stroe laura: iPad 2: what new features are you hoping for?

It won't cause as much a stir as the first generation iPad launch but it could iron out some irritants and be worth an upgrade

The invitations have gone out. The hint of an iPad screen glinting behind an emphatic calendar date for Wednesday 2 March was enough to confirm that next week's event will launch the second incarnation of Apple's iPad.

Despite the fanfare, iPad 2 is unlikely to cause quite as much of a stir as the first generation iPad, revealed in the US on 3 April last year. Publishers ambitiously pinned their hopes on the iPad as at least part of the answer in encouraging consumers to pay for premium online content. Those ambitions have manifested as ambitious digital magazines Cond� Nast, incoherent and surprisingly old-world digital newspapers the Daily and promising though commercially uncertain models Pulse and Flipboard.

Proving you really do need to be careful for what you wish for, Apple then unleashed its in-app subscription system; suddenly a 30% commission (and that's before VAT) that the world had been happy for developers to lose to Apple seemed an unacceptably high margin for publishers.

Since iPad 1 arrived, a swathe of rival tablets have come to market, not least the Samsung Galaxy Tab, HTC Flyer, LG Optimus Pad and Google's next generation Android operating system Honeycomb, specifically for tablets.

And so to the next generation of iPad. Did Apple leave out enough features of iPad 1 to make iPad 2 worth an upgrade? Here's our take:

? iPad 2 will be lighter and thinner ? Apple will have squeezed the air out of the current bubbly design to make those reduced millimetres a new selling point. Thinner glass and possibly carbon fibre panels are both ways Apple is rumoured to have been exploring this.

? Camera. The iPad's most noticeable missing feature to do, a new front-facing camera would enable FaceTime. A rear camera is possible but less likely as the iPad makes a most unwieldy camera. Would a new camera open some interesting options for developers?

? More memory ? current iPad memory sizes are 16GB, 32GB and 64GB, so a 128GB seems likely.

? There has been speculation that Apple is considering removing the home button, though this seems unlikely.

? Rumours as long ago as last August have expected Apple to introduce a three-axis gyroscope ? more good news for game developers.

? One of the more bizarre rumours was that iPad 2 would include a USB port. That goes completely against Apple's increasingly locked-down strategy ? the only content Apple wants you to have on Apple devices is whatever it can get you to pay for through the App Store. The web browser is likely to remain the only exception to that, and I'll eat my hat if it adds a USB port. That said, a mini-USB charging port could happen, which would mean Apple bowing to very sensible EU regulation on universal chargers.

? On the wishlist for many has been the hope that retinal displays ? the superior, flawless screens of the latest iPhone and iPod Touch ? would make it to the new generation of iPad. Though that 9.7 screen would carry it well, the battery-sucking demands of the retinal screen, and intelligence that shows no processor upgrade for iPad 2, mean it is very unlikely for now. On the plus side, Apple has reportedly been working on reducing screen glare in bright sunlight, so may claim some improvement.

? AllThingsD claimed back in November that iPad 2 will be more global-friendly iPad that could run on GSM and CDMA networks, so keep an eye on that.

? As for price, it seems unlikely Apple will make too many concessions. There might be bargain basements copycat tabs, but Apple will look to keep its position at the premium end of the market. If you don't care about that front-facing camera, however, this is a good time to pick up a cheap iPad 1.

For regular iPad users ? and those who try any serious amount of writing rather than just watching and reading ? will be keenly watching for any improvements with the interface. The keyboard is OK, and the iPad can be paired through bluetooth with external keyboards fairly easily, but the cursor is cursed. We don't expect that to be fixed any time soon, however.

Another regular moan is from those of us who research and write at the same time; we need an app that's half browser window, half composition tool. That doesn't need Apple to fix it ? just a keen developer, but it's one of a set of grievances that hold back the iPad's potential to be a serious professional alternative to a laptop. With some modest improvements to usability, it really could be.

Jemima Kiss

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