5 Things Missing From the iPad 2
Mar 2, 2011 05:00 PM EDT by 
Yes, the iPad 2 brings a lot to the tablet party, and it will likely leave the competition scrambling (again). But there are some features Apple left out that we wish were here. Here’s a quick rundown of what you don’t get.
4G: It’s great that both AT&T and Verizon Wireless will sell the iPad 2 with integrated 3G (starting at $629), but where’s the 4G? Sure, AT&T’s 4G network isn’t really delivering 4G speeds yet, but Verizon’s LTE is super speedy and would come in handy when uploading those HD videos you’ve edited in iMovie. At least the AT&T version uses the carrier’s HSUPA technology for faster uploads.
Memory Card slot: Once again iPad owners will have to rely on an accessory to access the contents of an SD card. And the superslim profile most likely crushes any hope of this feature being added in the future. The good news is that you can use the iPad 2 as a camera itself, though it’s a fairly large one.
Higher-Resolution Screen: Rumors of a Retina Display for the iPad 2 weren’t long-lived, but we would have liked a bump in resolution. Fortunately, the IPS panel on the iPad 2 still sports great viewing angles and resists fingerprints.
Super Mega MobileMe: Right on the eve of the iPad 2 launch there were still rumors that Apple would leverage its new server farms to let users store their music and other stuff in the cloud (Apple acquired lala for a reason). The word was that iTunes and MobileMe would integrate or merge, letting people stream and upload to their heart’s content. Maybe later.
New Multitouch Gestures: One feature that the developer version of iOS 4.3 supports that didn’t make it into the iPad 2 (at least for launch) is the ability to quickly switch between apps with a swipe. The developer build also supports swiping up to reveal the multitasking bar and pinch to get to the home screen. Apparently, these features are remaining in preview mode for now.
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March 3rd, 2011 at 4:23 pm
Considering rumors that Verizon’s first (and still unreleased) 4G LTE phone, the HTC Thunderbolt, currently lasts 2 or 3 hours on a charge, it might be for the best that Apple passed this up for now…
http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/25/htc-thunderbolt-said-to-have-terrible-battery-life-might-explai/
March 3rd, 2011 at 9:18 pm
waste of money to upgrade. No innovation here. I am dissappointed and willnot by. Oh yes, why white color at lauch. when did that become a favorite color for electrinic devices. Can wait for the HTC flyer. I will be able to write on pages of ebooks, webpages etc. can’t wait. sooo long ipad
March 3rd, 2011 at 9:22 pm
the idea of uploading an HD video over LTE being considered as a feature shows how far CNET has fallen off as a trusted source.
carriers have bandwith limitations, and at $20/GB, I’d rather upload from home over WiFi. a few minutes of 1080p resolution will easily carve out 1/2 of the allocated bandwidth.
March 4th, 2011 at 10:11 am
Usb port which works with 3rd party peripherals
Full sim for 3g
A stylus for notetaking specifically designed for the ipad with a smaller tip than the usual round tip stylus.
A skype ipad app
Flash
multiple user log in
built in kickstand
a file system
…. lots more than just 5. Really I am not impressed with this update and will stick to the ipad1 or look out for an android tablet that supports netflix in the future. Hopefully the ipad3 will solve a few more of the issues.