Rumor: Apple to add carbon fiber body to iPad 2

If you're like me, you can hardly sit still in anticipation of Apple's announcement on March 2, which is sure to include all the juicy details of the iPad 2, the second-generation touch-screen tablet that is sure to trounce any of the recent influx of iPad competitors.

Now that we have a solid date for the announcement, the last few rumors are making their way around the Web.

Apple's current aluminum construction of the iPad may (a big stress on the word may, here) switch to a lighter, more durable, carbon fiber body. This is according to one of the premiere authorities on all things Apple, Daring Fireball's John Gruber.

Gruber published a scathing review of Engadget's latest rumor-backpedaling, where Josh Topolsky defended his sources who told him the iPad 2 would contain an SD card slot and a Retina Display screen, saying Apple changed these specs in the "eleventh hour."

Gruber has maintained that "nothing in these regards has changed in the iPad 2 since January. Nothing."

In the footnote of that same piece, however, Gruber says that he, "could publish things I'm only half-sure about, like the iPad 2 switching from aluminum to a lightweight high-strength carbon fiber body, but I don't, because I'm only half-sure and I've only heard about it from second-hand sources who themselves are unsure about it."

All things considered, I'll take Gruber's half-sure over many of the rumor sites running around. A move to carbon fiber for the iPad 2 body would certainly make sense for Apple, especially if it plans to upgrade the bodies of the rest of its mobile lineup, including the iPhone 5 this summer.

Do you think carbon fiber is a good move for Apple? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!