The year of the iPad 3 has begun - with no iPad 3 yet

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Sunday, 01 January 2012 21:37

Opinion and Analysis

It's 2012, the year the iPad 3 is due to arrive, with a 'Retina Display' class screen and Siri's dulcet tones, possibly on Steve Jobs' birthday, possibly in 9.7-inch and 7.85-inch sizes and hopefully much better cameras.

If the March launches of the iPad 1 and a year later the iPad 2 are anything to go by, a March 2012 launch for the iPad 3 is a distinct possibility - even if it is announced in February 24 to coincide with Mr Jobs' birthday.

No-one is expecting Apple to have delays that end up delivering an iPad 2S - everyone wants a much more powerful, capable, graphically stunning, thinner, longer lasting device with even more amazing attributes too numerous to mention in a single paragraph.

While some of the capabilities end-users want won't appear until the iPad 4, 5 or beyond, the iPad and iPad 2 have had the best success in delivering the tablet computing revolution to date, with the success of the as-yet still-to-be-finished Windows 8 still yet to be seen.

So the iPad 3 is where all the hottest tablet action is still expected to be, especially as it will launch globally months before Windows 8 tablets are at retail, and given that much of its development would have still taken place with Steve Jobs at the helm, it will undoubtedly be received with an even greater fervour than seen previously.

While it is most unlikely, it would be an Asimov fan's version of sci-fi heaven if Steve Jobs arrived, Hari Seldon-like, to deliver a message via video at the iPad 3 launch, and potentially an Apple fan's version of launch heaven too.

With MacRumors having well publicised the idea of both 7.85-inch and 9.7-inch iPad 3 models, the rumour mill has certainly run hot, with some pundits expressing confidence that no 7-inch iPad 3 models are on the way, while others are sure - or at least hopeful - that a smaller iPad 3 does make its way from rumoursville to reality.

After all, despite Steve Jobs insisting that 7-inch tablets were 'dead on arrival', Mr Jobs did not say 7.85-inch tablets were also DOA, as has been pointed out online - it is a larger size and with the existing 1024x768 resolution, would theoretically run all existing iPad software as-is and have a useable interface even though slightly smaller than a regular 9.7-inch size iPad 3.

Continued on page two, please read on!