Reports are surfacing that Apple’s iOS 5.1 software update will be released publicly about one month from today. Leaks of operator profiles set to be sent out to various iPhone carriers point directly towards a March 9th release date.

The current range of Apple products—such as the Macintosh, AirPort and iOS devices—all utilize the current standard of 802.11n specification, but if rumors pan out we will soon be seeing a new network of 802.11ac chips that would feature better range and power efficiency than the existing chips.

Thunderbolt is a new technology that allows data transfer speeds at 20 times faster than regular USB ports, 12 times faster than the Firewire 800. It also offers the ability to power ultra high resolution displays. And according to the patent applications discovered by Patently Apple, Apple might be working to bring Thunderbolt technology to mobile devices.

A report from the Japanese blog Macotakara claims Apple may be making the final preparations to unveil the iPad 3 in February. The site has a pretty spotty record regarding some of Apple’s product plans, but is citing sources from Asian supply chains stating that the iPad 3 will go on sale in early March.

Apple’s January 19th education event isn’t really giving us a lot to talk about, so let’s take a look some iPad rumors, shall we? A high definition screen is kind of a given, but there are now reports that it will also come with LTE support (before the iPhone gets it!) and a quad-core processor. Production is rumored to hit high gear in February for a release this March.

Not everyone is fortunate to live in areas that have a large enough population to warrant an Apple store being built. You can always buy online, but what if you want to see the product before you make your purchasing decision? If there’s a Target nearby, you may be in luck; Apple is rumored to be opening a store-within-a-store inside Target at certain locations later this year.

The New York Times is reporting that Apple is secretly working in a prototype device that can be worn as a wrist-strap watch. According to sources within the company, the “… new curved-glass iPod that would wrap around the wrist,” will have the built-in functionality of Siri, allowing users to control the device with their voice. The inspiration seems to come from third-party accessories that make wrist watches of the iPod nano.

Apple uses solid-state drives (SSD)—which consist of flash memory—in the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch/nano/shuffle and MacBook Air, as well being build-to-order options in the Mac Mini, iMac, and MacBook Pro. It would make sense that Apple would want to have the best SSD technology for low price and stability, which is why it’s rumored Apple is interested in purchasing Anobit, a maker of flash controllers.

The iPad 3 has been rumored to launch sometime around March of 2012, and now alleged parts from the iPad 3 circuitry have started to appear in the wild. The photograph is reported to be a part belonging to the third generation of the iPad. The part got identified as being the microphone flex cable ribbon replacement for an iPad 3, which was posted on a Chinese retailer TVC-Mall, along with other supposed iPad 3 parts.

Rumors have been pointing to a higher resolution display in the iPad 3, set to arrive in spring of 2012. Now, word is surfacing the technology will propagate to the Apple’s Mac computers, as well. Reports from DigiTimes say Apple may have plans to incorporate into their MacBook Pros Retina Display-like resolutions of 2,880 x 1,800 (261ppi), starting at the very first few months of the Q2 in 2012.