If you have been keeping up with tech news over the past couple of weeks, then you mostly likely have an important event marked in your calendar for March 7th. Apple will announce their awaited new addition to the iPad product line, with the iPad 3. The iPad 3 will be announced at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, at 10AM PST. It’s an announcement that was confirmed with invitations sent out this past Thursday. The invite included an iCal icon for the Wednesday, March 7th date. It also included a Keynote icon, showing it’s an announcement. It simply said:

We have something you really have to see. And touch.

Many Changes for Apple

There are many changes that Apple has been going through over the last month of two. Some of which include many great changes for the iPad. In the beginning of this year, Apple unleashed some great additions that helped make the iPad more educational friendly. This included iBooks 2, iBooks Author, and revamped iTunes U. We have more on all of this in our iPad educational article. Aside from education, Apple is in the news again, aside from the iPad, with the possibility of Apple entering the television realm. These changes that Apple has already gone through makes many Apple observers excited for what to expect with the iPad 3.

What To Expect

Since the invitations were sent out on Thursday, many new expectations have sprouted up for the iPad 3 that we are excited for. One expectation is for the iPad 3 to have a better quality screen. We can’t confirm Retina quality, however, if come Wednesday the iPad 3 comes with a Retina screen, it won’t be of a surprise. Secondly, the invitation outlined a Keynote application in the dock. This can signal that the new iPad 3 models will ship with the $9.99 software. In addition, there are just some rumors we should consider, but not hope over. Some of these include a drastically larger device, something that would become a tad impractical due to how large the device already is. We should look forward to a faster device and a better camera.

In addition, the new iPad 3 likely will still come with a home screen, something some observers cited won’t happen due to how it wasn’t included in the invite. However, a good assessment to this is the fact it could have been taken in landscape mode. Thirdly, Siri is something I doubt would come with the iPad 3 at the moment. Something I would expect to an iPod Touch first, then iPad. However, if any of these doubts become true, then this announcement could be Apple’s largest yet.

When To Expect It and How Much

Now, let’s look at when. The iPad 3 will be announced on March 7th. However, one thing we aren’t so sure about is when it will land in your hands. Some best guesses are that the iPad 3 could be available for pre-order a week after the announcement, with an official release anytime from two weeks until the latest available date being April for an in-store release. About pricing, there are some things that have arrived regarding price. One issue is rumors for a smaller, cheaper model. One that would disregard a couple of features or size of a more expensive model. This possibility could come true, especially with high competition in many gadgets that are providing similar features.

Regardless of this possibility, we can expect the iPad 3 to be released at the same $499 price, anything higher would counter act the market’s current trend of providing more affordable options. Lastly, it seems very likely that Apple will follow the iPhone practice of keeping last generation’s iPad still available, at a cheaper price, and a lower storage count of 8GB.

We won’t know what to expect until March 7th, so stay tuned for more updates after the event.