Where Does That Leave the iPad?

We've had the iPad now for just over 3 months, and we've been enjoying (when we get a signal) our iPhone 4s for a few weeks, too. But these are just two of the three major iOS platforms. Rumors are beginning to stir about what Apple has in store for its latest iPod Touch refresh this September. With two newly updated devices, where does the iPad stand?

Opponents have long put forth that the iPad is just a big iPod Touch. As far as size goes, that's clearly the case. But the iPad has also benefited from the A4 processor, an amazing new battery, and OS refinements. It outclasses the aging iPod Touch in numerous ways.

But what if the rumors prove true, that the iPod Touch will receive many of the enhancements currently in the iPhone 4? Considering Steve Jobs said that millions of FaceTime devices will be available this year, plus photos of iPod Touch casings showing a hole where a front-facing camera would go, it's completely reasonable that the iPod will in fact support video chat. Throw in the possible 5 megapixel camera (even the Nano can take photos and shoot video), another custom Apple processor (most likely the A4), a gyroscope, the retina display, and the continued benefits of iOS 4.0, and the iPod Touch may very well be technologically superior to the iPad.

With the iPad not receiving the new OS until later in the fall (our money is on November), this leaves the iPad in third place. We also assume that the iPad won't be refreshed until sometime in 2011. As Apple is prone to keeping similar release schedules year after year, don't expect anything on store shelves until the spring.

So what has Apple done? They've released a "magical and revolutionary" device that is about to completely outrevolutionized by products from the same company.

When we first got the iPad, we felt a bit like we had graduated, that we were entering a new era. How will we feel come September? Does the larger screen still make it feel like a fundamentally different device? Will people who are unwilling to switch to AT&T migrate to the iPod Touch rather than investing in an iPad?

There are a lot of lingering questions here. Apple is going to have to do a superb job at marketing each of these devices in such a way that one does not overshadow the others. As an iPad and iPhone 4 owner, I have zero need to buy a new iPod Touch, but that doesn't mean I won't feel sour that the iPad could be the least magical of the bunch.