iPad 3 'spotted', could make incognito appearance at CES

iPad 3 'spotted' at CES
Couldn't find a picture of any air-borne pigs

CES is usually good for a few laughs and this year we are pleased to bring you the wonderful rumour that the iPad 3 could be doing the rounds at the Las Vegas convention centre.

That's right, the iPad 3. iLounge has seen it. Great, there'll be a picture? No, no picture but that's only because it "so resembles the iPad 2 that differences are only obvious when they're placed next to each other" says editor in chief Jeremy Horwitz.

According to Horwitz, the next iPad will feature design tweaks on a par with the hop from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4S; it's slightly thicker, he says, about a 1mm increase, with a slightly larger camera hole on the back.

Dream screen

But it's the screen that has undergone the biggest transformation, apparently. Unfortunately iLounge didn't get to see it in action, but we're all reckoning on Retina Display resolution on the slate when it launches.

And just when will that be? Horwitz and his manufacturing chums reckon within the next two months, possibly with a name like iPad 2S or iPad 2HD.

A caveat to this already spurious rumour - Horwitz said the slab he saw looked as though it had been manufactured some time ago, so the design may be different when the official iPad is unveiled.

Is anyone else reminded of that time that Reuters definitely did see the iPad 2 at The Daily Launch, no really?

Well, it may be slightly less bad than that: iLounge asks that we remember that it was the site that showcased pictures of what turned out to be a legit iPad 2 shell at the start of CES 2011 - for that reason alone we've upgraded this rumour from 'get outta town' to 'It's possible'.

It's possible

News Editor (UK)

Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.