Apple likely to launch iPad 2 in March

APPLE will hold a much-anticipated event March 2, where the tech giant seems poised to unveil a new version of its iPad.

APPLE will hold a much-anticipated event March 2, where the tech giant seems poised to unveil a new version of its hugely successful iPad, AllThingsDigital said today.

Analysts expect the iPad 2 to be thinner than its predecessor and feature an improved display that will be powered by one of Qualcomm's multimode chips and will run on both GSM and CDMA-based networks around the world.

In its last earnings calls, Apple said it had sold nearly 15 million iPads, since it went on sale last spring.

Apple will be facing increased competition with the launch of a passel of tablets coming from numerous manufacturers, most of which are using the Honeycomb version of Google's Android mobile operating system.

According to several sources close to the situation, the March 2 event is firm and will take place in San Francisco, the scene of many such Apple events.

Earlier reports that the iPad 2 launch would be delayed by up to two months, due to a production bottleneck, proved to be incorrect.

"The device is indeed in production ... Apple is planning an event at which it plans to show it off," AllThingsDigital wrote.

Read more at AllThingsDigital.