Live coverage: Apple to launch the next iPad

 

Technology Live is in San Francisco, where we will provide live coverage of Apple's big event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

It's expected that the company will introduce its next generation iPad. What features will make it past the rumor mill into reality? Will we see a sharper display, or 4G connectivity? What other options will Apple reveal?

Follow us as we deliver updates from the event starting at 1 p.m. ET.

It's always tricky to trawl in Apple rumors before a release, but here are a few things that could be on the new iPad, according to an Associated Press roundup:

- A sharper display. The iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S both have a "retina" display. A whopping 2048 by 1536 pixel screen resolution would make text easier to read, but won't make much of a difference on video resolution.

-A new name. Apple generally sticks to its numbering system (iPad 2, iPhone 3, iPhone 4, etc.) but the Apple rumor mill thinks the company might break with tradition and call the new iPad the "iPad HD."

- Faster processor. This one just makes logical sense. The iPad 2 is fast, but why not make it faster?

- 4G capability. The iPad 2 (and iPhone 4S, for that matter) still use the 3G cellular network, which is slower but uses much less battery. An upgrade to 4G capabilities would make the iPad much faster (when not on Wi-Fi anyway), but would also drain the battery quicker.

-Siri. This was Apple's big addition to the iPhone 4S. Users haven't all taken to Siri, but it would make sense to add superior voice-control capabilities.

-Wildcard. Who knows! The rumor mills have a way of getting things seriously wrong. Everyone thought the iPhone 4S was going to be the iPhone 5. Whoops!