A Citi analyst said Apple Inc. is releasing its third generation iPad in February.

Citi analyst Richard Gardner in a research note first reported on by Business Insider and PCMag said "several sources" told him that Apple could launch the iPad 3 as early as February. The first generation of Apple's tablet hit stores in April 2010 and the second was released in March the following year.

Both the first iPad and iPad 2 displays sport a 1024 x 768 resolution and have a pixel density of 132 pixels per inch (or ppi). But the iPad 3 is expected to include Apple's high-resolution retina display technology found on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S by doubling the iPad 3's screen resolution.

The iPad continues to be the most popular tablet in the market -- but its market share has decreased from 90% to under 70% and the game has changed in the past few months. Samsung, which has 5, 7 and 10 inch tablets in the market, is now the world's second largest tablet vendor.

Amazon has launched a 7-inch tablet that's available for a mind-blowing $199. Although the Kindle Fire doesn't have superior specs (just an 8 GB storage capacity, 1 GHz dual-core processor, has no cameras), the new tablet is seen as a vulnerable alternative or threat to the iPad given it's 60% cheaper than the iPad and it's backed by Amazon's cloud infrastructure and deep array of digital content.

Unconfirmed reports say Apple is mulling a new iPad mini along with the third generation 9.7-inch iPad in early 2012. The iPad mini is expected to have a 7.85-inch screen.

Specs-wise, the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime is leading the pack. The Transformer Prime is the world's first tablet with the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor. The up to 1.3GHz in a quad-core configuration processor gets a boost with 1GB of RAM and beefy 32 GB / 64 GB of storage. With these specs, the Transformer Prime promises extreme multitasking capabilities, lightning fast app loading, a rich and fluid web experience, full 1080P HD video playback or recording without compromising battery life, and of course, console-quality gaming.

iPad 3 coming February?

Here are the top 10 rumored features that will make 2012 the year of the iPad 3:

Quad-core processor. The iPad 3 is expected to have an A6 processor, from the A5 on the current iPad and also the new iPhone 4S. The A6 is expected to have a quad-core processor instead of dual-core. ASUS has shown that tablets can be as powerful as desktops by having a quad-core processor in place.

Virtual Assistant. Siri, the voice controlled voice assistant, is the major draw of the iPhone 4S. Fans would be disappointed if the iPad 3 won't have Siri, a voice-recognition system that turns the device into a hands-free personal assistant. Siri would increase the functionality of the tablet. Beatweek points out that iPhone 4S with its dual core A5 processor is powerful enough to run Siri, which means that the iPad 2, which has similar specs, could run Siri right now. Hence, iPad 3 should have a tuned up version of Siri, which is currently in beta mode. Imagine if you could use Siri with your iPad to say, "Open Angry Birds, pull sling shot to maximum angle, move to 45 degree angle and let go."

Radical Design. The iPhone 4S showed that Apple is willing to recycle a successful hardware design. The iPhone 4S launched last week has an upgraded processor, camera, software, and features as virtual assistant, but had the same design as the fourth-generation iPhone. The iPad 2 had minor changes (thinner body and tapered edges) to the first iPad. So will the third-generation iPad have an identical design? Possible. But given that Steve Jobs had tasked Apple engineers to focus on design and aesthetics, it will be more likely that the iPad 3 will be a radical departure from the previous.

Low Price. Amazon has launched a 7-inch tablet that's available for only $199. Yes, the Amazon Fire Kindle priced less than half of the $499 entry-level iPad 2. According to reports, the new batch of iPads will include a more affordable iPad to take on the new Amazon tablet. Android, BlackBerry and webOS tablets haven't been able to gain ground against the iPad because of the ecosystem, apps and features provided by Apple and its stores. Although it doesn't' have superior specs, the Kindle Fire is expected to receive a boost from Amazon's cloud infrastructure and deep array of digital content.

7-inch screen. Samsung offers tablets with 10.1- and 7.7-inch displays. Given that some people find the 9.7-inch-screened iPad too bulky, it is possible that Apple would have a smaller version of the iPad. And recent reports appear to confirm that -- reports Apple didn't confirm say that Apple is preparing an iPad Mini, a smaller and cheaper version of the iPad, in order to fend off the Kindle Fire.

HDMI capability. The HDMI playback is available in iPad 2. But the device would need an additional $39 digital AV adapter. The upcoming iPad 3 is now rumored to rid itself of this problem with an evolved HDMI port.

4G capability. Samsung, HTC and Motorola have already released 4G-ready smartphones. And those devices using Long Term Evolution technology will likely extend to tablets. Apple will likely not want to be left behind by releasing a 4G version of the iPad 3.

Fresh retina display. The talks about a retina display first reared its head with the previous iPad 2 but this did not materialize. Now, iPad 3 is being massively rumored to arrive with the retina display with an improvised resolution of 2058X1536 pixels.

3-D features. Toshiba has already unveiled the world's first glasses-free 3D laptop, which uses a lenticular screen and integrated webcam. And LG Electronics has already released the LG Optimus 3D, which claims to offer "the world's first 3D experience on a smartphone. 3D technology on mobile devices is certainly in its infancy, making it unlikely that Apple engineers will add 3D features on the iPhone 5 or the iPad 3. But Apple filed a patent application related to 3D picture taking to the US Patent and Trademark Office later in March, according to an AppleInsider report. The filing described a system that would be capable of capturing, processing and rendering 3D images with the additional dual-camera hardware. So rumors that Apple would be incorporating a 3D-glasses-free feature on its new tablet appear to have credibility.