I have long resisted the urge to predict the future. I have also resisted predicting features in unannounced products. Some time about two years ago, I realized that the future is not always as uncertain as it is made out to be. We plan almost all of our activities two weeks out at least. For a majority of your work day, you can estimate with almost pinpoint accuracy what will happen when with a cursory look at your Outlook calendar. True, the mysteries of the future are many, but the occurrences of many events in the future is also pretty certain. At least, to a large extent.

Today I am going to break my second prediction barrier. I am going to predict a product that has not been announced – the iPad 3. I will estimate when it will be announced, when it can be pre-ordered, and when it will be available for general use. In this blog post I also predict some of the features it will have.

Availability

Based on past trends, I predict that Apple will announce the iPad on March 7, 2012. It will be available for pre-order on March 14. It will be available for purchase from stores on March 30 at 5 PM.

Hardware Features

1. It will be available in white and black.
2. Storage will be 32 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB.
3. Screen resolution will be 2048 x 1536 pixels (technically this is not a Retina display as it is less than 300 dpi, but people will call it that.)
4. The cameras will be way better than the iPad 2 cameras. They will rival or be on par with those on the iPhone 4S. Camera flash. 1080p recording.
5. Quad core processor – or a much faster dual core processor.
6. Independent GPU for graphics.
7. Integrated GPS.
8. Same 9.7 inch screen.
9. No additional ports. Just the existing one will do fine thank you, at least until the iPad is thicker than the iPod nano.
10. Support for 4G LTE for users on the move.
11. Better resistance to fingerprints.
12. Longer battery life.
13. NFC – Near Field Communications to easily allow iPads and other devices talk to each other. Like making payments for example, or sharing photos or files between friends.

Software Features

1. Siri – this is a no-brainer. I don’t know how I could live without it. With Siri integrated into the iPad, I will be able to dictate what I type.
2. Improved multitasking with programs actually running actively in the back ground.
3. Improved integration with iCloud, Facebook, and twitter.
4. More widgets.
5. APIs for iCloud.

What it will continue to not have

1. Support for Adobe Flash.
2. 3D display.
3. API for Siri.

Can you think of anything I missed? Let me know.