If there’s one thing gadget fans love, it’s predicting the future, and one of the great things about working at T3 is that we get to hear about future tech developments early. Not being the types to keep anything under our hats, we’re always keen to pass the latest on to you so this month we’ve teamed up with the Alloy Design agency to look at the next evolutions in our Pulse, Play, Work and Home lives.
It’s all based on research currently being undertaken in the world’s labs and design studios, so click the links below to see what the future holds for the next 20 years of your gadget life.
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iPad 2.0: Features we hope to see
The most anticipated gadget of 2010, with a million US sales in its first month, has already begun flying off UK’s Apple Stores shelves. We’ve had an iPad at T3 towers For nigh-on two months already, and as a result, we’re already thinking about the next iPad and how it could be improved.
Now, we know many of the things we’d like to see In iPad 2.0 would be dismissed out of hand by Apple, but there’s nothing to stop them all appearing in rival devices instead.
See below for the features we'd like to see in the next Apple iPad
1. Slimmer, lighter
In our experience, 99% of people that pick up the ipad immediately say, “it’s heavier than i thought it was going to be.” However, apple tends to have a very firm idea of The point where form and function meet, so we don’t expect anything more than a very slight slimming in future iPads.
Likelihood: 3/10
2. Front camera
Why can’t you use video iChat and Skype on the iPad? It’s a mystery to match the location of all those socks that go missing in laundrettes.
Likelihood: 9/10
3. Rear camera
With AR technology picking up pace thanks to apps like Layar, and the boom in location-based selling – including via Apple’s iAds – this seems a distinct possibility.
Likelihood: 6/10
4. Transflective pixelqi screen
This hybrid screen tech has a colour mode that does justice to video indoors, but also an e-ink-like reflective mode that allows text to be read in direct sunlight.
Likelihood: 4/10
5. Multi-tasking
It’s in the iPhone 4.0 OS, so it seems like a given for iPad. The question is, will the iPad 2.0 let you run multiple apps in windows on a single screen, or will you have to flick between them one at a time, phone style?
Likelihood: 10/10
6. Easier typing
You pretty much have to put the iPad down to type. But what if there were rear touchpads at the left and right edges? That would allow you to hold the iPad two-handed and still rifle off emails…
Likelihood: 3/10
7. 4G networking
It’s not a case of if this will happen, but when. It’s unlikely for iPad 2.0 but the prospect of a super-fast, always-on connection that even works underground is too good to turn down…
Likelihood: 2/10
8. Flash support
Well, we can dream. Apple’s living in cloud cuckoo land if it thinks html 5 is going to make flash an irrelevance in the near future, though.
Likelihood: 0/10
9. More storage
We expect a base amount of 32GB, heading up to a 128GB range-topper.
Likelihood: 8/10
10. Touchscreen advances
Gaming would benefit From 3D touchscreen tech, which can tell how hard you’re pushing. Screen wipe manufacturers would be distraught, meanwhile, were Apple to consider “air gesture” tech, which detects movements above the screen.
Likelihood: 2/10
11. SD card slot
You know: for SD cards. There’s one on the MacBook Pro these days.
Likelihood: 5/10
12. USB slot
We think the lack of a single USB may in future be remembered as the same kind of “genius” that led early iMacs to have No CD-R drive built in.
Likelihood: 8/10
13. Calendar swipe
It’s funny how the Smallest things annoy you the most. Why can’t you swipe to the next month in the calendar app? Sort it, Apple…
Likelihood: 9/10
14. Sync via Wi-Fi
If Apple hates USB so much, why do we still have to sync using it? Let’s do It over the air, and keep the cable for charging only (until wireless electricity takes off…)
Likelihood: 4/10