Tech speculation rife amid iPad 3 launch date reports

The Apple iPad 3 is expected to be launched on March 7.

The launch date was announced by Apple blog iMore, which cites “sources who have been reliable in the past”.

iMore reported that those sources told it that Apple’s next iPad will launch on March 7 and pack a retina display (improved screen resolution) of 2048 x 1536 pixels, a quad-core processor and “possibly 4G LTE networking.” and the Siri voice-activated personal assistant.

Several blogs speculated on a bigger battery (largely to compensate for the extra power that the display will use), and most of them agree that its exterior will look almost exactly like that of the iPad 2.

Apple, which has a policy of not commenting on rumours, did not respond to requests for comment.

Tech news site AllThingsD reported that the iPad was set to launch early in March and was likely go on sale “a week or so after the event.”

There’s also the fact that Apple chose Wednesdays for the past two iPad reveals, so if that pattern holds and the “early March” rumour is true, the company’s launch will occur on March 7.

LTE, which offers faster data speeds than 3G, is not available in Ireland or Britain and iMore says LTE is likely to be included in the next iPhone but may not figure in the iPad 3.

The Wall Street Journal said the forthcoming iPad will have LTE capability and Apple was preparing an LTE version for the Verizon and AT&T networks in the US.

According to a source who spoke with The New York Times, the next iPad’s screen will be “truly amazing.”

The iPad 3 rumour mill was in full swing on Monday, with another report claiming that Apple has built a tablet that’s slightly thicker and has a better camera than the iPad 2.

Rumours of Apple introducing a smaller screen iPad are also circulating. Marketwatch cited unnamed officials at some of Apple’s suppliers who claimed that the company has shown them screen designs for a device with a screen size of around 8 inches and is qualifying suppliers for it.

The sources said the smaller device has the same screen resolution as the iPad 2, which has a 9.7 inch screen.

Apple founder Steve Jobs had been critical of smaller screens on tablets and said the current iPad’s size is “the minimum size required to create great tablet apps.”