iPad 2 with retina display and 128GB expected Q1 2011

More rumours have emerged from Asia, where Apple’s tablet is manufactured, leaked by component suppliers to an analyst.

Brian White from Ticonderoga Securities has revealed a number of nuggets of information about the sequel to the iPad, Forbes reports.

Elizabeth Woyke’s blog quotes White as spilling the release date of the iPad 2 as the first quarter of 2011, which she notes is earlier than some industry folks expected. Although when the iPad 2 rumours first sprang up, they were talking the end of the year (clearly that seemed rather optimistic, however).

The analyst also passed some very juicy tech spec information on. It would seem the second-gen iPad will have a 7 inch screen as expected, but it will also be a retina display as seen on the iPhone 4, which should look pretty darn impressive on a bigger screen.

The iPad 2 will also allegedly correct several perceived flaws of the original, coming with a mini or micro USB port and a camera. To top it all off, the maximum memory capacity will be expanded, doubled in fact, up to 128GB.

White also seems to think that this 7 inch iPad will replace the original, whereas other sources are speculating that the full-size 10 inch iPad will get updated with the improved technology, and both will be sold alongside each other. We find it hard to believe that the 10 inch model is going to be abandoned.