At the risk of being proven wrong when it is launched, seems like the iPad is becoming awfully ridden with ports-and-holes, the iPad shown by the casing seems to have it all over the place. 1st gen is tré svelte. Maybe it will still have some decent value even when iPad2 comes out!
I agree. My MBP only has ports on one side (and an optical slot on another). So clean! I already hate that my iPhone in the car has power on one end and headphones out the other. The possible pans of the iPad2 with ports on 4 sides are hard to believe...
While I would love a better video out port on the iPad, why have it at the top of the device. That would be strange.
I'm going to say it's simple for access to the SIM card. That may sound strange to us Americans, but other people cross country boundaries as readily as we cross state lines. So they may be swapping SIM cards more frequently than we ever would. Cross from Germany to France? Pop in your French SIM card to get the better rates from a French carrier than you'd get with international roaming from your German carrier.
USB isn't even fully supported anyway. The iPad in its current iteration offers about 20mAh of power, maybe a bit more. In 3.2, it offered about 100mAh. Both are insuffcient to even power a compact flash card, let alone USB devices. For low-power transfers, they work.
We are not talking about proper USB power handling. For that, you need to have the external device daisy-chained to an external power source: a computer, or a mains power adapter.
I still think it's a pico projector! I think with the combination of a supposed wide range speaker and these cutouts at the top of cases keep showing up, I think it's would be awesome if it was a projector! Great way if sharing media!!
With all the talk about the demise of the home button on the iPad 2, why isn't anyone mentioning that this case clearly has a place for the home button?
While I would love a better video out port on the iPad, why have it at the top of the device. That would be strange.
I'm going to say it's simple for access to the SIM card. That may sound strange to us Americans, but other people cross country boundaries as readily as we cross state lines. So they may be swapping SIM cards more frequently than we ever would. Cross from Germany to France? Pop in your French SIM card to get the better rates from a French carrier than you'd get with international roaming from your German carrier.
The hole at the top of the new cases has up till now been "definitively proven" (although I'm not sure by whom), to be the new location of the ambient light sensor. Since neither the Chinese site nor this article can give me a good reason for now thinking it's a mini-display port hole, I'm going to stick with the original as it makes a bit more sense.
Also, if you look at the shape of this case, it's very poorly designed. The way the thing wraps around to the front but only partially covers the bezel is just plain ugly and will put a big rubber ridge under your thumbs all the time you are holding the iPad. Why should we take the words of some clearly awful fly-by-night case manufacturers about anything?
The new hole on the top left might indicate a new port, making the new iPad have *one* extra port than the current one. That's about all anyone can really say definitively about it IMO.
It's hard to tell with the angle, but is the cut out for speaker at bottom the same size as cut out on the side?
There is a patent for having multiple speakers (it looked at 3, to give stereo). Having a speaker for each orientation.
As for minidisplayport - it's worth bearing in mind that Apple basically pressed ahead with and shipped the Minidisplayport - then they agreed about it afterwards. Apple would be potentially much more likely to be able to wangle an updated mDP with Light Peak, than a HDMI cable, or a USB cable (though the LP cables so far have been USB3/LP hybrids).
If Apple did want to ship LP - it is interesting to note the recent news that actually they made great progress both with optical, and also plain old copper. Would be much easier to bring the copper side through to market (cost, and also durability - how many consumer grade products have regularly used optical cables bar optical in/out for sound?)
Even if not mDP for LP, they could use to drive 1080p out, which is a great thing. Hope there won't be too many adapters needed!
I still think it's a pico projector! I think with the combination of a supposed wide range speaker and these cutouts at the top of cases keep showing up, I think it's would be awesome if it was a projector! Great way if sharing media!!
Yeah right. It makes sense to build a blinding white light into a consumer product played with by children.
It would also destroy the battery in a minute and a half flat.
It's hard to tell with the angle, but is the cut out for speaker at bottom the same size as cut out on the side?
There is a patent for having multiple speakers (it looked at 3, to give stereo). Having a speaker for each orientation.
As for minidisplayport - it's worth bearing in mind that Apple basically pressed ahead with and shipped the Minidisplayport - then they agreed about it afterwards. Apple would be potentially much more likely to be able to wangle an updated mDP with Light Peak, than a HDMI cable, or a USB cable (though the LP cables so far have been USB3/LP hybrids).
If Apple did want to ship LP - it is interesting to note the recent news that actually they made great progress both with optical, and also plain old copper. Would be much easier to bring the copper side through to market (cost, and also durability - how many consumer grade products have regularly used optical cables bar optical in/out for sound?)
Even if not mDP for LP, they could use to drive 1080p out, which is a great thing. Hope there won't be too many adapters needed!
