Latest rumors from Apple’s new manufacturer leaks: iPad 2.0 to ship early summer; iPhone 5 to ship mid-summer.

NFC chips to make payments (iWallet) will be on both the iPad and iPhone. Apple may be looking to acquire an NFC point of sale company (ViVOtech, who has been around for a handful of years) to help catalyze mobile payment adoption, as merchants need special, NFC-enabled point of sale terminals to accept this type of payment (cost a couple hundred $). Apple would purportedly help subsidize these terminals (although I’m not convinced!).

As many expected, payment will likely be handled and managed through the iTunes platform — even handling loyalty cards.

What else would you like to see the next gen iPad and iPhone do?