And so someone up there listened to the prayers of lightning IPAD owners:

http://global.focusrite.com/ipad-audio-interfaces/itrack-dock?utm_campaign=iTrackDock-Public&utm_content=104278731962&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Emailvision

Quoted from Focusrite site:

What is iTrack Dock?
iTrack Dock is a comprehensive, studio-quality iPad recording interface that acts as the hub of your iPad recording studio. Featuring dual legendary Focusrite microphone preamps, along with two line inputs and an instrument DI with plenty of extra headroom, stereo monitor outputs with 105dB dynamic range plus independently-controlled headphone outputs, and a USB port for class compliant MIDI instruments and controllers, iTrack Dock gives you everything you need to record, monitor and control music on your iPad - with precision Focusrite digital conversion at up to 24-bit, 96kHz sampling. And at the same time it charges and powers your iPad.

Estimated price point around US$ 250.00

 

Can't believe this is the first Lightning Dock more than a year after the introduction of Lightning.
Apple's restrictive politics seem to be foolish enough to keep most hardware developers from developing anything Lightning-related.
The fact alone that you need an "authentication chip" inside the hardware is just unreal and makes hardware unnecessarily expensive.

The iConnectMIDI2+ with its fantastic MIDI features plus digital Audio pass-thru between DAW and iPad seems like an option to me.
Dunno if it will charge the iPad however, considering that I'll need Apple's Lightning-to-30pin adapter.
Has anyone here tried that?

 

It looks promising but i still dislike ipads for music production other than controlling a computer.

Ipads really need to be able to open more than 1 program at the time and multi-task better. To be honest i think windows is getting there with their own tablets.