iPad 3 announcement coming in early February?

Apple plans to hold a special event in early February to debut the iPad 3, according to a new report. Citing an Asian supplier and a source in the U.S., Macotakara reports that Apple is prepared to hold a special event in early February, at which it will debut both the next-generation iPad as well as iOS 5.1, which is currently in developer beta testing. The report claims that due to the Chinese New Year, the next iPad would not be released until early March, leaving a month-long gap between the product’s announcement and its release; last year, Apple debuted the iPad 2 on March 2nd, then released the device to stores on March 11, making for a debut-to-release gap of only nine days. [via BGR]