None of the new stuff is new technology. They're amazing at selling something that's good enough for a lot of uses and leaving a lot of space for improvement in the very near future. If they would've included cameras and the accelerometer in version 1, and perhaps made it a bit thinner, version 2 would've been significantly less interesting.

Really?

I assume that you look back on every product's new version and say, "none of this is new tech, they could have shipped it in the last version!"

In almost every case, subsequent versions are driven directly by previous versions; nothing revolutionary happens. Was the dual core A5 ready for the first iPad? Was unibody aluminum manufacturing ready for the form factor and volume of iPad? Were the cameras sourced cheaply enough for the first iPad? What about 512MB RAM? Could all of this have been done in time for the first iPad? You have none of those answers, and I bet that most of them are "no."

Then you have something like the Smart Covers. Those are derived directly from watching what happened with the first iPad. No great cases came out, and people wanted to protect the screen. You ask, "Somehow the screen is all of a sudden the only important thing?" Well, yes, for many people. Myself included. I refuse to use any case, because most prevent easy docking, add bulk and are a pain. But every time I travel with my iPad, I am careful to stick it in a bag such that the screen is protected.

You know, that 's exactly what everyone says about software, which is why it's nearly always late and buggy. The temptation to add "just one more thing" absolutely kills products.

Please believe me when I tell you, Apple's magic is leaving stuff out. Not because they can make more money later, but because they are smart enough to ship a great product that works properly NOW rather than trying for a perfect product that is late and buggy later.