It’s all but certain that the next iPad will be revealed at some point this March, probably the 7th. Whilst the rumours have been making their usual rounds for the past few months, three more credible pieces of information hit the internet last week from “reliable” sources. Rather than the usual “the next iPad will be capable of producing 3D tactile holographic unicorns” rubbish that so often gets reported, the information here seems not only reliable, but also fully plausible if not likely. Read on to find out what the iPad 3 is likely to be capable of and possibly look like.

The Screen

Since the introduction of the iPhone 4, it has long been the frolicking dream of many an Apple fan that at some point the iPad would sport a similar “Retina Display”, a screen so dense in pixels that would have iridium clutching its crown. Well, if leaked information is to be believed, the iPad 3 will play home to a screen with twice the pixel density of the iPad 2 and a resolution of 2048 c 1536 on the same 9.1″ screen.

To put that into perspecitive, that’s a higher resolution than all but the latest 27″ iMac. Now, not only is this great news, it also seems to be from a very credible source, MacRumors, who weren’t just told this by a factory employee looking for some kicks, they’e actually got their hands on one of the panels. Clearly it isn’t powered up, but microscopic inspection confirms the number of pixes as stated above. Good news, but clearly there’s no absolute guarantee that this panel will make its way into the new iPad. There is certainly a public esire for this to be true but anybody who is familiar with Apple will realise that they play by their own rules, nobody elses.

The Design

Below is a picture of what is supposedly the rear panel of the iPad 3. On initial inspecition you’d be forgiven for thinking that it’s exactly the same as that of the iPad 2, but you’d be ever so subtly wrong. The edges of the panel appear to have a more gradual taper and the size of the camera lens is markedly larger than on the iPad 2 as seen i the compaison shot. What does this mean? Well, the taper probably doesn’t mean anything other than a slightly different form factor and possibily an opportunity for Apple to excite the world by stating that this is the thinnest device in the universe.

The size of the camera lens is however more interesting. There is much talk about what camera the iPad 3 may house as a result of this image, many speculating that it may use the 8-megapixel shooter, made by Sony, and found in the iPhone4S. I don’t buy this argument, in fact, I think it’s more likely that the iPad 3 will have the same 5-megapixel camera as that found in the iPhone 4. Consider for a second that the iPad 2 only had a 1-megapixel camera, even a jump to that found in the iPhone 4 would represent a significant improvement. My opinion on this point is support by my continued belief that a rear facing camera on an iPad is a silly idea in any event. Have you ever seen somebody trying to take a picture with an iPad [embarrassing].

Just today, further pictures of the new(ish) form factor emerged which seem to suggest that the iPad 3 will be very slightly thicker than its predecessor.

The Processor

A5, A6, dual-core, quad-core? Until this week, 95% of Apple enthusiast would have waged their active love lives on the iPad 3 touting a shiny new A6 (possibly quad-core) processor. This now seems unlikely. Pictures leaked just this week show what is reported to be the iPad 3′s logic board, surprisingly however, the customary branding on the processor does not say “A6″ but rather “A5X”. Now, there’s probably two distinct possibilities here:

1. Apple really is going to forego releasing the A6 and go with a turbocharged A5, possibly with a more powerful graphics core but certainly if the A5X makes an appearance it will be a beefed up version of its predecessor; or

2. The A5X was being used during testing and the A6 really will debt in the new iPad 3. What’s notable about the logic board leak is that the date of production on the processor indicates that it was born in November 2011. Since then, things could have changed radically.

Either way, you probably shouldn’t be too worried. The A5 alone is no soth and so I don’t expect the iPad3 to have any troules with speed. An A6 would be nice, particularly if it comes with a quadruple chorus of silicone engines, but there’s certainly an argument that this is a little overkill.

So, that’s it. Roundup complete. You can go now. Thank you.

via MicGadget, Cult of Mac, NextMedia and MacRumors