The iPad is a gargantuan iPhone, perhaps more precisely than many hoped. But, if you look closely, you can see hints of what’s truly coming next.

There are a few new scraps of gestures and interface bits, all thanks to the larger screen, which you can see sprinkled throughout the keynote video:

• True multi-finger multitouch
Two finger swipes, three finger twirls—multitouch gestures that weren’t really possible on the iPhone’s tiny screen, unless you’re a mouse. This is what people were excited about, and we only get a taste. Though, the gesture Phil uses to drag multiple slides in Keynote, using two hands, looks a bit awkward and belabored.

• Popovers
The most significant new UI element of the iPad vs. the iPhone are popovers, which you see all over the place when you need to dive further into the interface, or make a choice from a list (since blowing up lists to full screen size doesn’t make a whole lot of sense now). A box pops up, and has a list of choices or options, which might take you down through multiple levels of lists, like you see in the demo of Numbers, with selecting functions to calculate. Gruber has more on popovers, and why they’re significant, here.

• Media Navigator
In some ways, the media navigator Phil Schiller shows off in iWork is the most interesting bit to me: That’s what Apple sees as replacing a file browser in this type of computer. It’s a popover too, technically.

• Long touches and drags
Lots of touch, hold and drag, something you didn’t see much of in the iPhone. With more UI elements, and layers of them, you need a way of distinguishing what type of motion action you’re trying to engage.

These are all pretty basic, so far, building right on top of the iPhone’s established interface, but it points to the future: More fingers, more gestures, more layered UI elements and built-in browsers.

If you’re even thinking about buying an Apple product, wait until after you’ve read this guide to product cycles and refreshes. It’s not always a good time to buy—and now might be an especially bad one for some.

We’ve taken a good look at the handy Buyer’s Guide over at MacRumors and given you some background and our own recommendations for safe shopping. Enjoy, and try not to throw too many elbows out there. And don’t worry! If you hate all things Apple, we’ve got you covered here.

iPod Shuffle

Whether a major revamp or a new selection of colors, Apple has updated Shuffle twice a year, like clockwork, every year since 2006. A new generation should debut in February, and given our issues with the current Shuffle’s form factor it’s probably best to hold out a few more months. Recommendation: WAIT

iPod Nano

This was just updated in September, the fourth year in a row that their only refresh has been in the fall. You should be fine to buy for now; expect new models to show up again in another nine months. Recommendation: BUY

iPod Classic

Same story as the Nano. You’re fine for now, if you absolutely need 160GB of storage from a PMP. Since it’s unlikely that you or anyone does, just get an Touch or (or even a Zune HD) instead. Recommendation: DON’T BUY, unless you somehow need to watch TV show made since 1995 on that teeny-tiny screen

iPhone

Even if it hadn’t already been 200 days since the last update, there are also plenty of rumors out there about a 5MP camera coming in June. Hold off until then if you can. Recommendation: WAIT

iPod Touch

The iPod Touch has been on the same product cycle as the Classic and Nano since its 2007 debut, but the first generation model also received a memory upgrade five months after its initial release. The 5MP camera rumor applies here, as well, so it’s best to see what happens. Recommendation: WAIT

Mac Mini

Apple’s no-frills desktop just got a spec increase and added a server model in late October. It shouldn’t be getting any more updates any time soon, which is a shame, because it’s still not a very competitive product for the price. Check out the Acer AspireRevo R3610 as a more than viable alternative. Recommendation: DON’T BUY unless you insist on Apple, even when it flies in the face of all logic

Mac Pro

While it hasn’t gotten an official refresh since March, Apple did just add a 3.33GHz Quad Core processor option on Dec. 4tth. There should still be another upgrade this spring worth waiting for, especially with rumors that the Mac Pro is about to get a Core i7-980X processor. Recommendation: WAIT

iMac

The iMac was updated at the same time as the Mini, but widely reported display problems make us cautious. Roll the dice if you want, but it’s probably best to see if and when these issues are resolved. Which as of today, they’re clearly still not. Recommendation: WAIT

Cinema Display

Apple added a 24″ model in 2008, but the rest of the Cinema Display line hasn’t seen a spec change since fall of 2006. There’s no indication that new models are in the offing, so if you want that 30-inch screen you should be all right. Keep in mind, though, that the 27″ iMac screen has 90% of the resolution of the 30-inch Cinema, making it a solid replacement once they get the bugs sorted out. Recommendation: CAUTIOUS BUY

MacBook

Apple’s basic laptop model was just updated with multitouch, an LED display and a unibody form on October 20th, and it’s not likely to be revamped again any time soon. If you’d prefer a more powerful notebook it might be worth waiting to see if the MacBook Pro gets a price drop in a few months. Recommendation: BUY, if you definitely don’t want a MacBook Pro

MacBook Pro

The MacBook Pro line gets a refresh every 200 days, on average, and we’re just about there now. More importantly, there have been rumors that Apple’s going to upgrade to Intel’s new Core i5 and i7 processors as soon as early January. You can hold off until then, right? Recommendation: WAIT

MacBook Air

It’s hard to say about the MacBook Air; it’s a newer product, so there’s less precedent to work with. We do know that the light-as-a-feather notebook last got an upgrade in June, and we can speculate Apple may wait until a ULV i5 or i7 processor is available before ushering in next-generation models. It’s worth waiting to see if those processors get announced at CES next week. Recommendation: WAIT

The GoPro HD Hero captures crisp HD video and offers users a great deal of flexibility of resolution and mounting options. However, some users may find it to be too complex for its two-button interface and tiny screen.

Originally posted at The Car Tech blog

This teeny, tiny little laptop is really teeny. It almost unusable and, as to be expected from Japanese laptops like these, not really meant for the Shrek-like Western mitts. The woman who showed it to me was really nice.

It runs Ubuntu and has a tiny screen. No specs but seriously – what are you going to do with this? Prop up a table leg?