Rumor: Bloomberg Says Next iPad Will be LTE-Capable

We’ve heard an assortment of rumors over the last month or so regarding Apple’s upcoming tablet release. A majority of them seem to agree that a new iPad will debut sometime between late February and early March of this year.

As far as features go, however, the gossip has been all over the place. 7″ screen, 10″ screen, Siri, quad-core processor — we’ve heard it all. And now Bloomberg has entered the mix, claiming that Apple’s next tablet will be LTE-capable…

Bloomberg reports:

“Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s next iPad, expected to go on sale in March, will sport a high-definition screen, run a faster processor and work with next-generation wireless networks, according to three people familiar with the product.”

Although the publication cites its source as the ever-murky “people familiar with the product,” it’s worth noting that Bloomberg is considerably more credible than DigiTimes and other rumor-slinging websites.

There’s also plenty of evidence of Bloomberg’s claims. Last fall, there were numerous reports that Apple was actively testing live LTE-enabled products. And references to quad-core processors were recently spotted in the developer beta of iOS 5.1.

That being said, we’re still not getting our hopes up on this one. Between the bad taste that the much-rumored but never materialized iPhone 5 left in our mouths, and the lack of LTE coverage available world wide, we’re maintaining our ‘we’ll believe it when we see it’ mentality.

But hey, it sounds awesome.