I've had this sinking feeling for a while now that A BEST 3 is around the corner (-___-) but it'll definitely be AFTER this upcoming album, see no reason why'd she be doing all this recording just for a Best album (plus for those who are wondering: she already confirmed on twitter that she was working on a new album, which is why people are buzzing about a winter album).
I hope she waits another 2 years though. Late 2012- early 2013 would be perfect to keep consistent with the 6 year gap and A BALLADS 2 can be released in between. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if the next Best album was A BALLADS 2, lord knows she has had MORE than enough of them since the first one. I liked the AB2 two part theme, it'd be cool if she did that again and if she uses popular album tracks again then she'll have plenty of tracks for another themed compilation (though I certainly won't be buying it).