iPad 3 to feature HD display, quad-core processor, longer battery life and LTE, on sale in March says Bloomberg

Bloomberg says the next iPad (iPad 3) will sport a HD display, a faster processor, run on LTE and go on sale this March citing “three people familiar with the product”. The sources also claim that Apple’s manufacturing partners in China have started ramping up production of the new iPad this month to meet what Apple expects is a huge demand the new tablet and also to make up for the massive Lunar New Year exodus where factories in the country will halt production. Mass production for the new iPad started this month with factories running 24 hours a day, one of the Bloomberg sources said.

Bloomberg requested for comment from Apple on the matter but a spokeswoman said the company doesn’t comment on rumor and speculation.

The new iPad is expected to feature a high resolution display with pixels so small and packed in so tightly that it makes images appear like printed material. According to information found in the iOS 5 SDK, the new display could have a resolution of up to 2048×1536 pixels.

Assuming Apple will stick with the 9.7-inch screen form factor, that gives the display on the iPad 3 a pixel density of around 264ppi – well below the 300ppi threshold where Apple claims the naked eye is not able to discern individual pixels. In comparison, the Retina Display on the iPhone 4 and 4S pushes 326ppi.

The iPad 3 is expected to feature a slightly thicker case to accommodate the HD display and a larger battery. The larger battery is said meet the higher power requirements of LTE allowing Apple to make the iPad 3 its first LTE device. For countries outside of the US where LTE is not prevalent, users can expect the iPad 3 to deliver considerably better battery performance, possibly double that of the iPad 2.

In addition to the bigger battery and higher resolution display, the iPad 3 is said to feature a quad-core processor and possibly a new GPU as well. One of the Bloomberg sources said that the new processor will bring faster multitasking capabilities and allow video playback to happen instantaneously.

Apple rumours are a whole different animal altogether, there are so many flying around it get difficult to separate the truth from the fluff but when a credible news source comes in with information that is in line with some of the many rumours that has been going around, then you know something is up. This is going to be interesting.

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