The iPhone Rumour Mine: iPad 2.0, Sonic, and Rolando 3

With iPad revealed, the rumours have to head somewhere and they're not straying far from the newly minted device.

An enormous amount of speculation is being thrown out by everyone and their mother, but I've got a clear picture of where Apple is going with the device.

That and word on precisely what is going on inside the Kingdom of Rolando and the story behind Sonic's bizarre Olympic disqualification.

iPad 2.0 already in development

TechCrunch has a delicious rumour about a second iPad in development as Apple works toward the March launch of the official iPad.

While I have problems with some of the specifics outlined in the story, the core of the rumour has merit. From what I'm hearing, work on the follow up to iPad is being prepared; however, it's not the Mac-like tablet that's described in the article.

TechCrunch asserts that a larger 15" iPad would serve as a replacement for a MacBook, particularly when paired with a keyboard peripheral.

But why would Apple offer such a product when CEO Steve Jobs specifically stated iPad was not to be a replacement for a traditional laptop?

Instead, Apple remains intent on moulding a new computing experience with iPad that focuses on multimedia and so hardware revisions won't add more traditional computing features. No, Apple is keener on incorporating more multimedia features and elements to improve accessibility.

That means a camera, photo editing software, video tools, and the like. While productivity software is being promoted, it's only a component - not the emphasis.

The desire is to make iPad an integral part of daily home life: Apple wants you to use it to read recipes while cooking in the kitchen, then set it down on the dinner table to listen to music while dining, and maybe relax afterward with a game on the couch or movie in bed.

iPad is meant to cater to a new audience, to fulfill a new set of digital lifestyle needs.

As such, Apple has started tossing around ideas for the next version, but it's eager to see how people use the device following the launch in order to determine what sort of features and fixes to incorporate in the hardware.

Sonic not coming back to the Olympic Winter Games

When news hit earlier this week that Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games had been unceremoniously removed from sale on the App Store, I was shocked to say the least.

Sure, it wasn't the best of games, but it was technically sound. Sega claims to have pulled the game due to general problems, but hasn't articulated exactly what was wrong. Tracy didn't mention any technical flaws in his review, so it couldn't be that.

Whatever the reason, it looks like the game isn't coming back. Sega has refused to talk to me about the game. Every time I call, they pick up and there's just heavy breathing on the other end of the line before they hang up.

Maybe they're hyperventilating with excitement over the possibility of Sonic 4 coming to iPhone. I can understand that.

It's hard to be totally upset about Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games getting pulled, but it's still an odd situation made stranger by the fact it's not returning. Hopefully the same fate won't befall Sega Genesis Ultimate Collection when that arrives in the next few weeks.

Rolando 3 grinds to a halt

Originally announced for release in winter 2009, ngmoco refused to comment on what was a clear delay in the release of Rolando 3. Instead, the publisher kept quiet about the game as the release window shut with the start of the new year.

Now I've got word of the game not just being delayed, but outright canned. HandCircus is turning its collective attention to a new title entitled Okabu. A vague mention of the Rolando series can be spotted on the developer's website, though it's unlikely to be Rolando 3.

Instead, a new Rolando game will assuredly borrow from the social gaming template that publisher ngmoco is so hot and heavy for these days. Rather than investing heavily on a big, risky premium-priced sequel, the plan is to release a freemium game in the vein of the Rolando 2 re-release with an emphasis on social networking.

Underwhelming sales of Rolando 2 have prompted an examination of the strategy for the series, so it wouldn't be surprising to see radical differences between that game and a new instalment released some time this year.