Apple has officially announced the next generation iPad at their special event in San Francisco. The iPad 2 packs in a new dual processor called the A5, and Apple says it is up to two times faster than the original iPad but uses the same low power.

It also has faster graphics, up to nine times faster than the graphics of the original iPad, and it is also 33 percent thinner than the original iPad. It also comes with a built in gyrospcope and two cameras, and will be available in two colors, black and white. Both models will be available from AT&T and Verizon.

Well, we knew it was coming and sure enough, Apple has sent out invites for its special event on the 2nd of March, where it will unveil the iPad 2. Should be interesting to see what the iPad 2 offers that the current one does not.

We already know that the iPad 2 will feature at least one video camera in front for Apple’s FaceTime software, we have also heard that the iPad 2 will have a slimmer design.

Looks like some Germans have gotten their hands on a blurry photograph of the new MacBook Pro specs and posted it online. Spotted in the photograph, Intel’s new Light Peak port, which will transfer files at 10Gbps, has been renamed Thunderbolt.

But if this is the real image, it’s mostly unimpressive, beyond that Thunderbolt port, Intel HD 3000 Graphics, an SDXC slot and FaceTime HD capabilities. Maybe it will feature some great design to make up for it’s unexciting specs.

Best Buy’s laptop discovery tool is giving away some secrets by listing a set of “new SKU” laptops from Apple before the company has had a chance to even announce them. Well, we already knew something was coming anyway, but it looks like this lends some credence to recent rumors of a MacBook Pro refresh coming next week.

The prices are $1,199, $1,499, $1,799, and $2,199, all of which are presently occupied by current-gen 13- and 15-inch MBP versions. There is also an additional $2,499 price for a laptop shown as “New SKU I,” which is probably an upgrade to Apple’s 17-inch model.

We now have more rumors of new MacBook Pros again, but then again when don’t we? These latest leaks narrow the MacBook Pros down to next week. Previously there was an early March target, According to AppleInsider’s contacts,several Apple divisions were being asked to ready for a “significant product launch.”

This news isn’t official of course, but it does make sense as the device should be ready for an update. Other sources had the systems arriving on Thursday, February 24. They are expected to use Core processors based on Intel’s Sandy Bridge to improve performance.

Remember the latest rumor about Apple working on a smaller iPhone? Well, according to the New York Times, that ain’t happening, though Apple has looked at the possibility of a cheaper model. Earlier rumors had Apple developing a prototype of a smaller and cheaper iPhone, 1/3 smaller, or 1/2 as small depending who you believe, but the Times is now claiming that “Apple is not currently developing a smaller iPhone, according to people briefed on Apple’s plans who requested anonymity because the plans are confidential.”

Anyway, a smaller device would not necessarily be much cheaper to make and it would be a pain to use besides. Developers might have to rewrite their apps too. So no smaller iPhone just yet.

Could Apple be ready to add MacBook Pro notebooks in a black color? We don’t have any official word on this happening, but Intel’s latest advertisement promoting the 2nd generation of Intel Core processors shows a black notebook that looks like Apple’s MacBook in black.

Apple has offered earlier versions of its MacBook in black, so it’s certainly possible. But who knows. This is just an ad and Intel can take some liberties if they like. It sure makes you wonder though.

Apple announced the new MacBook air back in October, which means we will likely see the 2011 MacBook Air around October of this year, and now it looks like the 2011 MacBook Air may come with 3G. The news comes from Apple conducting a survey among its MacBook Air customers and asking them questions about how much they use 3G, data syncing and more.

So it is looking like Apple is seriously considering putting 3G into the 2011 MacBook Air, which would be great news to many users. I wonder if Apple will also put 3G into the 2011 MacBook Pro’s. We’d love to see that.

With the release of a new version of the iPhone, we always hear rumors that Apple is working on a smaller version of the iPhone, and right on schedule we have more of these rumors. Bloomberg is reporting that Apple will be releasing an iPhone Mini this year.

Normally, we would laugh, but what Bloomberg is saying makes a lot of sense, since a smaller iPhone would open up a new market for Apple, which they will need with all of the tablet competition. The new iPhone Mini could retail for $200 without a contract, which would open up the iPhone to a budget market. It is supposedly one third smaller than the existing iPhone with no home button.

We are still waiting for the iPad 2 to be made official, but there are already rumors about an iPad 3 that could be out as early as this fall. Sure, I guess it could happen. The rumor goes like this. Apple will unveil the iPad 2, which will be a modest update to the original iPad. It’ll get a front-facing camera, a faster processor, more RAM as well as support for both AT&T and Verizon’s networks. It won’t get a new retina display.

Then, during the fall/holiday season, Apple will unveil a bigger upgrade to the iPad, one with the higher-resolution display. The thinking is that this will allow Apple to adjust the yearly upgrade window for the iPad to be right in the middle of the holiday shopping season. That does make sense.

The iPod classic’s popularity has been on the decline for some time. After all, wouldn’t you rather have an iPod Touch? Well, it’s popularity continues to decline daily more and more as reflected by its stock at several retailers.

On Apple’s online store, the silver iPod Classic will ship in one to three days, compared to 24 hours just last week. Best Buy’s website notes that the same color has gone from one-day shipping last week to being backordered by one to to two weeks. That says a lot. It says that very soon the device will be left alone to completely rest in peace. Obviously the iPod classic line will be phased out very soon. It’s sad really.

Just when you thought that they couldn’t get any more restrictive, it looks like Apple is tightening its iron grip in their iTunes App Store. The company has reportedly rejected Sony’s eBook store app – the Sony Reader Store from the iTunes App Store.

The reason for the rejection was changes in Apple’s App Store policy: All in-app purchases will now have to go through Apple. Apparently apps that sell their own content will not be allowed in the App Store in the future. Apple also may be planning to get into in the eBook business. Apple’s The Daily announcement is happening tomorrow, so we will see if they shed any more light on this.

If you have been drooling over the new Verizon iPhone 4, Verizon will start taking orders on the 3rd of February, according to an email that was sent to the folks over at Mac Rumors. Apparently existing Verizon customers will be able to order the iPhone 4 from the 3rd of February, while new customers will have to wait another week.

Looks like Verizon will also be offering existing iPhone owners a deal to trade in their iPhone with the purchase a Verizon iPhone, offering from $60 for an iPhone 2G up to $360 for an 32GB iPhone 4.

Last week the App Store hit its 10 billionth download and Apple was to give the person who downloaded the 10 billionth app a $10,000 gift card. The lucky downloader of that 10 billionth app was Gail Davis of Orpington, Kent, UK. She is a very lucky woman.

But when an Apple rep called Davis and started telling her that she had won, she hung up thinking that it was a prank. “I thought it was a prank call. I said, ‘Thank you very much, I’m not interested’ and I hung up.” But her kids told her that it was for real and luckily the Apple rep called back again. That was a close one. Her kids would have never forgiven her.

There is hardly a day that goes by where we don’t have an iPad or iPhone rumor. Here is today’s. Apple’s overseas manufacturing partners will apparently start production of the iPad 2 next month, while they will also be building the fifth-generation iPhone in May.

Take this with the usual grains of salt until we have something more concrete. One thing is for sure, no matter when they start production, it won’t be soon enough for Apple fans.