—iPad 2: Sightings and hints of Apple’s next-generation iPad have been cropping up here, there and everywhere in the past several weeks. Today we got one more indirect clue: stock of the current crop of devices is, apparently, running out. 9to5 Mac is taking this as a sign that a new iPad could be coming as soon as next month. In Europe, it notes, major reseller Carphone Warehouse has run out of 64 GB WiFi model, and all 3G models; while operators like T-Mobile and Orange have reduced the price on their 16 GB 3G/WiFi devices by half, to £99.99, for those taking them with two-year 3G contracts. Real shortages/stock shifting or supply issues and two operators keen to drive sales after a lacklustre start to their subsidised iPad push? We’ll only know for sure next month. In the meantime, real fans can already start picking out their favorite color of case (pictured).
—Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Xoom: On the back of the latest teaser ad for the Xoom, a 15-second “grab it and it grabs you” clip (embedded below) that continues the sci-fi, brave new world theme introduced in the Xoom effort for the Super Bowl, it now looks like the tablet, due to launch this Thursday and priced at $800, will not come with Flash support until this spring. Up to now, Android tablet makers have been touting Flash support as a key differentiator against the iPad.
—Windows 8: Tablets running Windows 7 have never really taken off, with reports criticising their battery life and touch interface as inferior to those of the iPad and Android-based devices. Now there are reports that Windows 8 tablets, which will aim to fix these issues, might be out as early as the end of this year. A research note from Morgan Stanley says that a tablet running Windows 8 on an ARM-based chipset could be out by the end of 2011 or the beginning of 2012. Apparently Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has put 1,000 engineers to on the project to make sure it runs smoothly.
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