I think miniDP is the best port for Apple to use because that will offer VGA, DVI, and so on. But Apple really needs to make their own MiniDP to HDMI cable. Seriously. I hope the iPad2 with miniDP out and 1080p support etc. coincides with Apple releasing a miniDP to HDMI adaptor. Sorely needed.
Not every device in a business or home has AirPlay and adding this output to an externally much larger screen would be great in impromptu presentations and more.
Any business can have AirPlay for $99.
And, I disagree that it would be great for impromptu presentations. I think it would be extremely cumbersome to have to hold a tablet with a big cable sticking out of it. How many people are using the VGA cable now to do this?
What would be great for presentations is using an iPhone + AirPlay.
With all the talk about the demise of the home button on the iPad 2, why isn't anyone mentioning that this case clearly has a place for the home button?
Because that speculation was never governed by logical thought.
I think miniDP is the best port for Apple to use because that will offer VGA, DVI, and so on. But Apple really needs to make their own MiniDP to HDMI cable. Seriously. I hope the iPad2 with miniDP out and 1080p support etc. coincides with Apple releasing a miniDP to HDMI adaptor. Sorely needed.
Just buy one from monoprice. Even if Apple made such a cable I'd recommend getting one elsewhere.
I believe that the EU rules only cover mobile phones. I'm sure that Apple could argue that even the 3G version of the iPad isn't a phone.
Also, as your diagram shows, USB cables specify a host (type A) and slave (type based on socket shape. To conform with EU rules and connect directly to camera then the iPad would need both A and B ports.
Mini Display Port makes sense though. Apple already sells all of the adaptors needed for it and I'm sure they would love the chance to reduce the number of items in their inventory. I wouldn't complain either since I already own several of the adaptors for my MBP.
It needs to be an OTG port then only it will make sense.
These cases are more of a WAG then a reliable indication of what the iPad 2 will look like or what ports it will have. As with iPod Nano before, only cases released like a month before are reliable, but since we dont really know the release date its just speculation.
Exactly! It's sounding like the iPad2 will cater to every whiner that complained about the first iPad.
Hint to n00bs: jamming USB sticks into iPad2 will *not* make your sneakernet-hobbled digital life any better.
No, you do not want a C: Drive file system on your iPad. Trust me. You can't even figure out the Mac file system!
They need Steve now more than ever. He's the best at managing feature creep, though also good at infuriating people when Apple products lack a certain feature they desire.
I'm starting to think the iPad2 should just be an amorphous blob of liquid metal that will form into anything you want it to do at any time. That will keep the design clean but cater to everyone. "You want to connect your printer via a parallel port? Hell yeah, the iPad2 can do that...!"
Of course, the rumors preceding the run-up to any Apple product release sound like they're catering to every whiner, because that's the nature of these rumors. Wishful thinking, for the most part.
Comments
At the risk of being proven wrong when it is launched, seems like the iPad is becoming awfully ridden with ports-and-holes, the iPad shown by the casing seems to have it all over the place. 1st gen is tré svelte. Maybe it will still have some decent value even when iPad2 comes out!
I agree. My MBP only has ports on one side (and an optical slot on another). So clean! I already hate that my iPhone in the car has power on one end and headphones out the other. The possible pans of the iPad2 with ports on 4 sides are hard to believe...
I'm going to say it's simple for access to the SIM card. That may sound strange to us Americans, but other people cross country boundaries as readily as we cross state lines. So they may be swapping SIM cards more frequently than we ever would. Cross from Germany to France? Pop in your French SIM card to get the better rates from a French carrier than you'd get with international roaming from your German carrier.
We are not talking about proper USB power handling. For that, you need to have the external device daisy-chained to an external power source: a computer, or a mains power adapter.
While I would love a better video out port on the iPad, why have it at the top of the device. That would be strange.
I'm going to say it's simple for access to the SIM card. That may sound strange to us Americans, but other people cross country boundaries as readily as we cross state lines. So they may be swapping SIM cards more frequently than we ever would. Cross from Germany to France? Pop in your French SIM card to get the better rates from a French carrier than you'd get with international roaming from your German carrier.
The hole at the top of the new cases has up till now been "definitively proven" (although I'm not sure by whom), to be the new location of the ambient light sensor. Since neither the Chinese site nor this article can give me a good reason for now thinking it's a mini-display port hole, I'm going to stick with the original as it makes a bit more sense.
Also, if you look at the shape of this case, it's very poorly designed. The way the thing wraps around to the front but only partially covers the bezel is just plain ugly and will put a big rubber ridge under your thumbs all the time you are holding the iPad. Why should we take the words of some clearly awful fly-by-night case manufacturers about anything?
