Could the iPad 3 feature a Quad core processor?

The first iteration of the Apple iPad was launched last year which was largely successful around the world. But to be honest, there wasn’t much competition for the iPad back then since there weren’t enough tablets in the market. But earlier this year, Motorola launched the XOOM which featured Android’s Honeycomb OS which is an operating system specifically made for tablets. And today there are a couple of other Honeycomb tablets like the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, the Acer Iconia Tab and others.

In the midst of these new arrivals, Apple started to feel the heat somewhat. And then came the iPad 2 with a slimmer profile and with the inclusion of much needed features like a front and back camera. And today we find ourselves in the midst of different tablets with similar features or form factor. But to be honest, the iPad has a slight edge over the others.

It is obvious that when a new device is launched, its successor would be talked about. With rumors of the successor to the iPad 2 already surfacing on the internet, we were quite interested with the prospects of the said device.

Speaking about the processing aspect of the successor, Apple will be launching the A6 processor sometime during next year. Whether this one would be a quad core CPU like NVIDIA’a Kal El or just another dual core unit, is still a mystery. But looking at the market situations, we suspect that a dual core unit would suffice.

Samsung is said to be out of the run to be making that particular chipset, given the on going legal spat between the two. Apple is considering TSMC to replace Samsung.

We may even see a change in the display size with the size being increased considerably. A revamped version of the iPad 2 is also being talked about, but it seems very unlikely. So an iPad 3 with a quad core processor certainly seems interesting.

But well, Apple could surprise us all with something totally different. That has been the case with Apple in the past, hasn’t it?