According to sources the Apple iPad 5 release date will be in the third quarter of 2013, most probably at the end on March. It is expected to be “significantly lighter and slimmer” than last year’s 9.7-inch models, much faster and potentially reducing the width down to just 7.2mm.

It is also possible that this version of slimmer iPad will be achieved by changing the LED backlighting system, going from two light bars to one in an attempt to shed weight and those all-important millimetres.

It is believed that the iPad 5 will take its design from the iPad Mini which has a slim side compared to the wider full-size iPad, including a narrower border between the display and the edge of the device itself.

“Our checks at CES indicate Apple will release the iPad 5 and the second-generation iPad Mini this March,” Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White wrote in a new note. “The iPad 5 is expected to be lighter and thinner than the iPad 4 that was released in October, while the form factor of the iPad Mini should be similar to the first generation iPad Mini that debuted in October.”

Apple sold over 14 million iPad units in the 4th quarter of 2012, and it plans to announce sales figures for the iPhone 5, iPad 4 and iPad Mini during the company’s 1st quarter of 2013 earnings report, scheduled to release at the end of January.

Other 2013 Apple predictions from tech analysts include an iPad Mini 2 with Retina display and the unveiling of the next, maybe iPhone 5S.  The Apple HDTV has fallen off the radar for 2013, for now.

What do you expect from the Apple iPad 5 release? Tell us your opinion.