Apple revealed today that local users will be free to experience the third generation iPad tablet on 27 April, when the new iPad finally arrives in South Africa just in time for Freedom Day. The Cupertino-based firm’s latest iPad will also be available in Colombia, Estonia, India, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro and Thailand on the same day. No local pricing is available yet. 

Apple’s new iPad boast a 9.7" (2048 x 1536) Retina display that delivers four times the number of pixels compared to the iPad 2’s 9.7" (1024 x 768 pixels) LED-backlit IPS LCD touchscreen.

Assisting the device’s display in coping with all these added pixels is Cupertino’s A5X processor, which sports a dual-core CPU (like the iPhone 4S and iPad 2), but boast enhanced quad-core graphics. The company said that this new application processor doubles the graphics performance of its A5 chip.

Also new is the 5 MP iSight camera that features advanced optics, allowing it to capture high-resolution photos as well as full HD (1080p) video. This new snapper sports backside illumination (BSI), enabling users to take detailed shots even in low-light conditions.

The new iPad Wi-Fi and iPad Wi-Fi + 4G models will be available in either black or white and come with 16 GB, 32 GB as well as 64 GB of onboard storage. The Wi-Fi + 4G versions of the new iPad is currently only able to connect to LTE networks in the States and Canada, meaning local users will have to be content with 3G HSPA connectivity speeds.

The new iPad sported sales of three million units over its opening weekend, smashing the iPad 2’s record of one million sold.