Bloomberg: LTE-capable iPad 3 production underway, to launch in March

Citing information from three Chinese sources close to the matter, Bloomberg on Friday said that the iPad 3 entered mass production earlier in January, and Apple's Chinese manufacturing partners are working around the clock to get the highly-anticipated product out by March.

One of the sources claims that manufacture is quickly ramping up and should reach full volumes by February. Factories are expected to take a break during China's Lunar New Year, and will hit peak capacity shortly following the holiday.

Sources also corroborated previous rumors that the iPad 3 will feature a new quad-core processor, LTE functionality and a high-resolution Retina Display that has more pixels than some high-definition TVs.

LTE compatibility has been rumored since a line of code was found in GSM iPhone 4 and iPad 2 builds of iOS 5, and there have been ongoing rumblings of a Retina Display being developed akin to the one found on the iPhone 4.

Apple has yet to announce any work on a new processor, but Samsung is expected to supply the company with a next-generation A6 quad-core CPU that was rumored to be in testing since August 2011.

The company refused to comment on availability, but rumors of a March release have remained stable and pictures of alleged parts for the tablet continue to crop up.