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On back of iPad 3, Apple tablet numbers to jump in 2012

iPad 3 numbers are expected skyrocket in 2012, an Asia-based report said.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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The iPad 2's display features IPS technology and 1024x768 resolution. The iPad 3 is expected to have a much higher resolution.
The iPad 2's display features IPS technology and 1024x768 resolution. The iPad 3 is expected to have a much higher resolution. Apple

Shipments of the iPad 3 are expected to zoom this year, based on orders placed for displays, an Asia-based report said.

Those orders for iPad 3 displays may go as high as 70 million this year, according to a report in the Chinese language Commercial Times.

That would be more than a 60 percent jump over iPad sales in 2011, which were about 40 million.

The Times mentions Samsung and LG Display as suppliers of the iPad 3's Retina 2048x1536 display but does not mention Sharp. Based on separate reports, Sharp is expected to ship an IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) version of that display to Apple at some point, though the timing is not clear.

The report adds--citing South Korean news reports--that Apple's suppliers have been throttling back production of iPad 2 components and shifting to those used in the iPad 3.

The iPad 3, rumored to be announced in March, is also expected to sport 4G LTE broadband and a new Apple A series chip--a follow-on to the A5 currently used in the iPad 2.