It's a new year, which means a spike in iPad 3 rumors. As the whole tech world waits for Apple's next generation iPhone 5 and iPad 3 this year, the level of hype and speculation surrounding these two devices have reached a fever pitch. With the iPhone 5 not expected until later in the year, the rumor mill has turned its attention to the next-generation iPad 3. Here are the most recent iPad 3 rumors going around the Web in the last few weeks.

The iPad 3's display has been one of the most talked-about features of this anticipated tablet. Pundits and bloggers have been expecting Apple to release a new tablet with some major innovation for its display. The longest-running rumor about the iPad 3 display is that it will be based on a new LCD technology announced by Sharp in 2011. The company is said to be producing an HD screen using indium, gallium and zinc oxide or IGZO. The display uses less power than conventional displays and would have higher resolution.

Another display rumor focuses on the iPad 3 getting the same retina display used in the iPhone 4 and 4S. The site MacRumors.com had a supposedly leaked photo of an iPad 3 with a retina display. The picture posted at a Korean forum had the alleged iPad 3 with 3 ribbon cables for display data. This was enough for the site to say that the iPad 3 will have a higher resolution screen of 2048x1536 pixels or four times the number of pixels on the current iPad 2.

Another rumor has surfaced about the camera on the iPad 3. According to iLounge's Jeremy Horwitz, the new iPad 3 will have a FaceTime HD front-facing camera while the back camera will be similar to the camera found in the iPhone 4 or 4S. Horwitz also added that the iPad 3 will be 1mm thicker to make room for new parts.

When will the iPad 3 be released? The answer to that question has been the subject of many rumors. Apple has been tight-lipped about this, but that's par for the course for a company that traditionally doesn't release information about new devices. Apple does release its products on an annual cycle. The first generation iPad was released on April 3, 2010, while the iPad 2 was released on March 11, 2011. Going by the previous release dates the iPad 3 could arrive in roughly the same time, around March or April. AppleInsider and the Washington Post think the iPad 3 will come out on February, just in time for Steve Jobs' birthday.

Of course all of these are rumors and should be taken with a grain of salt. Apple's silence about the matter means that any of these rumors could be true or none of them could even be close to what the iPad 3 will turn out to be.