, one Apple employee claims that the screen will be “truly amazing.” But those aren't the only reasons why the iPad 3 will be massively successful. Unlike the iPhone 4S, which was released in a very crowded market and had to compete against other hugely popular phones (including its own predecessor, the standard iPhone 4), the iPad 3 doesn't have any real competition. Surely there will be some consumers who don't buy an iPad 3 because they already own an iPad 2. But the market is still very young. There is plenty of room for Apple to sell 20 or 30 million new iPads in 2012. Inevitably, most of them will be iPad 3s.

that suggest the company is indeed being deceptive. Will Apple do the same with the iPad 3? While anything is possible, it does not seem likely. The demand for the iPad 3 is so enormous that the company may incur a shortage whether it wants one or not. The real test, however, will be in whether or not Apple allows consumers to pre-order the device. If Apple does and consumers still go home empty handed on launch day, they will have no one to blame but themselves.

money every Kindle Fire it sells. Either way, it is unlikely that Amazon could afford to charge less than $200 for the presumably titled Kindle Fire 2. But it might be forced to charge a lower price since Apple isn't likely to charge too much for a seven-inch iPad. And while I personally have a hard time believing that Apple will release a smaller tablet, the reality is that if the company moves in this direction, the competition will suffer. It's already suffering (for the most part), which is one of the many reasons why the iPad has been able to maintain its status as the dominant tablet. Judging by the hype and anticipation for the next iPad, consumers should not expect this to change.