Apple iPad Tablet Leak Tips Dual Dock-Connectors?

Piece together all the Apple iPad tablet rumors, supposed-leaks and speculation and you'd end up with a Frankenstein's monster of a device, one capable of hypnotizing the whole blogosphere ahead of Apple's press conference next Wednesday.  Latest to throw their oar in is iLounge, who reckon they have the scoop on two hardware details for the touchscreen slate.  Most curious is the suggestion – so their source claims – that the iPad will have dual dock connectors.

The two ports – one for the long edge of the iPad, the other for the short edge – would allow the tablet to be docked in both portrait and landscape orientations, something not currently possible with the iPod touch and iPhone.  Considering multimedia – including video playback – is meant to be a strong focus for the iPad, it would certainly make sense for Apple to allow it to dock in a widescreen manner.

Their second insider snippet refers to the iPad's antenna array, which is described as occupying a long plastic strip across the otherwise metal back of the slate.  That's to accommodate a variety of antennas for WiFi (presumably 802.11n) and likely 3G cellular too.  iLounge go on to speculate about the possibility of inclusive wireless – perhaps just for iTunes downloads, similar to Amazon's Kindle system – versus the willingness of buyers to either pay for a separate iPad data fee every month, or perhaps tether their iPhone via WiFi, Bluetooth or a cable connection.