Drewbot

My predictions?

• General cleanup. The iPad has a few hangs here and there and could benefit from a tighter OS. Expect a big focus here.
• Big advertising news: look for Apple to become a vendor and integrate the offering with the SDK. IE: watch this ad and unlock this video/item/content.
• No multitasking. The apps aren’t ready for it and the memory is too small to handle switching. Wait a year.
• BUT I bet something big will occur with Flash. But it’ll be a compromise. Apple launching with no Flash was a political move in many ways, one that might force Adobe to let Apple have more control in deploying it to the device. It could be integrated in Quicktime, the SDK or another garden of sorts. It won’t run wild in Safari though, count on that.
• Google maps will stay in. Bing will be a search option, but not the default.
• Better document support for the iPad. Right now the way you move documents to the device is clunky (through iTunes, in the sync panel) and not in line with the user expectation (which the iPad is all about). Expect email or Mobile Me to pass documents to iWork or other apps.
• Better Mobile Me update/integration. The two Mobile Me iPhone apps were curiously absent from the iPad update storm. Expect them on the 8th, and more robust.
• Original iPhones will be left out of this update.

Update: As I think about it, Flash integration (however small) will be a huge stick in the spokes of every other would be tablet competitor. Apple has remained strong on the anti-Flash kick for the last several months, giving all competitors the opening to build their marketing plans on. If Apple adds in Flash they not only unlock a big chunk of the consumer hold outs, but they also catch everyone else with their pants down.