iPad Features Still to Come?

The buzz prior to the existence of the iPad is almost as the outcries from disappointed fans and critics alike. The prevailing comments I get from a the tech savvy observers familiar with the iPad seems to be:, “It doesn’t have X feature so it sucks.” or “I don’t think I need that”. While the latter mindset was addressed in the previous post, some new and interesting information about the iPad that speaks to the former has been trickling out. As consumers scour the Apple site; and developers the SDK searching for more insight into this increasingly mysterious device.

The iPad might support Flash. According to the analysis done by iPhone Alley the iPad is demonstrated browsing the NYT website, and showing a flash element being rendered properly on the tablet. This is in contrast to the ugly blue “missing plugin” icon safari showed during Jobs’ keynote demo. Could this be an early prototype for some more loosely defined variant of flash, or even a custom written apple flash lite player, designed to use the A4 processor for performance and energy saving gains? Doubtful, but it seems as though that would be a viable option.

The iPad may get a camera (possibly before launch, possibly in a the next revision. Ars Technica explores the iPad’s camera options in this article.

Let’s all try to remember that the iPad is still 2 months away from shipping and it’s not impossible to suppose Apple could add features prior to launch as production hasn’t been fully ramped up. Besides, that fat black bezel is begging to have a front facing camera installed.