Honeycomb-powered Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 on deck?

Yep, it's another iPad 2 rumor story, this time from the Wall Street Journal—except this one seems as focused on lowering expectations for Apple's next-generation tablet as it is on hyping its new and improved features.

The reportedly in-production iPad 2 will indeed add "at least one" camera for video chat, the anonymously sourced Journal story claims—raising the possibility that it won't get a rear-facing camera for recording HD video, like on such Android-powered competitors as the Dell Streak 7, the Motorola Xoom, and the LG G-Slate.

The new iPad will also be "thinner and lighter," but the display may "disappoint customers" hoping for a "significant improvement" in resolution, the Journal reports.

While the current iPad's display resolution of 1024 by 768 is nothing to sneeze at, earlier rumors had it that the new iPad might get an ultra-dense, double-resolution screen, similar to the "retina" display on the iPhone 4.And while the iPad 2 will be available through both AT&T and Verizon, it won't be offered by Sprint or T-Mobile—and don't count on 4G data support either, the Journal adds.On the other hand, the LG G-Slate will work on T-Mobile's 4G HSPA+ network, with later versions of the Motorola Xoom slated to support 4G LTE data on Verizon. (Initial Xoom tablets will also get 4G access via an update, Motorola promises.)

The Journal story also notes a few other rumored (and oft-repeated) details about the iPad 2, including word that it'll boast more memory for better overall performance and improved multitasking, plus a souped-up graphics processor for games and video.So, what gives? GigaOm has an interesting perspective, noting that the Journal piece "feels like an intentional leak" on Apple's part, intended not only to "bolster interest" in the next-generation iPad but also to deflate "some of the loftier expectations floating around," such as word that the iPad 2 might arrive with an eye-popping, 2,048-by-1,536 pixel display.

Word had already been circulating that a "retina" display for the next iPad might not materialize, although there's still plenty of chatter that the iPad 2 will boast a pair of cameras—one in front, another in back—and perhaps a longed-for SD memory card slot. (The Journal didn't address the SD slot rumors, by the way.)Apple, of course, has yet to officially announce the iPad 2, but the general consensus is that an unveiling could be just weeks away—perhaps by the end of this month, although some observers believe we'll have to wait until March.OK, but when will the new iPad actually go on sale?

Given the Journal's claim that the new iPad is already in production, a "March or April release is most likely," GigaOm predicts.That would put the new iPad on the market about a year after the original, and smack-dab in the middle of a host of tablet competitors, including the latest, Honeycomb-powered Android tablets, the upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook, and HP's just-announced TouchPad webOS tablet.

Analysts seem to believe that Apple will be able to fend off the coming tablet horde, with Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley telling the Associated Press that Apple stands to sell a whopping 34 million iPads this year, well up from the 14.8 million iPads sold in 2010. The proof will be in the pudding, of course.What do you make of the latest iPad 2 rumors—excited? Disappointed?

Plan on snagging the new iPad the day it comes out, or will you go the Android way—or the BlackBerry or WebOS way, for that matter?Note: I've expanded my original post to include more background and context.