FaceTime

The latest iPad rumors come from iLounge‘s Jeremy Horwitz' Twitter feed (via 9to5Mac). According to Horwitz, the next generation iPad will feature a front-facing FaceTime HD camera, and the rear camera will be more "iPhone 4S-like." 9to5Mac also heard Apple was prepping an 8-megapixel camera for the iPad 3 last summer.

Horwitz also tweeted that the iPad 3 will be thicker like previous reports have suggested. This is due to the rumored dual OLED backlights for the improved LCD display.

“Curve radiuses on the body will change only a little to accommodate the added thickness, not dramatically. Think iPad 2 Pro, not a redesign."

"Body of the next iPad is, as we previously reported, getting just a little thicker to accommodate new parts - little = 1mm give or take."

Some iPad owners might not be aware that the original model has a microphone built-in right next to the headphone jack. Both the 3G and Wi-Fi only models have a little mic hole in the same place on the iPad's metal top. Now that the next generation iPad 2 is designed for use with Apple's FaceTime video chat software, the internal microphone is getting some more attention.

Tests have indicated the iPad 2 Wi-Fi only model captures higher quality audio than its 3G-enabled cousins. Pictured above, the two microphones were tested by iLounge in their comprehensive iPad 2 review.

We already know that iOS 4.2 will be released for the iPad in November, bringing many new features to existing devices just in time for the holiday retail season. New evidence has emerged that Apple may be planning something even bigger for this fall or early 2011. Rumors of a smaller iPad model and camera-equipped iPads along with a July BGR report that iOS firmware links FaceTime to email addresses already mean Apple has something up its sleeve.

Now AppleInsider reports that Apple may abandon its one-year product cycle to launch a FaceTime-capable iPad within months. According to the report, Apple needs to move aggressively to get their own FaceTime-equipped mobile devices into the market before making the FaceTime code public for inclusion on other platforms.

Apple plans to bring FaceTime video chat to more iOS devices in the near future, as BGR has discovered in the iOS 4.1 beta firmware. Assuming the next-generation iPad includes a front-facing camera, video chat over Wi-Fi would be possible using the built-in software. This would greatly expand communications options between Apple mobile devices.

In addition, FaceTime has been opened up to developers for use on any platform. Potentially those with the iPhone 4 could use FaceTime to communicate to anyone with an enabled device. The iPad and iPod touch could join the fray as soon as cameras are added. BGR found that Apple is working on a system to allow calls using email addresses instead of phone numbers.