And just like that, the iPad 3 rumors have begun to heat up on another level. Of course we have been seeing those recent rumors dealing with the higher-resolution display, however The Wall Street Journal is now stating that the iPad 3 will come with 4G LTE connectivity and be available with both Verizon Wireless and AT&T. Granted, the current iPad is already available with both of those carriers, but the real bump will be going from 3G to 4G. The details are coming by way of the always knowledgeable “people familiar with the matter” who had this to say;

“Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. will sell a version of the coming iPad that runs on their newest fourth-generation wireless networks,”

Otherwise, the iPad 3 announcement is expected to take place during the first week of March. And lastly, for those who like and hope to have 4G but live and/or play in a location that does not yet have access — rest assured in knowing that “when LTE isn’t available, the new iPad will default to a slower network technology.”

Via [WSJ]

Seriously, the Instagram folks better hurry up in releasing the Android version of their app. Many Instagram fans are getting restless by now in anticipation of the app’s arrival on the Android Market, myself included. It’s a good thing I still have my iPhone so I can still continue using Instagram. And if you’re like me, you’ll be glad to know that the iPhone app has just been updated – bringing in yet again a new filter called Lux. This new photo effect again proves how serious the Instagram folks are when it comes to providing us with great photo enhancement facility for pictures that we take using our iPhone. You’ll love the way the Lux effect adjusts your photo’s brightness, midtone contrast and saturation to bring out its details. I mean if you have Instagram on your iPhone, you have to update it now and try using the Lux effect. You’ll love Instagram even more. Aside from this, the updated app also brings in a simplified and improved interface, facility to change your profile photo from your profile page and tap on push notification to go straight to the photo. Instagram is available now as a free download from the iTunes App Store. Sorry folks, no sign of the app yet on the Android Market as of this writing.

Via [Instagram]

Scosche has just released a new speaker dock that works with all iPad models. Dubbed the bassDock, this adjustable speaker dock that supports the iPad 1 and iPad 2 rotates to allow both horizontal and vertical viewing angles. It also charges your iPad as you listen to music, watch movies and more.  The speaker dock features a 2.1 sound system with dual 1.6″ stereo speakers which according to Scosche produces the right mids and highs and a subwoofer that produces rich and powerful bass. In short, this speaker dock transforms your iPad into a powerful entertainment system. Other features of the Scosche bassDock include adjustable stand that tilts for convenient viewing, 10 Watts (2.1 Amps) for fast charging, and adapters for securely holding your iPad. This speaker dock retails for $149.99. To learn more about its features, a video demo is attached below after the product link.

Product [Scosche bassDock]

For the past two years Apple has announced the new iPad in February, but this year that’s changing. Apple doesn’t have an event this month, but it will have one in March.

According to a source talking to All Things D, Apple is planning on a launch for the next iPad in the first week of March. The event will be held in San Francisco, most likely the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, where Apple typically makes announcements such as this one.

According to current rumors, the iPad 3 will have a Retina Display with a 2048×1536 resolution, and will have a faster CPU. It’s said to have a form factor that’s similar to the iPad 2, perhaps even a bit thicker. There’s also rumors that an iPad 3 will push the price down of the iPad 2 to $300, which Apple will continue to sell. That will help Apple in the fight against Amazon, and just make it easier for more people to afford an iPad.

Given the release schedules of the previous two iPads, it would make sense for the iPad 3 to be available very soon after the announcement, perhaps just a week after.

Read [All Things D]

Tired of playing Angry Birds in all its iterations on your iPhone? You might want to try out this new iPhone game called, Timmy – feat. the Insulting Monkey. Available now as a free download from the App Store, this game takes you in control of well, you guessed it right – Timmy which is described as a happy little tank with no worries in the world. Well, of course, that’s not entirely true. Because as you can see, Timmy’s existence is being bothered by  a monkey which for no apparent reason is constantly insulting you. At first, you try to ignore him but, pretty soon, you’ll realize that enough is enough. And you must fight back. And so the game begins. Timmy is a physics-based game featuring lot of action, excitement and explosions. According to the game developer, Timmy takes the best features of popular iPhone games such as Angry Birds, Fragger and Worms. The result, is this game which will task you into killing the monkey and his banana warriors. The game features more than 75 tricky levels,  one touch control, 2 mission impossible levels geared for hardcore gamers, different weapons and special abilities, and leaderboard challenge boards. For a free game, Timmy is definitely worth a download.

via [App Store]

Apple has just announced the availability of the latest version of its video editing software, Final Cut Pro X. Now on version 10.0.3, the update brings in multicam editing functionality that automatically syncs up to 64 angles of video and photos, advanced chroma keying for handling complex adjustments, and enhanced XML to give you richer interchange with third party apps and plug-ins.   In addition, the update also includes a beta of broadcast monitoring to support Thunderbolt devices and PCIe cards. Currently available in beta, broadcast monitoring lets you connect to waveform displays, vectorscopes, and calibrated, high-quality monitors – ensuring that your project meets broadcast specs. The update is available starting today for free from the Mac App Store. If you don’t have the software yet, it is available from the Mac App Store for $299.99. You can also give the free trial version a try for 30-days by following the product link below.

Read [Apple], Product [Final Cut Pro X]

Those who happen to be both fans of The Flaming Lips and Siri may want to check out this latest song. The song is called “Now I Understand” and is dubbed as being a “sound construction piece.” That being said, the track features vocals from Siri along with some slightly more well known singers including Erykah Badu and even Biz Markie who is “backwards.” Bottom line here, we are not all that certain this will become the next hottest song on the radio, however we suspect that more than a few of the GadgeTell readers will appreciate it for its geekiness. And just as an FYI, this song will only be available on SoundCloud for one week — in other words — hit the link below and listen now…

Via [SoundCloud] and [The Verge]

A recently leaked T-Mobile document is pointing out how an unlocked iPhone may not be the best device to use if you want any amount of decent speed. In fact, they rated the customer experience of the iPhone (on their network) as being “poor.” More specifically, the T-Mobile memo points out that if customers want the “most robust device and network experience” they should get a T-Mobile 4G device. Of course, while interesting to see given the previous ‘support’ from T-Mobile in regards to unlocked iPhones — this is not all that shocking of news. Otherwise, as the memo goes on to read, while an iPhone is capable of 3G speeds, using it unlocked and on the T-Mobile network will only allow for EDGE 2G speeds because the iPhone does not have support for the WCDMA 1700/2100 band.

Via [TmoNews]

Apple only announced iCloud fairly recently, during this previous WWDC. But that being said, it looks like iCloud already has a rather significant user base. According to the latest numbers coming from Apple, iCloud now has 85 million users. The interesting part here is that total is higher than the amount of iOS devices that had been sold since the release. In other words, while we are unsure of how many people are regularly using iCloud for anything other than the basic functionality — it does appear to be well used. Then again, having three iPhones in my home, it is easy to see how iCloud could have such a large base — even this household has three accounts and of those only one came as a result of a new purchase. The remaining two accounts came as we upgraded older devices to iOS 5.

Via [TechCrunch]

Apple has put up the video of the announcement so we can all see it for ourselves. You probably already heard about everything that’s here, but maybe you’re snowed in this weekend, or you have an hour of your Saturday with nothing to do. There’s worse ways to spend you time than watching the first Apple announcement of 2012.

Read [Apple]