Apple Inc. has started manufacturing a new version of its iPad tabletcomputer with a built-in camera and faster processor, said people familiar with the matter.

The new iPad will be thinner and lighter than the first model, these people said. It will have at least one camera on the front of the device, but the resolution of the display will be similar to the first iPad, these people said. It will also have more memory and a more powerful graphics processor, they said.

The new iPad will initially be available through Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc., but not Sprint Nextel Corp. or T-Mobile USA in the U.S., according to some of the people familiar with the matter.

A spokeswoman for Apple declined to comment.

The production of the new iPad shows how Apple is moving forward in the wake of Chief Executive Steve Jobs's disclosure last month that he was taking a medical leave.

The iPad, which debuted last April, has opened a new market and is critical to Apple's success. Since the iPad's release, Apple has sold 14.8 million units of the device.

In Apple's December quarter, the tablet contributed $4.6 billion in sales, or 17% of the company's overall revenue.

The new iPad is expected by Apple watchers to debut in the next couple of months at a similar price range as the current iPad, though exact details couldn't be learned. It currently costs between $499 and $829.

Investment bank Piper Jaffray estimates Apple will sell 27 million iPads in 2011, and some investors expect as many as 35 million units. 'It's going to be a critical growth driver,' said Gene Munster, a Piper Jaffray analyst.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., better known by its trade name Foxconn, is assembling the new iPad in China, the people familiar with the matter said.

The tablet market has become more competitive since the iPad's arrival last year. Companies like Samsung Electronics Co. and Research In Motion Ltd. are working on tablets based on Google Inc.'s Android software with features the iPad won't have, such as support for high-speed 4G networks.

Although the iPad dominates tablet sales now, research firm IHS iSuppli estimates that by 2013, the iPad's market share will decline to less than 50% of the overall market.

On Tuesday, Dell Inc. said it plans to release later this year a 10-inch tablet that runs on Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 7 operating system. Hewlett-Packard Co. is expected Wednesday to show off a tablet that runs the WebOS operating system it acquired along with Palm.

The one feature in the new iPad that may disappoint consumers will be the lack of significantimprovement in the resolution of the device's display. People familiar with the situation said Apple has had trouble improving the display technology, in part because of the iPad screen's larger size compared with the iPhone.

Yukari Iwatani Kane / Shayndi Raice

• computer [kəm´pju:tə] n.计算机；电子计算器 (初中英语单词)
• device [di´vais] n.装置；器具；策略 (初中英语单词)
• resolution [,rezə´lu:ʃən] n.决心；坚决；果断 (初中英语单词)
• available [ə´veiləbəl] a.可用的；有效的 (初中英语单词)
• executive [ig´zekjutiv] a.行政的 n.行政官 (初中英语单词)
• medical [´medikəl] a.医学的；医疗的 (初中英语单词)
• release [ri´li:s] vt&n.释放；放松；赦免 (初中英语单词)
• arrival [ə´raivəl] n.到达；到达的人(物) (初中英语单词)
• research [ri´sə:tʃ] n.&vi.调查；探究；研究 (初中英语单词)
• working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)
• system [´sistəm] n.系统，体系，制度 (初中英语单词)
• wednesday [´wenzdi] n.星期三 (初中英语单词)
• disappoint [,disə´pɔint] vt.使失望；使....落空 (初中英语单词)
• improvement [im´pru:vmənt] n.改进，改善，进步 (初中英语单词)
• tablet [´tæblit] n.碑；牌；匾额 (高中英语单词)
• critical [´kritikəl] a.批评的；关键性的 (高中英语单词)
• billion [´biljən] num.万亿 (高中英语单词)
• learned [´lə:nid] a.有学问的，博学的 (高中英语单词)
• motion [´məuʃən] n.手势 vt.打手势 (高中英语单词)
• significant [sig´nifikənt] a.重要的；意义重大的 (高中英语单词)
• version [´və:ʃən, ´və:rʒən] n.翻译；说明；译本 (英语四级单词)
• precision [pri´siʒən] n.精密(度) a.精确的 (英语四级单词)
• competitive [kəm´petitiv] a.竞争的，比赛的 (英语四级单词)
• taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)