Report: Apple preparing new slimmer, camera-toting iPad

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Is Apple working on a smaller iPad table with a built-in camera? So reports Reuters. Asian manufacturers say the tablet could ship early next year.

Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said no way to a smaller iPad in October. But that’s so two months ago in iTunes land.

The launch of a new, smaller iPad would certainly shake up the already stirred up laptop market.

Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu says that offering different sizes could broaden the iPad’s appeal. Apple expects to ship nearly 13 million units this year and that number could triple next year.

Touchscreen chip designer Wintek Corp., battery maker Simplo Technology Co. Ltd. and AVY Precision, a privately held maker of covers for electronic products, are among the suppliers, four people familiar with the situation told Reuters.

One source told Reuters the revamped model would feature cameras on the front and back of the device, boosting Apple’s Facetime video conferencing service. Another source said it would be slimmer, lighter and have better resolution.

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-- Jessica Guynn