Three themes encompass the various improvements embodied in the iPad 2 and its accessories: speed, power, and ergonomics.

I don’t think I need to explain “speed” at all. By “power” I mean the ability to do things which weren’t possible or practical before; this includes the cameras, the gyroscope, the Verizon-compatible 3G radio, and the faster CPU and GPU — there’s some overlap between speed and power. I’m excited about those themes, but they’re pretty straightforward. I suspect that “ergonomics” requires more explanation.

The iPad 2 has many ergonomic improvements: lighter, thinner, rounded edges, flatter back, and the Smart Covers. These advances together will make the iPad 2 a significantly better experience than the first iPad. Being lighter and thinner means it’s easier to grasp in one hand with less fatigue over time. The flatter back means it’ll work much better on a flat surface such as a table or desk without a case or stand — the curved back of the first iPad made a case or stand essential. The Smart Covers will also enable more frequent use of the iPad without a case, because they’re so quick and easy to remove.

Combined together, we have a device which will be much easier and more pleasant to use without a case, more likely to be used without a case, and which when held in one hand will frequently be significantly lighter.

I understand why Apple wouldn’t market the iPad 2 using these themes; they’re too abstract for marketing. People generally want to hear about concrete improvements in new models. But there’s value in identifying and understanding the themes embodied in a new version of a product, so as to be able to make a holistic comparison with the older version.

Sure, I could have picked up a MiFi portable WWAN hotspot from Sprint or Verizon, but the service plans for those cost at least $50 a month, and generally more. As frustrated as I am with AT&T — their phone and data service is atrocious in Manhattan, and where the hell is tethering? — the data plans that they’re offering for the iPad are attractive and even a little innovative. $15 a month for occasional usage and $30 a month for unlimited are both very reasonable prices for the convenience and utility that this service (hopefully/usually) provides.

So, why did I upgrade from the wifi-only iPad to the 3G model?

First and foremost, it’s because I love using the iPad — it’s the future of computing! — and it was very frustrating and disappointing to not have the ubiquitous networking which has been key to the transformative nature of the iPhone. Carrying around this thing from the future and having to think about when, whether, and where it could use the network, the backbone of the future, was so dissonant it was almost silly. And it definitely led me to take my tablet out and about with me less than I would have otherwise.

Now that my tablet does have ubiquitous network, I’ll have it with me more often, and I’ll be able to use it in many more situations. And that’s exciting, because you know what? I really love using this thing. I also have a MacBook Pro and an iPhone 3G, but right now the iPad is my computing device of choice. It doesn’t fit every use case, but whenever I want to do something, if it can be done on the iPad, that’s what I opt to use. Its touch interface and its form factor are just so much more engaging, rewarding, and relaxing than a laptop or desktop, and the larger screen and faster brain make it much more powerful, useful, and relaxing than an iPhone. Sure, I could have written and posted something this long with my phone, and I have, but it’s a bit of a pain on that little screen.

(I know I wrote “relaxing” twice in the previous paragraph. Trust me, it was intentional. That’s a theme I’ve been thinking about, and if I can find the time to write it, it’ll be another post.)

Other reasons that I upgraded:

• A MiFi would be one more thing for me to carry around, have to keep track of, charge, and at some point lose.
• The MiFi data plans cost ~$60, and that’s way too much to pay for occasional usage. I’m usually around a wifi network I can use; I only need WWAN every once in a while, and AT&T’s iPad plans are perfect for that. Not only are they affordable, they’re month-to-month plans with no contract — I can always cancel at any time if I don’t need or want the service.
• My previous iPad already has a new home at my company. That’s fortunate; not everyone who might like to upgrade has such a convenient and affordable avenue to do so.

I’ll be arriving in New York soon, so it’s time to wrap this up and post.

Good night, and good luck — from the future!

Kirn has good points, and I don’t necessarily disagree with any of them. But as for ports, I think he might be missing something: wireless. The primary use of cables and ports is to connect two devices together so they can transfer data. (Control signals count as data too.) I wouldn’t be surprised if Steve Jobs has decided that most people don’t need USB anymore and that wireless is ready to replace it in most cases.

