iPad 3 coming early 2012 - Report

Earlier this year, Apple launched the iPad 2 to sales that far surpassed even those of the original iPad. Next year, the Cupertino, California-based company may be hoping for history to repeat itself, if a Wall Street Journal report is any indication.

The financial daily is citing "people familiar with the situation" with the news that Apple is readying an iPad 3 for release early next year. According to the paper's sources, Apple has begun ordering vital components for its next-generation iPad, with the unit's screen expected to have a higher resolution than that of the current iPad. Where the original iPad and iPad 2 boast 1024x768 displays, the iPad 3 will supposedly feature a 2048x1536 screen.

One of Apple's manufacturing suppliers told the Wall Street Journal that the company had ordered components for 1.5 million iPad 3s, with production to ramp up in advance of an early 2012 consumer launch.

Even with an iPad 3 launch, Apple may be hard pressed to top the growth it has enjoyed during its current fiscal year, which ends September 24. Over the first three quarters of its year, Apple has posted consecutive year-over-year sales spikes of 71 percent, 83 percent, and 82 percent. For the fourth quarter, Apple has projected its revenues to be up roughly 60 percent to $25 billion.