Update: Three confirms its iPad 3 price plans

Ahead of tomorrow’s official new iPad UK release date, network provider come smartphone and tablet retailer Three has announced its pricing plans for the third-generation Apple tablet.

Set to offer the 4G capable rendition of the Retina display touting iPad overhaul, Three has revealed that it will support the iPad 2 replacement on a variety of pricing structures with wannabe owners able to select between 24 month fix term and one month rolling contracts.

Kicking things off with the 16GB Wi-Fi + 4G model new iPad, Three has confirmed that those looking to part with £29 per month for the next two years will need to splash out a further £99 up front in order to own the device but will subsequently be rewarded with 15GB of inclusive data per month.

Those looking for the same monthly expenditure and data allowances but needing more storage on their new tablets can snap up the 32GB and 64GB offerings for £169 and £249 respectively. For a lower £25 per month contract, customers will have to part with £159, £229 and £299 for the three new iPad storage options.

On a one month rolling contract 16GB, 32GB and 64GB new iPads will be priced at £479, £549 and £629 respectively with data packages seeing £15 per month provide 10GB of data and £7.50 per month just 1GB of data.

New Apple iPad 3 Price

Despite a number of pre-release rumours suggesting the inclusion of a 9.7-inch Retina display would see the market leading tablet follow-on land as much as £50 more expensive than its predecessor, Apple officially revealed last week that it would maintain the pricing plans set out by the formerly dominant iPad 2.

Kicking off with the 16GB Wi-Fi only model, those looking to snap up the third-generation iOS tablet will need to part with £399 with those requiring 32GB or 64GB of internal storage having to splurge £479 or £559 respectively.

On the Wi-Fi + 3G front, wannabe iPad 3 owners looking to access the web at will need to part with £499, £579 or £659 depending on their choice of 16GB, 32GB or 64GB storage options.

New Apple iPad 3 Specs

Originally believed to be heading to the iPad 2 and by far the most rumoured spec inclusion for the company’s latest tablet offering, Apple has revealed the iPad 3 will land boasting an iPhone 4S esque Retina display with the 9.7-inch screen to boast an impressive 2048 x 1536p resolution and 264 pixels-per inch.

Further bolstering the tablet’s impressive array of new specs, Apple has revealed that the iPad 3 will land with an A5X dual-core processor with a quad-core GPU graphics chip. Improving the tablet’s camera options, the iPad 3 will play host to an iSight camera capable of Full HD 1080p video recording capabilities with video stabilisation and noise reduction features as standard.

Whilst not featuring the company’s iPhone 4S exclusive voice commanded personal assistant Siri has not made the jump to the iPad 3, the tablet will play host to voice dictation features allowing users to seamlessly transcribe letters at will. For US users the tablet will also play host to 4G LTE connectivity options.

Fulfilling a flurry of rumours, the iPad 3 will land almost 1mm thicker than its predecessor lining up at 9.4mm thick and 1.4lbs (635g) in weight.

New Apple iPad 3 UK Release Date

Following the trend set by last year’s iPad 2 launch and living up to a number of rumours, Apple has revealed that the eagerly awaited iPad 3 UK release date will take place in just nine days time with the next-gen tablet to hit stores in the UK on Friday March 16th.

With iPad 3 pre-orders opening via the official Apple online store now, the third-generation tablet will touch down the same day the Cupertino based company officially opens new retail stores in Houston, Texas and London’s iconic department store Harrods.

What do you make of the newly unveiled Apple iPad 3? Will you be snapping one up when it lands in the UK on Friday March 16th? Let us know via the T3 Twitter and Facebook feeds.