Apple, 4g | featured news

Wow, tomorrow’s the big/little day when Apple will hopefully unveil the long-rumored iPad mini. Alongside the smaller tablet it’s speculated that we’ll see a few updates to the Mac lineup and a UI update to the popular iBooks app. What has been quietly whispering in the background is the possibility that Apple would tweak the current full-sized iPad by expanding 4G compatibility and swapping out the old 30-pin dinosaur dock in favor of the new Lightning connector debuted at the iPhone 5 launch event last month.

Apple Inc is betting a 4G-equipped iPad will tempt more U.S. consumers to pay extra to watch high-quality video on the go, and in turn, give Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc a revenue boost.

Verizon and AT&T will sell a version of the upcoming iPad that runs on their newest fourth-generation wireless networks, as the battle to cash in on big investments in mobile broadband heats up.

The next iPhone will include lots of goodies, but support for next-generation 4G wireless networks still isn’t one of them, Sterne Agee & Leach analyst Shaw Wu wrote in a note to investors Tuesday. The new iPhone will get a dual core processor, a “slightly larger” display, and a thinner bezel. No 4G, though.