As the probable launch date for the iPad 3 nears, rumors have been heating up as to what the device will look like and what new features it will have. Of course, not all reports are reliable, but some are more trustworthy than others. Well, today there’s one that’s sure to make things interesting. It seems that an iPad 3 has been spotted in the wild at CES.

Jeremy Horwitz, editor-in-chief at iLounge recently tweeted some interesting details about the iPad 3. Apparently while at CES yesterday he got the chance to see one close up. What he has to say might surprise you. It turns out that the iPad 3 – the version of it that he saw, at least – isn’t really that much different from the iPad 2. From a distance, in fact, you would never tell them apart. He compared the iPad 2 and 3 to the iPhone 4 and 4S – physically almost identical. He did, however, spot a few things that suggest some of the iPad 3’s new features. The camera on the iPad 3 is bigger than on the iPad 2, about the size of the camera on the iPhone 4S, in fact. Despite rumors that the iPad 3 would have a slightly smaller screen, it apparently looks the same as the iPad 2. Though he did not see it in action, he apparently expects the iPad 3 to have a retina display, as well. Interestingly, the iPad 3 is almost indistinguishable from the iPad 2 in size. While there have been reports that it would be thicker, the difference is apparently only about a millimeter. Which means that most users won’t even notice.

Finally, Horwitz cautions that the model he saw is not fresh from the factory floor. He estimates its age at six months. That is not surprising given the kind of preproduction that goes into a new device, but it also means that Apple has had some time to tweak the device, so the iPad 3 that Apple releases may not be exactly like the one that he saw. He adds, however, that he saw an iPad 2 at CES last year, and the differences between the prototype and the release model were slight.

So, assuming that the iPad Horwitz saw at CES is an iPad 3, it looks like Apple focused on under-the-hood changes this time around. Such changes likely include a retina display, faster processor, better camera, and Siri.

[Source: iLounge]