iPad 3 release date on the table: top three features for March 2012

The iPad 3 has offered little indication that its release date will be anything other than the predictably annualized launch of March 2012, particularly with the upcoming new iPhone having been pushed to what appears to be an end of summer or start of fall release. That means no iPad 3 near the end of the calendar year, as Apple doesn’t tend to launch new hardware any later than September. Nor does the company tend to push out new hardware in the dead-wood month of January. That leaves March 2012 as the date we always knew the iPad 3 was most likely to arrive, despite continued salvos to the contrary from outsiders. That leaves the issue, then, of which features are most likely to find their way into the iPad 3. The top three on our list range from guaranteed to question marks.

iPad 3 with iOS 5: That revolutionary new operating system Apple just showed off for the upcoming new iPhone is also designed for the iPad 3 – except that with ten inches of screen room to work with, there’s room for even more sophistication when you get down to the details. Keep in mind that thus far we’ve only seen certain features of iOS 5 in action, and even then only in broad strokes.

iPad 3 with 4G: For those who like to use the network functionality of their iPad outside of their own home and/or starbucks, the 3G option is an absolute necessity. But 3G isn’t so fast, and capped iPad data plans make the iPad something of a toy as a networked device the minute you leave your front porch. Will Apple add built in 4G networking to the iPad 3? If so, the question remains as to whether the monthly data caps will disappear in the 4G era, expand to such proportions that most users won’t even know that they’re there, or remain at their current toy-ish levels. After all, the 4G era is also supposed to be the iCloud era – which stands in direct contrast to the current limited data plan era.

iPad 3 redesign: The iPad 2 got thinner, lighter, curvier, and arguably sexier. Can Apple pull that same feat off again with the iPad 3? And if so, will such changes be enough to justify the third generation iPad’s existence? Many have noted that aside from the shrinking physical measurements and the faster processor, not much changed in terms of hardware from iPad 1 to iPad 2. Apple could have something revolutionary in mind for the iPad 3 that it’s been working on from the start. Or it could be just another instance of getting a little thinner and lighter. Here’s more on the iPad 3.