Reports: Apple Readies Next-Gen iPad With Built-In Camera, GSM/CDMA Networks

Reports Friday said Apple was finalizing the design of its second-generation iPad tablet, which would use the Qualcomm chips to appeal to a wider worldwide audience than that served by its current iPad.

Production of the next version of the iPad could begin in January, with the tablet being released to the market in February or March, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing an RBC Capital Markets analyst.

Those Qualcomm chips allow a Web connection on both GSM and CDMA networks, which are the dominant mobile phone radio standards, Bloomberg reported.

Apple appears to be ramping down the production of its current iPad, which runs on 3G wireless technology, in anticipation of the release of the next generation of the device, according to The Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital report, which cited a statement from Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair.

Bloomberg also reported a decrease in orders for iPad parts by Apple in an apparent move to draw down inventory for its current iPad.

Blair also said that the new iPads will have at least one built-in digital camera, and expected to be thinner than the existing iPad because of a body made from a single piece of metal similar to the MacBook's unibody design, All Things Digital reported.