Rumors are swirling that the iPad 2 will begin shipping in the next hundred days, according to a new DigiTimes report. According to sources from within the Taiwan-based company, Foxconn will reportedly begin shipping 400,000-600,000 units by the end of February 2011. Officially, Foxconn had no comment.
According to the report, Apple originally planned to start production of the iPad 2 in January, but had to push back the schedule due to firmware testing. Foxconn’s plants in Chengdu are still in a “pilot production” mode, so production of the iPad 2 will also be done at Foxconn’s Shenzhen plants as well. Of course, the actual release date for the iPad 2 is ultimately up to Steve Jobs. He may very well wait to release it till he feels that the time is right.
The iPad has been a huge success for Apple and they are sure to sell quite well during the busy holiday shopping season. The iPad 2 is rumored to up the ante in the ongoing tablet wars, with a wide array of new features including multiple cameras for FaceTime, gyroscope support, a thinner case, retina display and a USB connector. We’ll just have to wait for the first quarter of next year to see what new features Apple decides to include on the 2011 iPad model. Hopefully, Apple will also find a way to reduce the price a bit so more people can join in on all the iPad “magic.”
Dig Times
