iPad 3 to get expected one-year anniversary launch

Apple may hew closely to the formula of its iPad launch last year for the iPad 3 if leaks Thursday are indicators. The company would use the "first week in March" to introduce the new tablet and put it on sale roughly a week later, AllThingsD heard. The event would take place in San Francisco, most likely at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (pictured) that Apple has used for both iPad events so far.

While details of the tablet itself were scant, the contacts largely described it in tune with rumors, touting a faster processor and a 2048x1536 display. It would be mostly similar in looks to the iPad 2.

Although unconfirmed, the slip comes from a historically accurate outlet that called the event timing for the iPhone 4S.

The timing, while largely unchanged from 2011, could play havoc with competitors' releases. The first full week of March would come just a week after Mobile World Congress and after a number of Apple's competitors will have shown their centerpiece tablets for the year, such as a possible Samsung Galaxy Tab 11.6. If so, the next iPad could leave companies in Samsung's boat of scrambling to redesign their tablets to stay competitive.

Apple may also be the first out of the gates with an actually shipping 2012 tablet. Samsung won't even have its next, tablet-focused Exynos processor ready until the spring and may not have a completed tablet to match until later. Acer could be closer, but isn't expected to deliver the Iconia Tab A700 until April and could have a lower screen resolution and slower performance.

By Electronista Staff

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gadgets, Acer, Samsung, Apple, iPad, Galaxy Tab, Iconia Tab