iPad 2 to ship in February 2011?

The rumor mill is reporting that the device will be out in the next 100 days

Rumor has it that the newfangled iPad 2 will begin shipping out as early as February 2011.  Digitimes reported Tuesday that consumer electronics maker Foxconn Electronics has been notified that its plants in Shenzhen, China are to begin shipping out the iPad 2 within the next 100 days.  Digitimes received word of the shipments from sources close to the matter, who have said that initial shipments will range between 400,000 and 600,000 units.

Digitimes’ sources also added that Apple had originally planned to begin mass production of the iPad 2 in January, but had to push that time frame back to allow for more testing of the product. 

In November, Digitimes reported that the iPad 2 will have a front and rear-facing camera that will be made by Largan Precision, which makes the 5-megapixel camera for the iPhone 4.  With the tablet race heating up, the addition of an iPad feature that will finally allow for video chatting and teleconferencing will be much appreciated by consumers.

Apple reported massive sales when it released the first version of the iPad, announcing in June that it had sold three million units in less than three months.  In the first nine months of 2010, Apple has sold 7.5 million iPad units, and that number will no doubt spike during the holiday season.  To add fuel to the fire, Apple plans to begin selling the iPad in South Korea and Latin America in the fourth quarter. 

“People are loving iPad as it becomes a part of their daily lives,” Steve Jobs said in a prepared statement.  “We’re working hard to get this magical product into the hands of even more people around the world, including those in nine more countries next month.”

Digitimes’ sources revealed that Foxconn shipped six million iPads in the third quarter of 2010.

Foxconn did not respond to email inquiries from VatorNews.