well, we've heard many rumours of a baby iPad and nothing has ever materalised - hopefully with the iPad 3 it might become a reality. Giving customers choices isn't a bad thing. And it's about time Apple realises this.
Embracing 3D
There's no doubt that 3D has a place in consumers hearts - just look at recent 3DS sales - it's clear that 3D is something consumers want. Considering that Apple's iPad is becoming a go-to device for films and games it wouldn't be a bad idea if Apple considered bringing 3D to the world's best-selling tablet. From what we saw at CES 3D has plenty of new tricks up its sleeve and we wouldn’t bet against Apple jumping onboard at some point in the near future.
Glare-free Screen
Amazon's range of Kindles, whether it be the original ink version or the new colour one, shows that glare-free screens are the future. The major downside of any handheld Apple device is the issue of viewing them in direct sunlight. It would be great to see Apple finally solve this bugbear and create and glare-free screen for the iPad 3.
A Truly Wireless Device
Apple has already taken measures to make the iPhone and iPad wire-free. Well, the next step would be to their make their devices charge without having to actually plug them into a wall. Such charging methods are starting to become popular – but few major companies have adopted it. Apple should be the first to make a truly next generation device free of cables and constraints.
A Battery That Can Last A Month
One crucial part of any mobile device is the battery and Apple has been a leading light in this sector. As far as were concerned no one has come close to competing with them when it comes to length of batterly life and stand-by time. There have been rumours that battery tech is going to get a big shake up in the next few years with some technology giants suggesting that future devices could last up to one month on a single charge. Now it might sound like pie in the sky, but we wouldn't bet against Apple solving this problem – long battery life is everything in the mobile space.
Gorilla Glass 2.0
One thing that caught our eye at this month's CES was new Gorilla Glass - the screen technology is commonplace in any device that has a touchscreen. Well, the company behind it, Corning, unveiled Gorilla Glass 2 at CES. It's a major step up over the current crop of screens. It offers better sensitivity, bright images and a thinner design which would help device makers create even smaller products. We’d love to see Apple use this new glass in the iPad 3 - make it so Apple.
Retina Display
Following on from glass is the screen. Now were almost certain that the iPad 3 will get a brand new screen and it’s likely to be a super-sharp Retina display. For more than one year now, consumers have been hoping for the Retina Display to come to the iPad. Let's hope that it happens in 2012. A Retina display would finally mean that the iPad 3 will be known as truly high definition tablet. We've already seen Android devices with amazing screens, but Apple is likely to be the company to take this tablet screen technology to the masses.
Give Gamers What They Want
Gaming is a massive draw for Apple, not necessarily from the hardcore, but from more casual gamers. We'd love to see Apple take note of this new use and start giving gamers what they want: a controller. Touchscreen controls can only go so far - we'd love to see Apple come up with a mini controller for the iPad. So far they've been rather resistant, but if they want to push past casual gamers they'll need address this need with the iPad 3.
NFC
Looking ahead, it's hard to argue that near-field communication and mobile-payment applications won’t be a big deal in the future. Google currently supports it with its Wallet service. And now, all attention is focused on Apple to follow its lead. Let's hope it does just that with the launch of a mobile-payment solution in the iPad 3.