Report: iPad 3 to get Retina Displays Supplied by Sharp

Apple's rumored Retina display for the next iPad was granted an upgrade as the wall Street Journal reports that Sharp will be supplying high-resolution displays for the tablet.

According to the newspaper's sources, Sharp's Kameyama 2 plant is manufacturing the touch screens. Sharp already supplies the displays for the iPhone 4S. Apparently, Apple is investing in Sharp's LCD production in Japan to make sure it can support the demand for its smartphones and tablets.

The analyst consensus suggests that Apple will be quadrupling the resolution of the iPad display from 1024x768 to 2048x1536 pixels, which would put the new iPad far ahead of its Android competition that generally offers 1280x800 pixels. Current 10.1-inch Android displays usually offer about 150 ppi, while a 2048x1536 pixel display on the iPad's 9.7-inch screen would be 264 ppi. Keep in mind that the iPhone 4S display would still be ahead with its 326 ppi and 960x640 pixels, as would all the new 720p Android phones on the horizon.

Analysts also tend to agree that the iPad 3 will be released sometime in 2012. If we had to take a guess, we would say that H1 2012 is more likely than H2 2012.