Rumor: Apple's iPad 3 won't hit shelves until next fall

Apple's iPad tablet is a big hit, so it's no surprise the company wants to stretch out that success for as long as possible. According to the latest industry chatter, Apple is busy putting the finishing touches on an updated iPad 2 due this spring. The iPad 3, however, won't hit retail shops until late 2012.

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Insider news site DigiTimes spoke to an anonymous source who claimed an iPad 2 revision featuring a longer battery life, higher screen resolution and thinner frame will ship in March. The revamped iPad 2 model is essentially a stop-gap until the iPad 3 is ready next fall.

The same unnamed source revealed that Apple could stockpile over two million of the new iPad 2s by January - good news for early adopters. The original iPad 2 sold over one million units in its opening weekend, but the subsequent weeks-long replenishment time left many customers out of luck.

Come next year, Apple's iPad may have some staunch competition. Amazon's upcoming Kindle Fire looks to shake up the tablet market.

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The $199 device has garnered considerable buzz since its September announcement. Last week, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said that pre-order figures were so strong the company is now building "millions more" to meet demand. Some hopeful estimates have even placed the Kindle Fire well ahead of the original iPad's launch and closer to topping the iPad 2's debut.

The Kindle Fire releases on November 15.

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