Bloomberg is the latest to report that Apple has begun production of the iPad 3 in preparation for a March availability. The company’s manufacturing partners are gradually ramping up with full volume production scheduled to happen sometime in February.
Citing “three people familiar with the product,” the report suggests that the iPad 3 will sport a number of improvements over the iPad 2. Two sources suggest that the newest iPad will use a quad-core processor. One source added that it will also sport LTE connectivity. The sources also confirmed that a higher-resolution display (likely a Retina Display) is also coming.
Apple is apparently adding LTE connectivity to the iPad before it does to the iPhone because the tablet supports a larger battery and can better accommodate the higher power requirements that come with LTE.
A separate report adds that the rumoured IGZO displays “failed in initial supply” and will not be used. Instead, LG Display and Samsung will supply the QXGA (1536×2048) displays. Between the two of them, they could end up supplying some 65 million panels this year.
A number of rumours have suggested that the iPad 3 would be available around March. An announcement could come sooner, perhaps on Steve Jobs’ birthday?
Read more: Bloomberg and KoreaIT News