The rumor mill surrounding the next generation iPad has built itself into a frenzy of late as the pundits are trying to second guess what Steve Jobs and his team at Apple will do to improve the iPad. Apple lit the touch paper on the tablet market when they launched the iPad and the competition [...]

According to the NYT, the Nook will hit finally hit the shelves! Although available online since November, the Kindle rival will make it’s debut in B&N stores on Wednesday. The device has seen mixed reviews but might land decent sales before the iPad hits the Apple stores in March. Good luck, B&N, you might need it!

Amazon reportedly acquired Touchco, a start-up specializing in touch screens.

One thing painfully absent on the new Apple hardware is a camera. For those of you already postponing your iPad purchase  until version 2 is out – you might be on to something! The guys from mission:repair already got their hands on some iPad parts and made the following discovery.

Archos is allegedly working on a 7″ slate which will be running a somewhat restricted Andriod. More images after the jump.