When's the iPhone 5 release date? Is there an iPad 3 coming out soon?

Apple fans are foaming at the mouth over the latest report from The Wall Street Journal that the company has ordered parts from its assembler in Asia to begin production on its next-generation iPad in October.

People "familiar with the matter" say the new iPad 3 will come out in early 2012 with as many as 1.5 million devices available at launch.

The new iPad is expected to have a higher resolution display -- 2048 x 1536 pixels -- twice that of the iPad 2's 1024 x 768 pixel screen. Further, suppliers told The Wall Street Journal that Apple has orders for a 9.7-inch screen, slightly larger than the previous iPads' 9.5-inch display.

According to The Los Angeles Times, the iPad 3 "retina display" will be similar to the iPhone 4, which shows images at 326 dpi (dots per inch). Any dpi of 300 or greater is said to be so dense that pixels are indistinguishable to the human eye at a distance of 10 to 12 inches.

Apple intends to stay ahead of competitors from Motorola, Samsung and Toshiba -- who all use Google's Android software -- by launching its next tablet computer as soon as possible. HP killed its TouchPad on Thursday, just weeks after it was on sale, Forbes reports. Apple may have nothing to worry about, though, as the company reported record sales of 9.3 million iPad units in the fiscal quarter ending June 25, with a net profit of $7.31 billion over the period.

Meanwhile, smartphone geeks are buzzing over rumors that the iPhone 5 will finally come out this October, after previous reports suggested it would be out as early as June.

SlashGear reports a VP at AT&T told its staff to "expect things to get really, really busy in the next 35-50 days, so prepare your teams accordingly." Sources also said pre-orders for the iPhone 5 would likely start at the end of September.

Such preparations by AT&T (and now Verizon) have become standard practice before an iPhone launch.

Speculation for the iPhone 5 suggests the new Apple smartphone will have a dual GSM/CDMA chip that works on both Verizon and AT&T networks. Verizon's iPhone 4, unlike the AT&T version, using a CDMA chip that restricts multi-tasking and does not work with 4G networks like Verizon's new LTE coverage.

The new iPhone is also expected to have an improved antenna (no more "deathgrip" issues) design, better camera, bigger screen, thinner model, a faster processor, and possibly a NFC chip that works with payment terminals in stores and restaurants like credit cards.

What do you think? If the iPhone 5 or the iPad 3 come out soon, will you get one?

Source - [ syracuse.com ]