Report indicates an early March announcement for the iPad 3.

As is the case with rumours rushing in during the pre-launch period of most Apple products, there is nothing concrete around this time, too. But, this does not stop the rumours from flooding in on a regular basis. Apple is expected to release their next iPad, during the first quarter of the year with reports suggesting that Apple will hold a strange event, in February. However reports coming in later were quick to dismiss these suggestions, and instead stated that the product could possibly be announced in March. The latest bit of information comes courtesy of a report from AllThingsD, where they state that an anonymous source has informed them that Apple would be holding an event, in the first week of March at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, to unveil the iPad 3.

The report goes on to state that specifications-wise, the upcoming tablet will feature an improved graphics processing unit, a Retina Display with a resolution of 2048×1536, or something close. The report also goes on to mention that a source has stated that, “If 2011 was the year of the iPad 2, will 2012 be the year of the iPad 3? What do you think?” When the website contacted Apple regarding the possible announcement date, a spokeswoman for the brand declined to comment stating that they do not comment on rumours and speculations.

Repair Labs, who apparently have come across an image of the casing of the tablet, stated in a related report that in comparison with the iPad 2, there are a few design changes in the iPad 3. The website has mentioned the points about the internal design changes of the iPad 3. Reportedly, the mounts for the logic board are very different, which means the logic board shape will be different, making space for more battery, a different camera and a changed LCD.

The website states, “Our source also told us that the housing itself did not seem thicker on the iPad 3 than it does on the 2. There have been a lot of reports that said the iPad 3 would be a millimeter or two thicker than the 2, and according to our source, that could be false. It is a little bit hard to conclude without measuring both with screens in place, however.”