Analyst: iPad 3 expected in February

CUPERTINO, Calif., Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A technology industry analyst said U.S. technology giant Apple could launch the third generation iPad by February.

Richard Gardner, a Citi analyst, said it doesn't look like there are "any significant technical hurdles remaining," The Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

The iPad3 is expected to include high-resolution retina display technology, similar to the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S, the newspaper said.

Those devices have resolutions of 960 X 640 and 326 pixels per square inch.

With pixels per square inch or ppi above 300, the human eye cannot distinguish one pixel from another, which puts those resolutions in the status of retina displays, the newspaper explained.

Rival technology producer Samsung is working on similar high resolution displays.

Apple, however, has a major head start in the field, currently controlling 65 percent of the computer tablet market.