Well, it seems we are perhaps a month or so away from Apple announcing details about the next generation iPad, the iPad 3. Thanks to digitimes, we’ve heard a bunch of rumours about Apple creating a smaller version (7 inches) as well as hearing shortly after that two versions are launching this year… an iPad 3 and iPad 4. Why they keep reporting things like this is not known as it breaks away from iOS devices being launched yearly (or there abouts). Anyway, I thought I’d share some of my “more sensible” thoughts on what the next generation iPad will include and what exactly we will see.

The original iPad was announced on January 27th 2010 and went on sale on 3rd April (WiFi only model). A few weeks later the 3G model launched and about a month after that the iPad launched in the UK and several other countries. The iPad 2 was announced early March 2011 and went on sale just over a week later in the US. The UK and other countries followed a couple of weeks after that.

Apple appears to be aiming for March launches with the iPad, so we expect the iPad 3 will be announced early March and go on sale mid-March as it did last year.

What Apple will bring to the iPad 3?
Apple will be upgrading a number of features on the iPad 3 although exactly what the changes are, I don’t know for sure until Apple make the official announcement. But, I can make quite an educated guess based on how Apple updates it’s products year after year.

I think that’s about it for what the iPad 3 will include. Rumours that are a little too far-fetched for this time around include the lack of a home button, fuel-cell batteries and wireless charging.

What about the September launch of an iPad 4: Digitimes sent a rumour around about the iPad 4 launching in September which will be about 6 months after the launch of the iPad 3. The iPad 4 (or whatever it’s called) was said to be a “Pro” version of the iPad. The problem with this rumour is that it just doesn’t fit with how Apple works. iOS devices typically are launched once a year and usually ever 11 – 13 months apart. There have been some changes to this such as the iPhone 4S being delayed a few months. Apple is unlikely to launch a second iPad in the same year as it breaks away from the simplicity of having a single device launch each year.

I might be alone on this, but I quite like that Apple releases an iPad each year and an iPhone each year. I use both and know roughly when I’ll be upgrading. When I was an Android user there were so many handsets available that I often wondered if that other handset was better than the one I had. Also, as I had older generation Android devices (new at the time), I occasionally found that apps wouldn’t work and had to root and use CyanogenMod to run a later version of Android so that an app was compatible.

Going back to the iPad 3 launch, don’t expect anything too radical. Apple will likely update the processor, screen, cameras and keep the same or similar design this time around. I might be wrong and I welcome your thoughts in the comments below.

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Pocket-Lint is reporting today that Apple, and other companies, are in talks with the company behind HZO and that if successful, next gen devices could be made waterproof. Although companies are discussing matters, there is no guarantee that the tech will be used. But, watching the demonstration videos below I think you’ll agree that this is a smart step forwards particularly with water being capable of causing a lot of damage to a smartphone.

The technology works by using an invisible vapor coating that protects around the components with nano-sized molecules that fill in the gaps and provide a protective barrier from water. The idea behind it is simple and it’s great to see that the company behind it has managed to get it to work effectively as it does. Take a look at the two videos below. The first shows a demonstration of a device protected and dunked in water. The second is a brief description about how the technology works.

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I purchased an iPad the day it launched in the UK in 2010 but found that for the last 19 months I had taken both a laptop and iPad while travelling. The reason for this is that I wanted access to WordPress. A WordPress app exists but it lacks in so many ways. Although I consumed information on the iPad and read various news items I always switched back to my laptop when I wanted or needed to work.I then came across an app called Blogsy and this changed the way I work… almost. Blogsy is a blogging app that allows you to connect to various blogs. My own config connects me to three self-hosted WordPress blogs which includes this one, my gadget blog and a technical support blog that I run.

What I like about Blogsy

What I dislike about Blogsy
With the new version that launched a week or so ago, I’ve found that most dislikes are now irrelevant. Dislikes included crashing, HTML being messed up and some issues with images although each of these appear to have been resolved. There’s the occasional quirk to be found such as alignment of text occasionally gets messed up with formating images. The good news is that the Blogsy app is often updated and many bugs and updates are included in those updates.

Would I recommend it?
I certainly would recommend Blogsy. It costs £2.99 in the UK and allows full blogging on the move. Of course, Blogsy is a blogging app. If you use a lot of images in posts then you’ll also need to download an app that works well with images so that you can create/edit and save locally or on to a remote service so that Blogsy can work with them. If you have those tools and Blogsy then it turns your iPad in to a device that can be used well for blogging. Very highly recommended!

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