In all seriousness, how do you make these things better? I'll look at a few things and see if I can decipher why they might make the iPad a better product for the
intended audience, and why they
might make the thing a kludge. Here I go. My opinions, only, so try not to read too much into it.
Retina Display: If there is one aspect of the iPhone 4/iPod Touch 4 that people seem to be really pleased with, it is the screen sharpness. A retina display on the iPad would be an incredible advancement that competitors will struggle to match, and that will give the iPad the sharpest, most advanced screen available. However, the power draw and video processing for such a screen may have a negative affect on performance as well as battery life, and possibly cost. But the offset in terms of super-rich media content and resolution independence make the retina display a game changer, no matter what product it lands in.
Storage Capacity: The iPad 3 will likely need to double available storage capacities for three reasons: 1) To maintain pace with spec-whoring competitors who think they have a more useable product simply because it can store more crap; 2) people are buying apps/movies/music in droves, and they Just Need™ the space to carry all that junk around; and 3) some developers want to shoehorn gigantic pieces of bloated software into the iPad. Of all the things the iPad 3 needs, this is the second to least important, IMO.
File System: I cannot get on board with this one. Sorry. One of the reasons that the iPad is such a hot seller is the
lack of a file system. They are just flat simple to use. One of the great troubles I see with people who struggle on the average desktop computer (including the Mac) is that they get lost in the file system. Adding this level of complexity to the iPad will only serve to make it more difficult for the target audience to use. Control-types can download file-system apps, or they can hack away, but I cannot see the need for the average user. And I don't think Apple sees the need, either. IMO, this is the absolute, least necessary concept for the iPad/iOS devices.
A6 Processor: Yep. Quad-core is coming to the iPad. Why? Who the hell knows!
RAM: Going to double, again, if only to keep up with the insatiable needs of developers who want to squeeze Photoshop onto the thing. This will be good for developers, but bad for consumers. Excessive RAM leads to sloppy coding and software bloat. Soon enough the iPad will be driving apps as bloated as MS Office and consumers will wonder why their iPad is running so slowly. I think that tempering the RAM will maintain good quality apps that are actually useful. This type of device just doesn't lend itself to the massive apps that have plagued the desktop for years. The focus on the iPad was minimalist. Changing the iPad into a Mac Pro replacement is bad news for the product. And, honestly, do we really need to run Call of Duty 4 on these things? In retrospect, I suppose that the gaming market—all by itself—will drive this "need".
USB Ports: Ain't gonna happen. If Apple wants to support USB devices, they can do it through the dock connector. It is clear that Apple is working on a driverless-printer model of sorts, and they are clearly focused on document syncing rather than document storage, thus negating the need to cart around an external hard drive or USB flash drive. The folks who seem to need these things are those who are still stuck in the PC-era file-system days. The iPad is a post-PC device and it has a new interface without file-systems and no genuine need for flash drives. It
is a flash drive. Also, Apple's focus on the iOS devices is that of a wireless world, which leads to the Next Big Thing™.
Wireless Syncing: Yes, this will finally show up, but it will not debut on the iPad 3. It will debut with the iPhone 5 this summer. The iPhone 5/iPod Touch 5/iPad 3 will all retain their dock connectors, but all three will gain the ability to wirelessly sync through local Wifi. I don't buy into this "syncing over the interwebs" thing and think it is a bad idea. We have enough trouble with identity theft and such, and all those songs/videos/photos/apps streaming around on the web are going to open up some serious piracy issues as well as knock available bandwidth into the toilet. This is why I think that wireless syncing will only be available on your local (home) wifi. As a side note, I could see Apple providing a "push to push" button that would send a file from the iPad to a copy of iTunes residing on any wireless network. That would be cool.
Cameras: iPad 3 will gain minor, generational upgrades to its cameras, but Apple will continue to focus these cameras on FaceTime video rather than trying to squeeze a Nikon D model in there. This will be both good and bad for consumers. It will be good for 95% of all iPad users who feel the thing makes a damned foolish camera, and it will be bad for the other 5% of spec-whoring consumers who feel an 8 mega-pixel camera is a must for their tablet, not because it is useful in any way, but because it would be there so they can brag about it.
Adobe Flash:
and
iPhoto: Apple will introduce iPhoto for the iPad. It will not be very powerful, but will allow you to organize your photos directly on the iPad and will allow for some minor color correction and edits. It's biggest features will involve organizational tools and the ability to build custom slideshows that you can then show on your TV. It will cost $4.99.
MobileMe: By the time the iPad 3 is released, MobileMe will have been a free product for nearly a year. MobileMe on the iPad will be an app that allows for video/photo/file sharing and data syncing that will add a lot of value to the device. That is the extent of my imagination on MobileMe. It will be cool, but I cannot wrap my brain around why.
That's it.