iPad 2 case predictions

The rumors is that the iPad 2 is will be announced by Apple in January of 2011. That means that the case manufacturers will be designing new iPad 2 cases at a furious rate to meet that demand of millions of Apple devotees will be looking for the covers for their new iPads. To meet that demand, the manufacturers, like many pundits, will have to guess what the new iPad 2 will look like. Here are the current rumors:

• The iPad 2 will have a front facing camera. This would make sense. Apple has been pushing their new face time functionality on the iPhone 4.
• The iPad 2 is thinner than the original iPad. If Apple could do it, they would. The rumors are that the glass on the display panels will be thinner, making for a thinner and possibly a lighter tablet.
• There will be a 3-axis gyroscope built in. The iPhone 4 already has a such a gyroscope for better gaming so it makes sense to give each product line similar features.
• The CPU will be faster. This goes without saying- Apple has to increase the CPU speed just keep up with the competition. The question is will the next iPad have a dual core CPU like the BlackBerry Playbook?

• The iPad 2 will have retina display. There are a lot of rumors going around about this, but the Apple would have to balance the value of a 9 .7inch retina display with the power consumption. It will be hard for Steve Jobs to decide to give up one of the iPad's key features, its amazing battery life, for his other favorite the retina screen.
• The new iPad will come in a 7 inch version. The 7 inch version is very popular with the Android crowd, some think that Apple will follow the eReader trend. Obviously, that does not sound like Apple and Steve Jobs has already stated that the perfect tablet size for a tablet is the 9.7 inch display.
• The iPad 2 will use a microUSB port. This goes against Apple's whole philosophy and it would damage the whole Apple peripheral market. But the company may have to switch to appease European regulators who want all cell phones to have the same charging/connectivity technology across Europe. Apple has signed on to the standard. It is more likely that Apple will provide a microUSB adapter to the European version of the iPad 2.

There are the current rumors on the iPad 2 and its specs. Based on the rumors, here is what the new crop of iPad cases and covers may look like:

• If the iPad 2 is slimmer/lighter than the first, then case makers will be pushed to make slimmer covers.
• No-one should be rushing out to create a 7 inch iPad cover.
• There should be space for a front and possibly back facing camera in any new case.
• There may be a great market for game centric cases for the new iPad as it may become a gaming powerhouse.
• If there is a retina display, cases with built in batteries will start to take off. Ipad 2 owners will be looking for extra battery life.

We'll see in a few months how these predictions fare as the new iPad 2 gets announced and the case makers come to market.