A Present on Steve Jobs Birthday: Release of iPad 3

APPLE

A report from 9to5Mac said tech giant Apple, Inc. will release the much anticipated iPad 3 on Feb. 25 to honor Steve Jobs' birthday.

According to 9to5Mac's report, Apple usually unveils its products on press conferences scheduled on a Tuesday or a Wednesday and makes it available on a Friday or a Saturday. Feb. 24 is a Friday, if Apple will stick to its schedule, the iPad 3 will hit the stores on Steve's birthday but will be unveiled earlier that month.

Earlier this year, iPad 2 was unveiled on March 2 in a media event; however, it hit the stores on March 11. During those times, Jobs' was on medical leave but returned to show off the new tablet saying, "We've been working on this product for a while and I didn't want to miss today."

The first generation of iPad was unveiled on a Wednesday, Jan.27, but hit the stores on a Saturday, April 3.

As expected from Apple, the company is still mum about the next generation of the tablet and many are waiting for the invites from the Cupertino-based company. Whenever the release of the new gadget will be, we will see a lot of rumors surrounding the iPad in the coming weeks. We have seen reports about the early 2012 release, revamped iPad, display shipments, a March launch with a smaller dock, and a cheaper, smaller iPad.

According to the Taiwanese news agency DigiTimes, tech giant Apple, Inc. will be releasing its much-awaited next generation of iPad in the next three to four months.

DigiTimes reported that their sources from the Apple's supply chain said that the production for the iPad 3 ramped up and the production of current generation of iPad decreased. Specifically, the source of the news agency confirmed that OEM production of the iPad 2 will remain high, producing 14 to 15 million units by the fourth quarter of 2011 but will drastically decline to 4 to 5 million units on the first quarter of 2012 to pave the way for the new iPad.

The production of the new iPad 3 is expected to reach up to 9.5 to 9.8 million units in the first quarter of 2012. The new iPad will be equipped with Retina Display and is expected to have its launch on March or April based on Apple's yearly product cycle. Looking back the first iPad went on sale in the United States on April 3, 2010. The iPad 2 became available on March 11, 2011.