Apple iPad 3 to Arrive in March with Quad-Core Processor and LTE

The iPad 3 will be announced in March and released later that month, according to Japanese Apple blog Macotakara.

The website - which has a fairly good track record of predicting Apple products - also states that the company will hold a "strange" media event in February, before an event to announce the much-anticipated iPad 3 in March.

Translated through Google, Macotakara said: "I reported that Apple was going to hold Special Event in early February according to Asian supplier and source from United States, but this report told a half-side of truth. Apple will hold 'Strange' event at February instead of Special Event."

The iPad 3 is widely expected to be released soon and feature a super-high resolution Retina display with a resolution twice that of the current iPad 2. The new model is also expected to have a quad-core A6 processor for improved performance and LTE.

Little is known about the "special event" but it is not believed to be hardware related.

Better known as 4G technology, LTE (short for long term evolution) is a much faster mobile broadband connection which allows compatible smartphones and tablets to download files and browse the internet far quicker than over the older 3G networks.

The news from Macotakara comes just a day after BGR reported that a source with access to an iPad 3 prototype confirmed that the tablet has a quad-core processor and LTE.

Apple will certainly not announce the iPad 3 before 14 February, as a recent sales promotion highlighted the iPad 2 as an ideal Valentine's Day gift.