A new report has emerged about the technical specifications of the upcoming iPad 3, just weeks ahead of its purported launch in early March. Notably, a photo posted on Chinese website WeiPhone shows a circuit board with a chip stamped with the words "A5X" and the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) logo.

If authentic, it would suggest that the chip used in the iPad 3 will be an incremental improvement instead of the A6 quad-core processor mentioned in earlier reports.

Other features that are likely to make it into the next iteration are 4G LTE capability and an 8 megapixel camera to replace the mediocre one on the iPad 2.

Apple shipped a total of 40.5 million iPads in 2011, commanding 62 percent of the tablet market. Given that 15.43 million units were sold in the last quarter alone, the numbers point toward a marked increase, even with the new version looming. But the arrival of Windows 8 tablets at the end of the year is almost certain to put a damper on the iPad 3's adoption. The Windows 8 tablets are expected to utilize quad-core ARM-based processors, and Microsoft has already confirmed a native version of Microsoft Office for its tablets, which will certainly appeal to businesses.

For more:
- check out this article at eWeek

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