Third generation
The successor to the iPad 2 was unveiled on March 7, 2012 by Apple CEO Tim Cook at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The new iPad sports the new dual core A5X processor with quad-core graphics, and a Retina Display with a resolution of 2048 by 1536 pixels (over 50 percent more pixels than a standard 1920×1080 high definition TV screen). As with previous iPads, there are two models, in this case a Wi-Fi only model and a Wi-Fi + 4G LTE model. Speculation of the 3rd generation iPad began shortly after the release of the iPad 2, which added a new design, two cameras, and the dual-core Apple A5 processor. The speculation began to increase after a 2048x1536 iPad screen was leaked. During this time, the tablet was called the "iPad 3", a colloquial name that is still used after the release. On February 9, 2012, John Paczkowski of All Things Digital stated that "Apple’s not holding an event in February – strange, unusual or otherwise. But it is holding one in March – to launch its next iPad." Another common rumor at the time was that the tablet would have an Apple A6 processor. On February 28, 2012, Apple announced a media event scheduled for March 7, 2012, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The company did not disclose in advance what would be announced at the event, but it was widely expected to be a new version of the iPad. The announcement of the iPad affected the tablet resale market positively. Apple's stock price reached a record closing figure on the same day that the Dow Jones Index reached above 13,000 for the first time since the Global Financial Crisis. However, Apple is not a Dow Jones component. The keynote began at 10 am PST (6 PM UTC) as Apple CEO Tim Cook introduced iOS 5.1, a Japanese version of Siri, and the 3rd generation Apple TV before the 3rd generation iPad. At the media event Cook stated that the 3rd generation iPad will be one of the main contributors to the emerging 'post-PC world', a world where the personal computer is no longer the center of one's digital life. The 3rd generation iPad was released on March 16, 2012 in eight countries including Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was also released on March 23, 2012 in many European countries, Mexico and Macau. It was released on April 20, 2012, in a dozen additional countries including South Korea and Malaysia and on April 27, 2012, in nine more countries including India and South Africa. It was release in 31 countries, including Brazil and Turkey in early May 2012.
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