The next generation of the revolutionary iPad is expected to feature a high resolution display - 2048 by 1536 compared with 1024 by 768 currently being offered in the iPad 2 - and Apple's suppliers have already shipped small quantities of components for the sampling of the iPad 3. Suppliers said Apple has placed orders for a 9.7-inch screen device.
Apple reported blowout earnings for its fiscal third quarter due to the popularity of its iPad. The company sold 9.3 million units in the quarter, nearly triple as compared to an year earlier. Together with the sales of the iPhone smartphone and other electronics devices, Apple's net profit for the period has more than doubled to $7.31 billion from $3.25 billion a year earlier.
But the Apple Inc. is not taking the market competition lightly as the next-generation iPad would be coming at a time when there's more competition in the market. Companies from Samsung Electronics Co., Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., ZTE Corp. and Toshiba Corp. have launched similar devices using Google Inc.'s Android Operating System.