LTE Claims for iPad 3 Continue to Roll In Amid Rumors of March 16 Launch

[MacRumors]

Reuters adds its voice to the growing chorus of rumors claiming that Apple will indeed include 4G LTE compatibility on the iPad 3 when it debuts tomorrow. While some have remained skeptical of the claim amid concerns that the technology is not yet broadly-enough available to be worthwhile, Reuters joins Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal among mainstream publications making the assertion.

Apple Inc is betting a 4G-equipped iPad will tempt more U.S. consumers to pay extra to watch high-quality video on the go, and in turn, give Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc a revenue boost. [...]

The newest iPad will be capable of operating on a high-speed 4G "LTE," or Long-Term Evolution network, according to a source familiar with the product. At speeds roughly 10 times faster than current 3G technology, that may go a long way toward banishing the sometimes shaky video quality of older devices.

The continued claims of LTE compatibility comes as March 16 seems to be firming up as an expectation for the actual launch of the iPad 3 in the United States. The date has been considered a likely candidate since word of Apple's March 7 media event surfaced, given that the iPad 2 debuted nine days after its introduction last year.

Rumors of a March 16 launch received another boost last week when it was revealed that Apple's new Houston store had seen its grand opening moved up by a day to March 16 in an unusual move for the company.

9to5Mac now reports that an "Apple Store source who has been reliable in the past" has pointed to March 16 as the launch date.

We've been told by a Apple Store source who has been reliable in the past that preparations are being made for a big Apple Store event which will culminate on Friday, March 16th. Naturally, this points to an iPad 3 launch on the Friday just nine days after tomorrow's announcement.

The source also reports that Apple is planning a "subsequent event" a week later, but it is unclear whether this is referring to international iPad 3 launches or some other event.

Apple's iPad 3 media event is taking place tomorrow at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco and is scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM Pacific / 1:00 PM Eastern.

Article Link: LTE Claims for iPad 3 Continue to Roll In Amid Rumors of March 16 Launch

 

[Scott6666]

Do ATT and Verizon both use LTE? Is it the same? One iPad for either?

 

[borgqueenx]

couldnt care less for LTE here in the netherlands.

The new ipad 3 will have 128gb of space for its highest end model, the tactile feedback display, retina screen, A15 CPu and rogue 6 powervr GPU.
And thats when i woke up by my iphone alarm.

 

[jclardy]

Hmm, I hope AT&T announces shared data plans for iPhone/iPad. I wouldn't mind paying $5-10 extra to have both devices access my allotted data.

Of course, knowing AT&T it will be cheaper to just buy two separate data plans in the first place.

 

[luke.mac1]

I can't wait for this iPad... I hope it is launched at least this soon after the event!

 

[douglaswilliams]

It seems obvious to me.

With other tablet option available that have LTE connectivity, it seem obvious to me that Apple would not wait another year to add it to the iPad. That would make them more than a year behind the technology curve - a place they want to stay ahead of.

I don't even question it.

 

[iEvolution]

tell me this, what good is speed when you're limited to 2/3gb a month?

Great! I can enjoy a whole whoopin 2 high def movies a month at blazing speeds!

 

[Patriot24]

Hmm, I hope AT&T announces shared data plans for iPhone/iPad. I wouldn't mind paying $5-10 extra to have both devices access my allotted data.

Of course, knowing AT&T it will be cheaper to just buy two separate data plans in the first place.

I have been railing about this for a while. $160 for the option in the device and $400 per year (assuming you have it on for all 12 months) is just too much for most people. If the carriers had family share data that was reasonably priced, many more people would be enticed to buy the 3G/4G models.

My wife and I both have iPhones with 2GB plans from Verizon. Neither of us ever come close to 2GB in a month (or 1GB for that matter). If I could use the leftover data for a fee of $15 per month on my iPad, I'd snap up a 3G/LTE unit in a heartbeat.

 

[troop231]

 

[GuitarDTO]

Seem's like we've had a new article "confirming" LTE each day for the last week.

I wonder if the subsequent event a week later has anything to do with the CNBC report about a media event planned for New York?

 

[Pipper99]

Sure would be nice to be able to preorder to receive it on the 16th, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[mw360]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

4G would explain why they don't want a '3' in the name.

 

[Deeps]

Does anybody know if LTE is available in the UK?

 

[Peace]

tell me this, what good is speed when you're limited to 2/3gb a month?

Great! I can enjoy a whole whoopin 2 high def movies a month at blazing speeds!

True Dat !

I don't understand all the hype either.

 

[Dionte]

I should have added to my auction, will not ship for 7 days.

 

[vitaminz]

Got a day off work on the 16th so I hope they release that day in UK!

 

[tasset]

I have been railing about this for a while. $160 for the option in the device and $400 per year (assuming you have it on for all 12 months) is just too much for most people. If the carriers had family share data that was reasonably priced, many more people would be enticed to buy the 3G/4G models.

My wife and I both have iPhones with 2GB plans from Verizon. Neither of us ever come close to 2GB in a month (or 1GB for that matter). If I could use the leftover data for a fee of $15 per month on my iPad, I'd snap up a 3G/LTE unit in a heartbeat.

Wait, so you have two iPhones which neither is using close to their allotted data limit, and you want to pay EXTRA for the privilege of using the data you already paid for??
I am all for the shared data plans, but not if it means paying for the same data twice.

 

[basesloaded190]

Sure would be nice to be able to preorder to receive it on the 16th, but I'm not holding my breath.

That's what they've done with iPhones in the past, so it wouldn't be something new for them to do that this time around.

 

[pirategrad]

I still have the original iPad data plan - $30 for unlimited (cough, cough) data. Wonder if that going away or will I still be grandfather'd? Anyone here anything about this?

 

[thekeyring]

The faster the mobile internet the better I guess. However, I'd stick to Wi-Fi if I buy an iPad 3.

 

[dagamer34]

Does anybody know if LTE is available in the UK?

The UK hasn't had their spectrum sale yet for 4G.

Wait, so you have two iPhones which neither is using close to their allotted data limit, and you want to pay EXTRA for the privilege of using the data you already paid for??
I am all for the shared data plans, but if not if means paying for the same data twice.

It's really no different from having to pay an extra $10 per cell phone on a family plan. Is that unreasonable as well? You already paid for the minutes, no? If you take that theory to it's logical conclusion, you should be able to have 50 or 100 cell phones on the same plan with no additional cost.

 

[applesith]

There was a pre-order for the iPad 2, right?
If so, then pre-orders for iPad 3/HD would be this week for March 16th delivery?

 

[Ayemerica]

I have been railing about this for a while. $160 for the option in the device and $400 per year (assuming you have it on for all 12 months) is just too much for most people. If the carriers had family share data that was reasonably priced, many more people would be enticed to buy the 3G/4G models.

My wife and I both have iPhones with 2GB plans from Verizon. Neither of us ever come close to 2GB in a month (or 1GB for that matter). If I could use the leftover data for a fee of $15 per month on my iPad, I'd snap up a 3G/LTE unit in a heartbeat.

I would love this. This would actually make me buy the 3G/4G option.

 

[catalyst6]

I sure hope the LTE radio or whatever is compatible with both Verizon and AT&T out of the box. I really think this would encourage healthy competition between the cellular providers if people can pick and choose month to month.

Hopefully we will see more competitive rates or specials to tide customers over.

 

[bad03xtreme]

If the new iPad will have LTE/4G I am surprised we will have to wait until sometime in the fall for the new iPhone with the same technology. The iPhone seems well behind the curve at this point IMO. Don't flame me just my opinion.