The new hole on the top left might indicate a new port, making the new iPad have *one* extra port than the current one. That's about all anyone can really say definitively about it IMO.
There is a patent for having multiple speakers (it looked at 3, to give stereo). Having a speaker for each orientation.
As for minidisplayport - it's worth bearing in mind that Apple basically pressed ahead with and shipped the Minidisplayport - then they agreed about it afterwards. Apple would be potentially much more likely to be able to wangle an updated mDP with Light Peak, than a HDMI cable, or a USB cable (though the LP cables so far have been USB3/LP hybrids).
If Apple did want to ship LP - it is interesting to note the recent news that actually they made great progress both with optical, and also plain old copper. Would be much easier to bring the copper side through to market (cost, and also durability - how many consumer grade products have regularly used optical cables bar optical in/out for sound?)
Even if not mDP for LP, they could use to drive 1080p out, which is a great thing. Hope there won't be too many adapters needed!
I still think it's a pico projector! I think with the combination of a supposed wide range speaker and these cutouts at the top of cases keep showing up, I think it's would be awesome if it was a projector! Great way if sharing media!!
Yeah right. It makes sense to build a blinding white light into a consumer product played with by children.
It would also destroy the battery in a minute and a half flat.
It's hard to tell with the angle, but is the cut out for speaker at bottom the same size as cut out on the side?
There is a patent for having multiple speakers (it looked at 3, to give stereo). Having a speaker for each orientation.
As for minidisplayport - it's worth bearing in mind that Apple basically pressed ahead with and shipped the Minidisplayport - then they agreed about it afterwards. Apple would be potentially much more likely to be able to wangle an updated mDP with Light Peak, than a HDMI cable, or a USB cable (though the LP cables so far have been USB3/LP hybrids).
If Apple did want to ship LP - it is interesting to note the recent news that actually they made great progress both with optical, and also plain old copper. Would be much easier to bring the copper side through to market (cost, and also durability - how many consumer grade products have regularly used optical cables bar optical in/out for sound?)
Even if not mDP for LP, they could use to drive 1080p out, which is a great thing. Hope there won't be too many adapters needed!
I think miniDP is the best port for Apple to use because that will offer VGA, DVI, and so on. But Apple really needs to make their own MiniDP to HDMI cable. Seriously. I hope the iPad2 with miniDP out and 1080p support etc. coincides with Apple releasing a miniDP to HDMI adaptor. Sorely needed.
Not every device in a business or home has AirPlay and adding this output to an externally much larger screen would be great in impromptu presentations and more.
Any business can have AirPlay for $99.
And, I disagree that it would be great for impromptu presentations. I think it would be extremely cumbersome to have to hold a tablet with a big cable sticking out of it. How many people are using the VGA cable now to do this?
What would be great for presentations is using an iPhone + AirPlay.
Potential is limitless
With all the talk about the demise of the home button on the iPad 2, why isn't anyone mentioning that this case clearly has a place for the home button?
Because that speculation was never governed by logical thought.
I think miniDP is the best port for Apple to use because that will offer VGA, DVI, and so on. But Apple really needs to make their own MiniDP to HDMI cable. Seriously. I hope the iPad2 with miniDP out and 1080p support etc. coincides with Apple releasing a miniDP to HDMI adaptor. Sorely needed.
Just buy one from monoprice. Even if Apple made such a cable I'd recommend getting one elsewhere.
I believe that the EU rules only cover mobile phones. I'm sure that Apple could argue that even the 3G version of the iPad isn't a phone.
Also, as your diagram shows, USB cables specify a host (type A) and slave (type
Mini Display Port makes sense though. Apple already sells all of the adaptors needed for it and I'm sure they would love the chance to reduce the number of items in their inventory. I wouldn't complain either since I already own several of the adaptors for my MBP.
It needs to be an OTG port then only it will make sense.
However I like where this speculation is going.
Exactly! It's sounding like the iPad2 will cater to every whiner that complained about the first iPad.
Hint to n00bs: jamming USB sticks into iPad2 will *not* make your sneakernet-hobbled digital life any better.
No, you do not want a C: Drive file system on your iPad. Trust me. You can't even figure out the Mac file system!
They need Steve now more than ever. He's the best at managing feature creep, though also good at infuriating people when Apple products lack a certain feature they desire.
I'm starting to think the iPad2 should just be an amorphous blob of liquid metal that will form into anything you want it to do at any time. That will keep the design clean but cater to everyone. "You want to connect your printer via a parallel port? Hell yeah, the iPad2 can do that...!"
Of course, the rumors preceding the run-up to any Apple product release sound like they're catering to every whiner, because that's the nature of these rumors. Wishful thinking, for the most part.