iPad 3 With Verizon, AT&T LTE Expected in Early March

The iPad 1 and iPad 2 will have a successor soon. (Tap magazine/Getty Images)

The iPad 3 reports just keep on flowing in. The Wall Street Journal reported today that versions of the forthcoming tablet will be available with AT&T and Verizon LTE, which is capable of providing speeds as fast as Wi-Fi connections.

Like the LTE tablets and phones sold by AT&T and Verizon, the new iPad is said to fall back on the slower 3G network if there's no LTE service in a particular area. The Wall Street Journal does not detail the service plans or agreements; but unlike the other tablets sold through the carriers, Apple doesn't require a contract when purchasing a 3G iPad through Verizon and AT&T.

This would mark the first time that Apple has sold a product with the higher speed 4G connection. (Steve Jobs didn't want to include LTE in the iPhone just yet because of the hit it takes on battery life, but the iPad does have a larger battery.)

There's also no word on whether there will be Sprint or T-Mobile versions. While T-Mobile is the only major U.S. carrier not to offer the iPhone with its service, Sprint is the only carrier to offer unlimited data for Apple's phones. All four carriers would not comment on the next generation iPad rumors.

In addition to the aforementioned LTE addition, the next iPad is rumored to have a higher resolution display - double the pixel count of the current iPad - and a faster processor. A number of technology blogs have reported that Apple will hold the iPad announcement March 7.

But the iPad rumors won't necessary end then. The Journal is also reporting that Apple is in fact working on a smaller, 8-inch version of the iPad, although that version is not expected to launch until later in the year. As per usual, Apple has not commented on any of the myriad predictions of an iPad update next month, which means one thing: There will be even more rumors before we see Apple's next tablet.