By AppleInsider Staff

Published: 11:07 AM EST (08:07 AM PST)

The city of New York will play a "key" role in the Apple's unveiling of its third-generation iPad next week, a device expected to pack a quad-core processor and 4G LTE connectivity, financial news network CNBC claimed on Tuesday [updated].

In a live report Tuesday morning, the network cited anonymous sources who indicated an event will be held in New York to announce the third-generation iPad. Those same people reportedly indicated Apple's next tablet, which it said will have a quad-core CPU, will go on sale on March 9.

The network also reaffirmed earlier reports that have claimed the next iPad will offer compatibility with high-speed 4G long-term evolution networks. Earlier rumors had pointed toward an event being held next Wednesday, March 7, to unveil the new iPad.

However, Jim Dalrymple of The Loop immediately took to Twitter to declare CNBC "wrong." Dalrymple has a proven track record with respect to Apple's plans.

Update: CNBC's Jon Fortt later took to the air to clarify that he has heard that New York City will be a "key location" in next week's anticipated iPad event. He did not have any further details as to how New York would play into Apple's announcement.

If Apple does in fact hold an event in New York, it would be the first time the company has unveiled a new version of the iPad on the east coast. Unveilings of the last two iPads have taken place at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, Calif.

While Apple's major product unveilings typically occur in California, the company has held some events in New York in recent years to make relatively minor announcements. Most recently, Apple held an event at the Guggenheim Museum to unveil iBooks 2, iBooks Author and iTunes U for iPad in January.



It was said that Apple chose New York for its publishing-related announcements in January because the publishing industry is based in New York. CNBC did not indicate on Tuesday why Apple would hold an event for its so-called "iPad 3" in New York, however.

Apple also held two media events in the Big Apple in early 2011: one to unveil The Daily, a publication from News Corp for the iPad, and a second held last January to announce a Verizon-compatible iPhone model.