We know what’s expected with the launch on Wednesday night of iPad 2. Not a teleporter, unfortunately, but a sensible list of improved features we’ve explained before on PDA – plenty of which, like the camera, should arguably have been included on iPad 1 in the first place.

There’s the predictable slew of buzz-building reports overnight, the most unlikely of which comes from the usually infallible Kara Swisher on All Things Digital who says Steve Jobs himself is mulling an appearance. That’s based on sources who say it is unconfirmed, but that if he does show up it would be a cameo role. A cameo may be, but this would be a very bad idea.

Apple may want to reassure shareholders after speculation about Jobs’ health, rumours about Jonathan Ive wanting to relocate and coverage of former executive Paul Devine who could face 20 years in prison after admitting fraud. But a brief appearance by Jobs is only likely to focus speculation on how healthy he seems, undermine the status-building of possible successors who need to lead the show this time round and take attention away from iPad, which should be enough of a boost for Apple. Also, the guy is on medical leave, and this constant speculation on re-involving him in the daily Apple show is rather naive.

To re-cap, we’re expecting: a lighter, thinner iPad, possibly with a curved back; a front-facing camera to enable Facetime, though a less-logical rear camera is also possible; a new 128GB version; a three-axis gyroscope; a mini-USB universal charging port; and MobileMe is due an overhaul that will introduce a swathe of cloud-based features. April is the likely release time for the US.

Apple will also add a few surprises, the most dramatic of which would be retinal display. We think that’s unlikely give the extra demands on battery power, though perhaps they’ve worked out a way round that. A new global iPad could also run on GSM and CDMA networks, which is another possibility. But what else will Apple have thought of?

We hope for some more writer-friendly tools. As @ThwartedEfforts commented last week, iPad is “fine for idle surfing and games, but … even editing a short email requires beta blockers”. @ParkyDR also suggested a self-wiping screen to get rid of fingerprints, which we love.

In anticipation of iPad 2, Random House has tweaked its ebook pricing, reports paidContent, so that it can set the retail price, and then gives booksellers a cut. Previously, publishing houses had sold wholesale and allowed retailers to discount, which is why Amazon sold ebooks at a loss to encourage sales for the Kindle.

Also overnight, we learnt that all this fuss might be for not very much at all. Cult of Mac has been told by one Apple Insider that the iPad 3 will be the one really worth waiting for. That’s expected later this year, says the report – though less than six months from iPad 2, that seems way too soon. The source also confirmed rumours of the GSM/CDMA model, faster chip and more Ram and both cameras.

“The new MobileMe service will store music, TV shows, and films that were purchased from the iTunes store,” claims Cult of Mac. “The staffer also said that there was talk inside Apple of being able to upload all your music and videos to the cloud whether it was purchased from iTunes or not.”

www.guardian.co.uk

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