iPad 3 to be unveiled in first week of March

Apple will unveil a new version of its market-ruling iPad table computer in March, according to a report in Dow Jones-owned technology blog All Things D.

The latest in an ongoing stream of Apple rumours cited unnamed sources as saying that an "iPad 3" will make its debut at an event the California company will host in San Francisco in the first week of March.

The next-generation iPad will be shaped like the current model, but run on a faster computer chip and have improved graphics on par with those seen in Apple's coveted iPhones, according to the blog.

iPad still dominates

A research firm said last week that tablet computers powered by Google's Android software are increasing their global market share but Apple's iPad still dominates the category.

Strategy Analytics said Android tablets increased their share of the market to 39 per cent in the fourth quarter of the year from 29 per cent a year earlier.

The iPad accounted for 58 per cent of the tablet market in the quarter, down from 68 per cent a year earlier, the Boston-based company said.

Strategy Analytics director Peter King said global tablet shipments hit a record 26.8 million units in the fourth quarter, up 150 per cent from the same period a year ago.

Apple sold 15.4 million iPads in the fourth quarter while there were 10.5 million Android tablets shipped.

"Apple shrugged off the much-hyped threat from entry-level Android models this quarter," King said.

Tablets powered by Microsoft's Windows software grabbed 1.5 per cent of the tablet market in the fourth quarter, Strategy Analytics said.

"The upcoming release of Windows 8 this year cannot come quickly enough for Microsoft, so its hardware partners can start competing more effectively in the tablet space," it said.

Strategy Analytics executive director Neil Mawston said Android is "so far proving relatively popular with tablet manufacturers despite nagging concerns about fragmentation of Android's operating system, user-interface and app store ecosystem."

Global tablet shipments hit 66.9 million units last year, up 260 percent from 18.6 million in 2010, according to Strategy Analytics.

"Consumers are increasingly buying tablets in preference to netbooks and even entry-level notebooks or desktops," it said.

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