Apple may have plans to improve on its most popular product (Image: Apple)
Today Apple sent out email invitations for an event on March 7, which blogosphere rumors predict will be the announcement of the new, highly-coveted iPad 3.
“We have something you really have to see. And touch,” states the invitation, which also says the event will be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco at 10AM PST next Wednesday.
As usual, Apple is hush about the event, but leaks about the iPad3 have been surfacing since the start of the year.
If these rumors are correct, the iPad 3 announcement will reveal a tablet with edges that are more tapered than the iPad 2, a larger 8-megapixel camera, enhanced screen with four times the resolution of its predecessor and Siri for iPad. This feature is highly anticipated, since the iPad 2 did not get an enhanced retina display similar to the iPhone 4.
Equipping the iPad3 with the capability to run Siri may be the driver behind some of the expected increase in processor speed and higher wireless speed on a 4G LTE network. Reports differ as to whether the processor will be a dual-core processor–only a slight upgrade from the iPad 2–or a quad-core processor, which would put the iPad specs in closer competition with Android tablets.
Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 5.1, was just recently announced so it makes sense that the new iPad3 will be updated with it. Apple says the iOS5.1 has an easier user interface that is more intuitive and has Twitter, location updates, and a split keyboard integrated into the OS.
The larger 8-megapixel camera will help produce better quality photos and videos for sharing on large screen formats, while Airplay mirroring in iOS5.1 will allow users to share everything they do from their iPad onto a widescreen TV. With it the tablet will respond to portrait and landscape rotations, pinch swipes, and zooms without being tethered to the TV.
If the announcement happens, pre-orders for the iPad 3 could be available that same week.
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Marcia Wade Talbert
Marcia is a multimedia content producer focusing on technology at Black Enterprise Magazine. In this capacity she writes and assigns stories to educate readers about social media; digital integration; gadgets, apps, and software for business and professional development; minority tech startups; and careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). In 2012, she received two Salute to Excellence Awards from the National Association of Black Journalists and was recognized by Blacks in Technology (BiT) as one of the Top 10 Black achievers in the tech arena for 2011 at SXSW in Austin, Texas. She has spoken about technology on panels for New York Social Media Week, at The 2012 Rainbow/PUSH Wall Street Summit, as well as at Black Enterprise’s Entrepreneurs Conference and Women of Power Summit. In 2011, SocialWayne.com chose her as one of 28 People of Color Impacting the Social Web, and through crowdsourcing she was listed as one of BlackWeb2.0's/HP's 50 Most Notable African American Tastemakers in Social Media and Technology for 2010. Since taking on the role of Tech editor in September 2010, she has conceived and produced five cover stories on Technology and/or STEM and countless articles, videos, and slideshows online. Before joining BlackEnterprise.com as an interactive general assignment reporter in 2008, she freelanced with Black Enterprise beginning in 2003 while working as the technical editor at Prepared Foods magazine. There she further honed her writing skills and became an authority on food ingredients, including ingredients used in food fortification and enrichment. Meanwhile, her freelancing with Black Enterprise and BlackEnterprise.com helped her stay current on issues pertaining to the financial and business welfare of African Americans. As a general reporter for Black Enterprise she attended and reported on the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, where she interviewed Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor and assistant to President Barack Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Marcia has a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture with an emphasis in food science from the University of Minnesota, and a Master of Science degree in journalism from Roosevelt University in Chicago. En route to her secondary degree, she served as the editor-in-chief of the Roosevelt University Torch, a weekly, student-run newspaper. An avid photographer and videographer, Marcia is one of several employees at BLACK ENTERPRISE who interned for the publishing company as a college student. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, a food scientist; her seventeen-month-old daughter; and “The Catâ€, but still considers Chicago home.
