Apple's iPad 3: Your wishlist Vs. what's in the box

So, it’s been finally set in silicon that the mighty Apple Inc. will unveil its next big thing (or two) in seven days from now – on March 7.

The jury is still out on whether it will be just the iPad 3 to see the light of day or if the next-gen Apple iTV will also run a sideshow of its own on the day. To boot, there might even be an umbilical cord (a cable, for the uninitiated) connecting the two that will be bundled into the offer.

But that’s all hearsay. The rumours are flying thick and fast – just Google ‘iPad 3 + rumours’ and you’ll know what we’re talking about. In less than 0.12 seconds, Google throws up almost 23 million results for the search term.

Of course, Apple relishes the mystery surrounding its products and their launches. Well, at least its investors do – its share price spiked to a lifetime high of $537.33 apiece in afterhours trading yesterday, pushing its market cap to a shade below $500 billion. To get the real impact of its market capitalization, let’s spell it out. It’s precariously poised at $499,200,000,000 (February 28).

On October 5, 2011, the day Apple co-founder and its lead artiste Steve Jobs died, the share price was $378.25. The iPad 3, to be unveiled five months after Jobs’ demise, will be the first major product from the company that won’t have Jobs wowing a spellbound audience in his characteristic black turtleneck.

But I digress.

Lest you begin blaming me for beating ’round the bush, let’s look at what most analysts expect to come in the box(es) labeled iPad 3. I said boxes because there are expected to be three variants of the new iPad 3, with different screen and memory sizes. The new version, borrowing a tad from the Olympics tagline, will be Citius (faster), Crassius (thicker), Fortius (stronger). Oh, and Acrior (sharper).

1. Faster: The iPad 3 will have a quad-core A6 processor to replace the iPad 2′s dual-core A5 chip.

2. Thicker: Just like the rumours, the iPad 3 will be thicker than its predecessor to accommodate the several new features.

3. Stronger: That’s in terms of capabilities – the latest Apple tab will include improved cameras such as an 8 megapixel back camera as well as a 1.3 MP front camera for video calling and the LTE 4G technology.

4. Sharper: The 9.7-inch iPad 3 will come packed with a revolutionary Retina Display featuring a double-resolution screen, 2048×1536 pixels in dimension, with modified IGZO (indium, gallium, zinc) technology that will provide an improved pixel density of 330 ppi. The new ‘toy’ will also include a battery as high as 14,000 mAH to support the anticipated HD screen and a more powerful processor.

And what about what we – you and me – want it to (also) have? Since you asked:

1. Tap and transfer: NFC, or Near Field Communications, is something that is kind of revolutionizing (well, almost) the ailing Nokia. It’s the technology (akin to Bluetooth) that allows transfer of data on the tap of two (willing and enabled) devices. So methinks that the iPad 3 bundle could be hiding an NFC chip in its belly, just to hit Nokia under it, for the effect. Apple’s very interested in Near Field Communications, and one delicious gossip sez iPhone 5 (whenever, whatever) will use NFC to take over nearby Macs, enabling you to use your data and settings with a flick of the wrist (a la 007 or the desi Rajnikant).

2.  A smaller dock connector, and not just with the 64GB version.

3. A Thunderbolt port (borrowed from its cousins, 2011 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air)

4. An SD card slot

5. Gesture controls (Sony’s done it, GMail’s doing it, why can’t you, Apple?)

6. Remote control, anyone?

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