9to5Mac has dug up a report from FocusTaiwan which claims that Apple is pushing their manufacturing partners to meet deadlines that would allow for Apple to introduce the next-generation iPad on February 24th, Steve Jobs’ birthday.
Specifically, the report notes that Apple’s manufacturing partners employees will have limited time off during the Lunar New Year holiday, which lands on January 23rd of 2012. Employees usually receive several days prior and after that date for the holiday.
Some reports have pinned the introduction in the traditional March/April timeframe that the other iPads have been introduced in. Other reports have suggested that the release could be as early as February.
Of course, the biggest feature expected to be introduced with the new iPad is the introduction of Apple’s ultra-high resolution “Retina” display. So there’s that.