This could be a recurrence of what occurred in 1998 when Steve Jobs unleashed a storm of controversy by introducing the iMac without a floppy disk drive. He started the shift from using floppy disks for data transfer to using USB, optical disks, and networking. Today he may be finishing what he started; catalyzing the final shift from physical media to using radio waves for all data transfer.

Wi-Fi (802.11) and Bluetooth are at this point nearly ubiquitous, and the chips and controllers which implement them are now very inexpensive. Wi-fi is capable of transfer speeds similar to USB 2.0, which might allow it to suffice for transferring large volumes of data and connecting devices via Bluetooth is pretty simple these days.

Both standards also have recently added new features which can make connecting faster, simpler, and more secure; Apple could implement these features to make these technologies even more workable as replacements for USB.

This shift, from cables to wireless connections, is by no means a fait accompli, but it’s well under way, and will probably turn out to be a net win for most people.

On the upside, I’ll never look an excuse-to-upgrade-horse in the mouth!

I’d love to see it have:

• A Blu-Ray/DVD/CD drive
• A TV tuner and DVR functionality
• Safari — now that the iPhone Remote app can display a keyboard for the Apple TV’s text interfaces, and could easily support pointer control, there’s no real impediment to a full-blown web browser — preferably including Flash, so sites like Hulu and Vimeo would function
• An app store — why not? The Apple TV is really just a computer with TV-optimized ports, drivers, and UI. (Similar to how the iPhone is really just a computer with mobile-optimized hardware and software.) Once the iPhone Remote app enabled a keyboard and pointer anywhere, it’d be pretty great to be able to browse and install third-party apps, just as on the iPhone. Apple already has the infrastructure for this; releasing an Apple TV SDK would be no sweat.
• Dashboard widget support. TVs and widgets will go together as naturally as peanut butter and jelly.
• An easy way to copy music and video to the device without having to use iTunes
• Broader media format support — it should support divx, mkv, vorbis, theora, flac, etc.
• The ability to plug in a memory card — preferably to the built-in SD-card reader — and display a slide show of the photos and videos on the card, or copy them to the ATV
• User-upgradeable hard drive. Don’t get me started on this.
• A true sleep mode which uses nearly zero energy
• The ability to display the photos and videos on my phone, via wifi, without copying them first

I see all these things as easily attainable. I’d buy it!

Dear Keynote Team:

Thanks so much for all the great enhancements in Keynote ’09!

One of the new features that I’m most excited about is the new Connection Lines feature. This is great! I really like making diagrams in Keynote, the ability to build in one element at a time, focus on it, and then bring in the next one, can really help people connect to the ideas I’m trying to convey.

There’s one aspect of Connection Lines that I think could be improved: when an object they’re connected to moves because of a Move Action, the line doesn’t move along with it. Ideally, it really should.

Thanks!

Subject: Please enable on-the-fly conversion when syncing

Much of the music in my library is in Apple Lossless format, but that means I can’t fit much of it on my iPhone. My options are to either live with it or convert some albums to MP3, meaning I’ve got duplicate data in my library taking up space on my laptop.

Please make it possible to have iTunes convert Apple Lossless files to MP3 on-the-fly while syncing to my iPhone! I understand that this can make syncs take much more time, but I’m cool with that. And if you need to hide the feature somehow, or just put it into an “advanced” section, that’s fine.

Thanks!

Pros:

• great sound
• highly custamizable fit
• good passive attenuation of ambient sound
• separate microphone and control button makes both more convenient and effective
• high quality materials and construction
• iPhone-specific plug

Cons:

• can hear cord bouncing around as I walk, I think this is called subharmonics, I find it really annoying, but I think it’s a general problem with all “canalphones”, not just these.
• The phones seal really well, and don’t feed any of my voice into the audio, so I can’t hear myself speak, so I end up speaking very loudly – good for callers hearing mr, disconcerting for myself and people around me.
• callers hear a lot of ambient noise when I’m out on the street. (but I am in new york)

Bottom line: excellent headphones with a few quirks, which shine where it matters. And a great gift. Thanks Elina!

(Posted from my phone while walking through Central Park, listening to music, taking calls, and shooting some snapshots.)