Motorola's upcoming is generating a lot of prerelease buzz--much of it . The 10-inch slate, the first to run Google's tablet-friendly Android 3.0 operating system, is considered by many industry watchers to be the iPad's first serious competitor. (The , by comparison, seems more like a promising, if quirky, first try.) Since Motorola plans to launch the Xoom in late February, might Apple be saving its big iPad announcement for, oh, late February? Certainly, an iPad 2 launch would steal the Xoom's thunder, much to Motorola's chagrin.

3) The Journal got it wrong

In other words, the iPad 2 isn't in preproduction, nor is it coming anytime soon. This is unlikely, however, as the Journal has been consistently spot-on with its Apple rumors, including unconfirmed reports on the Verizon iPhone, the original iPad, and the iPhone 4's antenna problems. Some tech journalists, including TechCrunch's MG Siegler, have even suggested that whenever it wants Apple news leaked. True? Who knows. But considering the from myriad sources about the imminent arrival of a next-gen iPad, it's safe to assume the Journal's reports are accurate.

So when will Apple announced the iPad 2?

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