iPad 2 Coming February. Or maybe April...

There's been some rampant (well, as rampant as IT blogs get) speculation about the launch date for iPad 2 today.

U.S. publication Computerworld asked a Wall Street analyst bloke when the next iPad was due. "I think April is the proper time-frame for an iPad 2," said Brian Marshall of a company we've never heard of.

Hmmm. April. That's like, four or five months away. Bah. But it would fit in with the refresh cycle Apple have imposed on the iPhone - with a new version every 12 months.

But. BUT. Other blogs are now claiming we could see the iPad 2 even sooner. They've picked up on a DigiTimes story that says iPad parts suppliers have been briefed to gear up for a big push in February 2011 - with the iPad 2's new boards beginning manufacture as early as December.

So, here's our OFFICIAL predication. The iPad 2 will probably come out next year - as early as February but maybe as late as May. You heard it here first! Unless you read it somewhere else, in which case you heard it here second.