A front-facing camera. A rear-facing camera. Thinner, lighter. Larger speakers. These are some of the rumors about what to expect from Apple’s iPad 2, which is expected to be unveiled on Wednesday.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company has sold more than 15 million of the category-defining device, so most observers expect only evolutionary, not revolutionary, changes in Apple’s tablet computer. Even with new tablet competitors launching and dozens more expected, Apple’s task is to tweak — but not change — the basic recipe.
iPad Now a ‘Brand’
Avi Greengart, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, noted that Apple “doesn’t need to do anything” to keep its lead in spite of the growing wave of competitors.
He cited three reasons. First, Greengart said, the iPad has “become a brand.” This means iPad isn’t just the name of Apple’s product, because some people use “iPad” to refer to any tablet device.
“They were the first-movers in this category,” he said. “They cracked the code on tablets, and now they’re reaping the rewards.”
The second reason for Apple’s currently unassailable position, he said, is the App Store, in which there are more than 60,000 iPad-specific applications. “No other tablet is close,” Greengart said, although he expects Android-based tablets to acquire a large base of tablet-specific apps — at some point.
Greengart said the third advantage in Apple’s corner is its iTunes Store, whose huge inventory and ease of use help maintain its dominance among online digital stores for music and movies. “I have a Motorola Xoom tablet,” Greengart said, “and it’s not simple enough to get a movie that I could explain to my mother how to do it.”
‘Not in Jeopardy’
Sarah Rotman Epps, a Forrester analyst, said she won’t be surprised if Apple adds Thunderbolt, the new very-high-speed peripheral port recently introduced in the new MacBook Pros, to…