Now that the iPhone 4S is official, it’s time for the iPad 3 rumors to starts and so they have… A quick count shows us that we’re only about 4-5 months away from the debut of the new Apple tablet, so time is running out. Everyone is expecting here a slightly upgraded iPad 2, that should come in March 2012.

Digitimes is the one reporting this and they’re saying that the new tablet is thinner and provides better battery life than the current model. We’re not sure what the naming of the device will be, but we’ve heard iPad 2 HD tossed around a lot. However, there are also plans for a real iPad 3, that will supposedly come in Q3 2012, with Samsung, Sharp and LG rumored to be working on a new Retina Display.

The next-gen tablet is expected to feature the faster Apple A6 processor, with rumors saying that manufacturing issues will make Apple delay the product. Of course, there are also rumors about a cheaper iPad, that will debut next year ahead of the iPad 3, maybe with a 7 inch display. I guess that most of these speculations will be put to bed in March 2012…