If all the buzz is true — and it probably is — Apple will unveil the iPad 3 on March 7. Squealing with excitement? You’re not alone. Apple products do that to people. We spoke with an in-the-know tech editor to get the scoop on what we can expect from Apple’s iPad 3.
It looks like the Apple iPad 3 is about to hit that market! With rumors circulating that March 7 is the day, we turned to Jennifer Jolly, tech lifestyle editor for tecca.com, the largest female-focused technology site, to give us the scoop. Are the rumors true? What will the iPad 3 have to offer that the 2 doesn’t? And how can you earn some cash on your iPad 2 to buy the new iPad 3?
iPad release date of March 7: Fact or fiction?
Jolly says she’s 99.9 percent confident that March 7 is the release date for the new iPad 3. In fact, “If I were a bettin’ gal, I would put (a lot of) money on it,” she told us.
On Wednesday, Jolly received her invite to Apple’s event, confirming that Apple is holding it at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in downtown San Francisco on March 7.
“The invite says only, ‘We have something you really have to see. And touch.’ It shows a picture of an iPad,” Jolly describes. “It’s a classic Apple invite when they unveil a new product, versus just an upgrade like the iPhone 4S, which they typically do at their headquarters in Cupertino.”
The price and features of the iPad 3
If you’re wondering how much the new iPad 3 will set you back, Jolly says that Apple typically sticks to its proven price points. She also notes that a rumor is circulating on a Chinese microblogging site, contending that the iPad3 will cost $50 to $80 more than the iPad 2, but Jolly’s uncertain whether the price rumor is true.
As for features, Jolly is anticipating some upgrades:
- High-definition retina display with dramatically improved screen resolution. The new screen could be 2,048 pixels x 1,536 pixels, essentially doubling the iPad’s existing resolution. “One insider claims the pixel density is high enough to make the screen look like printed paper,” she says. “The result would be a much more high-definition feel, crisper images and eye-popping graphics for games, videos, photos and e-books.”
- Better cameras. “With any luck, we’ll see the front-facing camera bumped up to HD quality (improving FaceTime video chat quality) and a rear camera that comes closer to iPhone quality. The cameras in the current iPad are not as good as many other tablets, so this is a no-brainer,” Jolly says.
- Zippy quad-core processor. “Some of the scuttlebutt says that it’ll also have an LTE 4G wireless broadband connection,” she notes. “This will make it smoother, faster and put it back in the number one spot for connection speeds.”
- Siri. Siri fans, this is good news. The iPhone 4S personal assistant will more than likely come to the iPad 3.
Siri issues plaguing some iPhone 4S users >>
Tell us
Will you purchase the iPad 3 on March 7? Let us know in the comments below!
How to sell your iPad 2 to earn cash for the iPad 3
If all of this new iPad 3 talk has you itching to make a purchase, you can cash in on your iPad 2. Jolly says that on Wednesday, she was quoted highest price — $470 — for her iPad 2 at Glyde.com.
Facts about selling the iPad 2:
- NextWorth has seen an 814 percent increase in iPad trades from January 2012 through February 2012.
- NextWorth locks in rates for 21 days so people can trade now, and send it in three weeks later, meaning you’re not left device-less while you wait for the iPad 3.
- eBay reports 125,000 tablet trade-ins so far in February, of which nearly 98 percent were Apple iPads. Jolly says eBay adds that the number of trade-ins represents a “tenfold” increase over the same period last year. Wow!
- Gazelle reports the same information — customer sellbacks surged Tuesday (up 500 percent).
Jolly’s tips for making the most on an iPad sale:
- Don’t have your iPad engraved! Doing so means you’ll receive approximately 30 percent less when you sell it.
- Keep your iPad in a case. Jolly notes that excessive scratching or dents can reduce the price by approximately 20 percent. Check out a popular option by Pong, which both protects your case and increases connectivity.
- Storage capacity matters, while the color doesn’t matter (as much)! Jolly says you can expect to get 10 to 20 percent more on each storage level up (16 vs. 32 vs. 64 GB), but the color makes little to no a difference.
Keep up-to-date on the Apple iPad 3 and other tablet info on tecca.com.
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