Are the iPad 3 rumors true?

For Apple Fans all around the world the who have been reading up on stories and keeping tabs on every posts being made of a possible iPad 3 release some time in the 2011 fall would have realized by now that all these stories and tidbits floating across the internet stems from John Gruber’s speculation of an iPad 3 release in the fall of 2011 in his Daring Fireball blog.  However Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs has gone on records to try to put an end to all speculation by stating that 2011 would indeed be only the Year of iPad 2.

iPad 3 Rumors

John Gruber wrote in his blog he had a gut feeling that Apple would move the release of the iPad to September, as the iPad was a massive hit during the last holiday season. However he was sure that Apple would not want to wait for more than a year and a half to announce the new iPad as the competition in the tablet market was increasing day after day with several new players making an entry into the market. Hence Gruber arrived at the conclusion that the iPad2 would be released in March 2011 followed by the release of iPad 3 in September along with the brand new iPad touch.

Following John Gruber’s speculation a number of other industry writers also spoke about the same idea and they felt that the Fall surprise this year from Apple could actually be the release of the brand new iPad 3. This gave way to a number of iPad 3 rumors that started to do the rounds of the internet.

These iPad 3 rumors have made industry speculators to even come up with the theory that Apple would be following the same strategy with the iPad 3 and iPad 2 as it did with the iPod Mini and iPod Nano. iPad Mini was one of the most successful models of the iPod and its popularity had risen to such an extent that this model outsold all the other models of the iPod. However just as the competition was beginning to release similar Mp3 players, Apple canceled this really popular model and introduced the all new iPad Nano which had caused a lot of confusion amongst Apple’s competitors.

Some of the iPad 3 rumors indicate that the iPad 3 would be targeting a higher resolution, which would likely be 2048×1536. There are iPad 3 rumors rampant that also believe that iPad 3 would be supporting a new iOS and the screen size would likely be 12 to 18 cm.

Gruber has also argues that since iPod no longer holds the kind of customer attention that it once did, Apple might benefit from an iPad 3 release this fall. However the flip side to this argument is that if a hot selling product such as an iPad 3 is announced this fall, it would possibly steal the thunder from other fall releases which might cause a huge decrease in their sales and this is not something the Apple would want. Also Apple is known for their price advantage in the market over their competitors and if Apple had to order parts for both the iPad 3 and the iPad 2 this would definitely endanger Apple’s price advantage.

All these iPad 3 rumors have definitely made potential customers of the iPad 2 despite the rave iPad 2 reviews think before they went ahead with their purchase. While some fans have been convinced and have gone ahead with their purchase of the iPad 2 as it has some amazing improvements over its predecessors, others have not yet been convinced and have decided to wait till the latter half of 2011, especially for the iPad 3 to make a debut and then decide on their purchase. Some fans are even willing to wait till March 2012 as they believe that this is when Apple would debut its much anticipated iPad3. All in all, these iPad 3 rumors have to an extent managed to dampen the iPad 2 sales despite the rave iPad 2 reviews.

Thus while the market is divided in its views about the iPad 3 rumors, there are also other facts that one needs to take into consideration such as the ability of the iPad2 to compete with its much more advanced competitors which have better camera resolutions, 4G connectivity and 3D capabilities. These features are not available in the iPad 2 and Apple has already started seeing stiff competition. Given all these facts the question that looms large in every Apple fans minds is “Will Apple go ahead and unveil the much talked about iPad 3 this Fall?”

All said and done, though John Gruber has a good track record and he was backed up by certain industry specialists with his speculations, users should consider all the facts and Apple’s track records with their product releases and thus exercise adequate caution before believing these iPad3 rumors that is rampant in the market.