Well now it seems like Apple might be getting into the habit of not delivering what the iOS faithful expect. Many of Apple’s loyal band expected the company to deliver the full on all new iPhone 5 but were presented with just an updated version of the iPhone 4 with the iPhone 4S, and rumour has it this will also be the case with the next generation iPad.

According to the guys over at Phone Arena by way of DigiTimes, the next generation iOS tablet is to begin mass production soon and had been slated for a launch in March 2012, seems good but there is a kicker.

The thing is, apparently upstream supply chain sources have revealed that Apple see the next generation iPad as more of an upgraded Apple iPad 2 rather than the full on Apple iPad 3, with apparently the full-fledged iPad 3 seeing launch in Q3 of 2012.

So what can one expect from this upgraded iPad 2? Well according to the unnamed sources, the upgraded Apple iPad 2 will be a thinner slate than the current tablet offering and will also deliver longer battery life.

The source also said that due to “Lunar New Year holidays in China in January,” Apple has made the decision to begin small volumes shipments in Q4 of 2011.

Furthermore apparently Apple is not in any real rush to deliver the full on Apple iPad 3 because the iPad 2 according to some retailers is still the most popular slate in the market.

Obviously none of the above has been confirmed and thus should be taken with a pinch of salt, but if true it looks like once again Apple is going to deliver an upgraded version of their current product rather than a totally new iPad.

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