Apple Rumors game can a fleeting thing. Just as we had heard about last-minute changes to the Apple TV before it hit the market, we've gotten word from sources that the iPad 2 slated to be announced next Wednesday will be sans a couple of the features that we had previously reported. In particular, that SD card slot and the higher resolution display will not make it to the new model (the last we hearing rumblings about for a while had). What is the cause of the switch? Our sources were not properly crystal clear on the exact reasons, but the essence of what was explained to us centered around vague "engineering issues" that could have forced some changes at the last. It's worth noting again that these sources death right to specific Apple plans and specifications for unannounced products have been in the past, and we have no reason to believe that these changes are due to anything more than legitimate engineering decisions close to the launch.

So what we will see on 2 March? We hear that it is very likely a thinner, spec-bumped variation of the original iPad with a screen size and resolution identical to the current model. More RAM (512 MB) and a more powerful CPU (A5) also be expected. It is also a pretty safe bet that the tablet will be sporting at least one camera in the front--although if some of these case mockups we've seen tell us something, a shooter around back to expect. It also almost guaranteed that the next version of iOS (number 5 in all probability, along with the SDK for developers), and an extension of Apple's cloud services see (that part is a bit ... foggy right now). Of course, that will be perfect set of Apple announcement of the iPhone 5 in June, which is when iPad owners probably expect to be using the new software. Anyway, we have the goods come next week, so stay tuned!


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