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A customer holds a first-generation iPad outside an Apple store. Photo: Bryan Derballa/Wired.com

Apple is preparing to introduce the second-generation iPad in a special event next week, according to a report.

Multiple sources close to the situation say Apple is set to unveil the upgrade for the popular tablet on March 2 in San Francisco, according to the well-sourced Kara Swisher of All Things Digital.

“The Wednesday date in a little more than a week is firm and will take place in San Francisco, the scene of many such Apple events,” Swisher writes.

Apple does not comment on rumors or speculation, but small clues hint at the possibility of the iPad 2 gaining front and rear-facing cameras (similar to the iPhone 4) and a more powerful graphics processor. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported a rumor that the resolution of the iPad 2 would not be significantly improved, which could come as a disappointment to customers.

If the March 2 launch date turns out to be true, the iPad 2’s debut will come just days after Motorola’s first tablet, the Xoom, is set to hit stores on Feb. 24.

See Also:

• Rumor: Apple’s iPad 2 Lands April 2011
• Photos: Are These iPad 2 Cases?
• Rumor: iPad 2 Has Bigger Speaker, Flat Back, Smaller Body
• Photos: iPad 2 Display Leaked
• Rumor: Apple Starts Production of iPad 2

There’s not a scrap of evidence to back this rumor, but everything seems to line up: CNET reports that Apple will announce “a new high-speed connection technology” soon — and Intel’s Light Peak seems to be a shoo-in for the job. We’ve long known that Apple’s been secretly backing the 10Gbps interconnect, but with a likely MacBook Pro refresh right around the corner and Light Peak allegedly due for a 1H 2011 launch, it seems the time for action could be right around now. It also doesn’t hurt that this latest rumor comes from CNET, actually, as we’re pretty sure the publication has an inside source. The very same reporter wrote that Light Peak would be downgraded to copper, a full month before Intel would admit anything of the sort.

Apple announcing new high-speed interconnect, Light Peak here we come? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Feb 2011 08:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal seemed pretty sure that an iPhone nano was inbound, but the New York Times‘ anonymous sources dispute that tale — the paper writes that “Apple is not currently developing a smaller iPhone,” and that the company is “not planning to introduce a smaller iPhone anytime soon.” While the publication doesn’t outright deny the existence of such a device at any point in the story, it does quote an anonymous Apple executive as saying that it doesn’t make sense for the company to create multiple iPhone form factors at any given time, and an anonymous Apple engineer as saying that cheaper components, not a smaller size, would make for a cheaper overall price.

One thing’s for sure: either Apple’s making one, or it’s not.

In related news, the Times‘ sources corroborate the idea that Apple will make MobileMe free, and say that the next full-sized iPhone is nearly complete. Woo!

NYT: Apple considering a cheaper iPhone, but not a smaller one right now originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 20:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Jobs took another medical leave of absence earlier this year with no estimated return date. The National Enquirer has now published some scary looking photos of Steve, which depict him looking thinner and perhaps more ill than ever. (Photos in the spread above by Nick Stern) More »

Apple might be preparing a smaller, less-expensive version of the iPhone for release this year, according to multiple media outlets.

The smaller iPhone could be half the size of a normal iPhone, and it may have a strong focus on internet-streamed media and “cloud” storage, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Bloomberg followed up with a report citing a source who claimed to have seen a prototype of the device.

Neither publication had details on device specifications or pricing. Cult of Mac later echoed the rumor about a focus on cloud storage, adding that the smaller iPhone’s storage had to be extremely pared down to reduce costs.

Whispers of a so-called “iPhone Nano” have made the rounds for years, but mainstream media outlets such as WSJ add more credibility to the rumor. It would be an opportune time for Apple to introduce such a product to compete with cheaper, smaller Android smartphones, as well as HP’s miniature Veer smartphone introduced last week alongside the TouchPad tablet.

Photo of a Chinese counterfeit of an iPhone Nano: maxime/Flickr