iOS 4.3 betas continue to bring forth interesting evidence of what Apple’s next iPad may introduce -- and thanks to an image file tucked away, it appears that camera-related apps such as FaceTime, Camera and PhotoBooth are on deck for iPad 2.

MacRumors is reporting that Wednesday’s developer-only release of the iOS 4.3 beta 2 appears to contain further “visual evidence confirming that the next iPad will carry a front-facing camera, as well as the Apple Camera pp and Photo Booth app.”

The evidence was discovered in a image file called “homeScreenOverlayFaceTime~ipad.png” found in the newest beta released to developers on Tuesday, which is used by iOS to show a preview of wallpaper you have selected. MacRumors notes that the current iPad uses an image containing the standard iOS icons in 4.2, while the image seen above adds three new camera-related icons.

The icons reveal that separate apps for FaceTime, Camera and PhotoBooth appear to be part of the iOS 4.3 mix. FaceTime, of course, is the video calling technology first introduced with last year’s iPhone 4 and later carried to both the Mac and iPod touch. FaceTime has been widely anticipated on the next iPad, but will require a front-facing camera to work -- thus the assumption that such hardware is on deck for the iPad 2.

PhotoBooth is a Mac OS X app that allows users to take photos of themselves in the same manner as kiosks in shopping malls and amusement parks, then and add filters to them. The presence of a PhotoBooth app seems to indicate that Apple is moving the app onto the iOS platform, likely seizing on the popularity of apps such as Instagram and Hipstamatic that have become so common on the App Store.

Curiously, the above screenshot may also foretell when Apple plans to announce the next iPad. 9to5Mac notes that the original iPad was announced on January 27 last year, and in keeping with tradition, home screen shots of the device also showed the same date on the Calendar app. As you can see from the screenshot above, the Calendar app shows a 9 now -- could an announcement be forthcoming on either February 9 or March 9? Those are both Wednesdays, so… let the speculation begin.

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(Image courtesy of MacRumors)