Next iPad Already in Production?

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The mysterious clan of “people familiar with the matter” have told the Wall Street Journal that the next version of the iPad is being built. These people move around only at night, using darkness as their cover. Their identities are unknown to the public but it’s likely that they sleep in king-size beds and use linen napkins even when eating hot dogs and other proletarian edibles.

While the second version of the iPad hasn’t been announced by Apple yet, the idea that it’s already in production isn’t exactly a mind-blowing revelation.

Apple tends to work on a yearly product cycle and the first iPad came out last April, so we’re about due for an unveiling any day now. It’s possible that, unlike the first unveiling, Apple may play the “ready for purchase today” card at the iPad 2’s announcement instead of merely providing a future ship date.

As far as the tablet’s specs go, the Wall Street Journal’s rumor hasn’t exposed any life-altering details that haven’t been detailed by past rumors.

The next iPad will apparently be thinner, lighter, more powerful and contain “at least one camera on the front of the device for features like video-conferencing,” according to the rumor. Verizon and AT&T connections appear to be on-board for certain models too, as previously rumored.

The screen is expected to be the same resolution as the first one—1024×768—so whispers of an insanely high-res 2048×1536 screen that made the rounds last month may have either been false or part of a development plan for future iterations of the iPad beyond this upcoming one.

It may be that the next iPad makes the same sort of jump that happened between the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS—faster, more memory, same screen, same basic design—with the addition of the camera and the Verizon chipset. Shaving a bit of weight and thickness wouldn’t hurt a bit, either.

As always, it’s best to wait to hear official word from Apple before reading too far into things. It shouldn’t be too much longer now.

More on TIME.com:

Will We See the iPad 2 in April?

Next iPad to Connect to More Networks?

What If Your BlackBerry Ran Android Apps? It Might Happen