New Information on the Apple iPad 2

The first whispers of the Apple iPad 2 are here, with a number of companies in the Apple supply chain confirming their involvement.  The final design has been completed, the parts are in production, and the upgrades have practically been announced.

Five companies have confirmed their involvement in the next generation iPad.  Two camera companies, Genius Electronic Optical Co Ltd and Largan Precision have confirmed they are involved, and three other companies, chip designer Wintek, battery maker Simplo, and cover manufacturer AVY Precision have also confirmed their involvement.

The main upgrades on the next gen Apple iPad are likely to be both a front and rear facing camera, an SD card slot, better display resolution, and a slimmer, lighter overall design.  News regarding the dual cameras and SD card slot have been confirmed by case design companies Shenzhen MacTop Electronics and Kodawarisan, who have obviously designed their new cases with the both of these features in mind.

The lack of connectivity on the current generation iPad was seen as a negative for many consumers, and Apple seem ready to go a little beyond the current limitations of their 30-pin connector.  However, this is still not going to be enough connectivity for some people.  Luckily however, there are a number of Android tablets now also available for people who need easy USB access.

The next generation iPad cases show the same placement for the existing mute switch and headphone port, although they also shout-down another iPad 2 rumour that has been doing the rounds.  There is no space for a second 30-pin connector on the side for landscape-style docking, a feature some people thought was going to appear on the new model.

One other report doing the rounds this week is that Apple partner Foxconn are ready to start shipping the new iPads within 100 days, which would fit with the estimated April launch that many people have been predicting over the last few weeks.