Apple I- Phone

Apple's next-generation iPad will arrive in March packing a quad-core processor, LTE wireless functionality, and a new display with better resolution than you'll find on a lot of HD television sets, according to a report published Friday by Bloomberg.

The news agency cited three anonymous sources "familiar with the product" in its report. One told Bloomberg that Apple's Asian manufacturing partners had begun ramping up production of the next-gen tablet that's expected to be dubbed the iPad 3, with Foxconn, the main assembler of the device, running its factories 24 hours a day to get product shipped.

Sources also told the agency that the new iPad will sport a quad-core chip, which if true, would confirm a report first put out by 9to5Mac.com earlier this month. The Apple-watching blog discovered references to core management capabilities for quad-core processors buried within Apple's iOS 5.1 beta code.

What's more, "videos begin playing almost instantly" thanks to a boost in graphics processing horsepower as well, one source told Bloomberg.

There's already been a good deal of speculation that the iPad 3 will feature an upgraded display because there was no change on that front from the first-generation tablet to the iPad 2. Rumor had it last year that Apple's Taiwan suppliers were already shipping iPad 3 displays to the company in November.

Apple is supposedly getting on the LTE bandwagon with the iPad before the iPhone because it feels more comfortable running the new, power-hungry wireless tech on a device with a bigger battery, according to Bloomberg's sources.

As for the March release date, Apple characteristically isn't confirming or denying anything, but earlier rumors have placed the iPad 3's debut as soon as February.

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