Tablet may also be taller, narrower

A FaceTime camera will be located top center on the front of the second-generation iPad, a screen protector from an accessory maker is said to show. Such placement takes after the fourth-generation iPod touch, as opposed to the iPhone 4, which places the front camera slightly to the side to cope with the presence of an earpiece. The protector would appear to back long-running claims of a front-facing camera on the next iPad; even the first-generation model is known to have space for one hidden in its frame.

The accessory also suggests slightly different dimensions for a second-gen tablet. Compared side-by-side with an old protector, the new one is somewhat taller and narrower. If the iPad's display retains the same aspect ratio between generations, it may imply a slightly shrunken bezel.

While early accessory leaks do not necessarily reflect the shape of a final Apple product, they have occasionally done so in the past. It is also possible to obtain specifications without necessarily getting them from Apple; workers with the company's main manufacturing partner, Foxconn, have sometimes leaked data to Asian firms looking to get an edge in production. The new iPad is already believed to be in mass production.

by MacNN Staff