Home [Poll] Are the iPad 3 Rumors Underwhelming?

[Poll] Are the iPad 3 Rumors Underwhelming?

One more thing … what will it be this time around? Apple’s so-called iPad 3 is said to be announced in the first week of March and the rumor mill thinks it has pretty much nailed what the device will entail. A higher resolution screen, faster processor, better battery and a quality camera all packed in the same 9.7-inch form factor running iOS 5. Is it a technological marvel of the mobile revolution or just another ho-hum iteration from Apple?

If you are a device specification geek, the lusty deets from the iPad 3 are likely to excite you more Megan Fox announcing she is coming back for Transformers 9: The Rise and Fall of Prime set in the year 0001 A.D. during the height of the Roman Empire. If not, well, you might be out of luck with the iPad 3. It is hard to get pumped up for a device that, in reality, will be a nominal upgrade over the already great iPad 2. That is why I am waiting for the “one more thing” from the iPad 3. Are the iPad 3 rumors underwhelming? That is the topic of this week’s ReadWriteMobile poll.

As we discussed when the iPhone 4S was released, public expectations of new Apple products are unreasonably high. Five to 10 years ago, when PCs were making great technological leaps from one version to the next, we all cared about how much RAM was packed in a new unit, what kind of processor it was running and where the components of the motherboard came from. The smartphone revolution similarly glommed on to the spec-driven madness. Single core, dual … quad core?! How many megahertz is that baby packing?

We are not all that concerned with hardware specs at ReadWriteWeb. When we write about hardware, it is within the discussion of functionality. How many different tasks can a quad-core tablet perform and how does that make you a better Internet user, employee, developer, publisher? What kind of benefits or detriments are there to the deployment of LTE 4G for mobile app developers?

Every year with Apple we are looking for the company to wow us with something new, something “magical.” Pundits do not accept iterative releases that are a small step above the last round. Part of that is because Apple only releases one new iPhone and iPad a year unlike a company like Samsung that releases a new smartphone or tablet seemingly every other week. When you release two new mobile products a year, they better blow our freaking socks off.

What is the one more thing, damn it?!

There better be a special one more thing at next month’s iPad announcement. Because I do not really care if the “iPad 3” has a 2048×1536 resolution screen. I am interested in a better battery but it is not a game changer that I must have. A camera that actually takes quality pictures would be nice too but the iPad is rarely a camera for me. Apple needs to convince me that the iPad 3 is so far and above the iPad 2 that I need… it… now.

The iPad 2 did this to the original iPad. While it may seem blasphemous to the Apple Fanboys, the iPad 2 made the original seem like a prototype. I do not see this happening with the iPad 3.

It may have Siri! Shrug. LTE! Doubt it. Interesting but not essential. Bluetooth! I was never much of a Bluetooth user anyway (and I am not alone in that). Thunderbolt! With Wi-Fi syncing in iOS 5, that is not a game-changer and Thunderbolt’s rollout is limited enough to make it of nominal impact. Really, my prediction is that the iPad 3 will have a lot of the same functionality of the iPhone 4S, a device that is a solid release but nothing groundbreaking from previous versions.

Steve Jobs was known for his “one more thing.” With the iPhone 4S there was not really a one more thing. What can Apple do to really surprise us anymore?

This is why I find the iPad 3 rumors to be underwhelming. None of the spec-driven madness excites me. We used to expect game-changers from Apple every year. Now we just get iterative updates. Does that make Apple a victim of unreasonable expectations? Certainly.

What do you think of the iPad 3 rumors? Are specs enough for you? Do you get all tingly with Retina display quality? Take the poll below and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

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