Will Apple Call The iPad 3 The “iPad HD?”

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retina baby ipad hd

iPad 3 talk has reached a fever pitch leading up to Apple’s announcement on Wednesday, but have we all been calling the device by the wrong name? Some people seem to think so.

Apple could very well call the third-generation iPad the “iPad HD.” The device is expected to sport a super hi-res Retina display and feature faster internals. It certainly wouldn’t be out of place for Apple to change it up and break the traditional naming convention, or would it?

Gizmodo seems to think we’ll see the iPad HD next week, according to alleged part listings from Griffin and Belkin. Accessory makers don’t usually know anything about Apple’s future plans and often make up product names as internal inventory placeholders, but the argument is an interesting one. The Verge originally proposed the name “iPad HD” back in the summer of 2011. Does an iPad HD make sense?

If there’s anything we know about the third-gen iPad, it’s that it will feature a Retina display. This means Apple will introduce a 9.7-inch screen with double the linear resolution of the current iPad. That’s a whole lot of pixels (263 pixels per diagonal inch, to be exact).

Rumors say the new tablet will have a faster processor, better hardware, etc. — all typical stuff for an Apple product refresh. I believe that Apple will set the third-gen iPad apart for consumers by heavily marketing the Retina display. Just as Siri was (and still is) the staple feature of the iPhone 4S, Apple will want to brag that it has the world’s best tablet display at the most competitive price point. Everything else is filler.

What better way to market the Retina display than by calling it the iPad HD? It makes perfect sense for marketing. People will immediately associate the name with a higher quality iPad, and, based on part leaks indicating that there will be no significant physical redesign, that’s probably what Apple wants.

Apple named the iPhone 3G based on its flagship feature: the ability to use 3G data speeds. The third-gen iPad could either go the route of a feature suffix or a numerical suffix like the iPhone 4.

There’s always the chance that there will be some other feature that steals the limelight, but 2012 could very well be the year that the iPad goes HD.

What do you think? Do you think we’ll see Apple announce an iPad HD, or just stick with the iPad 3?

[teaser-top]It’s certainly possible.[/teaser-top]

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