Apple is rumored to release another version of the iPad and iPad Mini in March combining the power of the two in one power packed iPad 5, reports said. The March launch is said to shorten the time gap in releasing products to be directly competitive with product fast-churners Samsung and Google. Will this do Apple any good?

According to Apple news blog 9to5Mac and Japanese blog Macotakara.jp, the California tech giant is prepping a thinner, lighter fifth-generation iPad that shares some of its design cues with the recently released iPad Mini. The blog has a good reputation in Apple-related rumors.

Macotakara reported that the next iPad will have dimensions of 4mm in height, 17mm in width, and 2mm in depth, which is a near physical impossibility. The more likely scenario is that those dimensions represent the difference. The current iPad is 241.2mm in height, 185.7mm in width, and 9.4mm in depth.

The next iPad would pick up the white and silver and black and slate elements from the iPad Mini, which in turn picked them up from the iPhone 5.

It is also speculated that the company will also herald the next generation of iPad Mini packed with a Retina display.

The release of a next-generation iPad would drastically shorten an already shortened product life cycle for Apple's main tablet. The fourth-generation iPad was released last month, just eight months after the third-generation iPad, and the proposed next version would come just five months later.

March is the usual launch period of the tablet as per the Apple's calendar.

However, Macotakara cited some sources that Apple is hesitating in releasing another iPad so soon after the last one.

The fourth-generation iPad only included some slight changes from its predecessor. It is a version released to ensure all of Apple's products had the same lightning dock connector. Apple unveiled the iPad 4 and iPad mini in October, and released them in November.

Another rumor claimed that Apple will release the successor of iPhone 5 early next year. Reports indicate that Apple is looking to switch to a 6-month cycle instead of a 1-year cycle with the iPhone to be more aggressive against competitors such as Samsung and Google. This means consumers may be able to snatch up a colorful iPhone 6 around March 2013.

As usual, the Cupertino-based company remained tight-lipped on its plans for the next year.