iPad 3 Launch Date Confirmed - March 7

Reports citing reliable sources are confirming that Apple’s iPad 3 event will be held Wednesday, March 7, and that AT&T and Verizon Wireless will be carrying the new tablet on their LTE networks, hoping to spur widespread adoption of the standard.

A report from iMore reveals that Apple is holding its iPad 3 announcement early next month on a Wednesday. We had already predicted March 7 as the date of Apple’s special event.

More importantly, the blog (which has been accurate on Apple rumors in the past) cites sources as saying that the iPad 3 features an LTE chipset from Qualcomm. The new radios will allow it to roam on AT&T’s and Verizon’s 4G airwaves.

A Wall Street Journal piece cited by the entire Apple blogosphere seems to confirm these claims.

The paper, whose sources are arguably the most reliable when it comes to dishing out Apple rumors, downright states that Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. will sell the upcoming iPad.

The tablets carried by the duo will have LTE capabilities, the WSJ said, with both operators aiming to cash in on their big investments in mobile broadband.

Jim Dalrymple of LoopInsight, who is known to have sources deep inside Apple, confirmed the announcement date with a terse "Yep," MacRumors points out.

Finally, the ChinaTimes chimes in with a tidbit of its own claiming that Apple has ordered no less than 65 million 264PPI Retina displays from LG Display and Samsung. The panels are for the iPad 3, according to the Chinese newspaper.

Apple is known to have ordered around 40 million displays for current-generation iPad. Bot LG and Samsung have already kicked off production of the panels. Sharp was also rumored to be producing some IGZO displays for Apple, though the Chinese paper doesn’t mention the Japanese vendor.