airdrop on iPad 3gen. in IOS7 ?

No, that's correct. Airdrop will only be available on the most recent models of all the iOS product lines.

http://www.apple.com/ios/ios7/features/#airdrop

Features are subject to change. Not all features are available on all devices.

1. Panorama format is available on iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, and iPod touch (5th generation). Square and video formats and swipe to capture are available on iPhone 4 or later, iPad (3rd generation or later), iPad mini, and iPod touch (5th generation).
2. Filters in Camera are available on iPhone 5 and iPod touch (5th generation). Filters in Photos are available on iPhone 4 or later, iPad (3rd generation or later), iPad mini, and iPod touch (5th generation).
3. AirDrop is available on iPhone 5, iPad (4th generation), iPad mini, and iPod touch (5th generation) and requires an iCloud account.
4. Siri is available on iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad with Retina display, iPad mini, and iPod touch (5th generation) and requires Internet access. Siri may not be available in all languages or in all areas, and features may vary by area. Cellular data charges may apply. New female and male voices will be available initially in U.S. English, French, and German.
5. Find My iPhone enables you to locate iOS devices only when they are on and connected to a registered Wi-Fi network or have an active data plan. Some features may not be available for all countries or all areas.

Next year, all the current iPads out today will not support all features of iOS 8.0. It's a thing that happens every year.

I have a iPad 3 and find that it does adequately what I want to do with it,as apple brings out new features every year it requires a lot more grunt to run some of these features eventually my iPad will become obsolete but that is just the way it is so I will have to upgrade as well.One of the things that the new iPad can't do and that is play videos on my old tv with RCA inputs.

I've got to repeat my disappointment that the 3rd generation iPad was so quickly denied the AirDrop update despite. By releasing a new version less than 6 months after the 3rd generation was released Apple should continue to support it on the same level as the 4th generation iPad.

My understanding is that the WiFi chip set used in my iPad 3rd gen/New iPad, doesn't support AdHoc networking which is required for AirDrop to work. If true, this makes perfect sense.

I continue to use many of my old Apple devices (old original iPad, iPad3, G4 Tower; G4 MacMini; Intel MacMini and even my Apple ][e!) to do the things that I originally purchased them for. I understand that it isn't only software but also the hardware chips that determines if new features will work on the older devices. Apple has a better track record for their new systems to work on older devices than any other manufacture that I know of?

They also cram more new features into every new model so, out dated hardware incompatibillity with some of the new features is bound to occur. Not adding new features is the only way to avoid it and we wouldn't like that.

I too, am bummed but I'm sure if AirDrop could have worked on the iPad3, Apple would have made it work!

Even so, I will continue to use my iPad3 because even without AirDrop it still does the things I need it to do, every day.

The rate of change has increased from new models every few years to new models now, every year. Expect this to contiue to increase in the near future!

So it goes!

AirDrop is an interesting feature, but IMHO, hardly worth trading in a perfectly good 3rd gen iPad for (which is what I have as well). Far to many other ways of sharing files.

Yep, I have a Ipad Gen 3 also. I am using DeskConnect. I is great and it is free.

Thanks for the heads up on desk connect - I have an iPad 3rd gen, and it works perfect.