There's been some renewed rumors about the "Apple Tablet" today, and I thought I'd post some about it for two reasons. One, I am confident that we will see it announced in the first quarter of 2010 (possibly at CES). Additionally, I know someone who works at Apple and has heard internal talk/rumors about a "tablet" device. (Note, said person does not claim to have seen or used the device.)
Here's what's probably true:
- Not called "Apple Tablet", "iTablet", "iTouch", or "iPad".
- 10 inch screen (and possibly 13 inch as well), same touch technology in iPhone and iPod Touch.
- PA Semi chips.
- Full OS X. (but with an app store?)
- Release sometime after announcement in January, but before June (due to iPhone 4 release)
Here's what I've heard, but am inclined to doubt:
- Available with data contract with Verizon (subsidized) or without. Subsidized price ~$300-400 and unlocked price ~$700-900.
- Around 5 times as powerful as iPhone 3G S
- 10 hour battery life (with WiFi on)
- iSight + mic for video chat
The 16 "iPhone prototypes" that resulted in a man's death after one was lost, were in fact tablet prototypes sent to Cupertino for review by Apple Executives (specifically Steve Jobs after he was away during the bulk of the current iterations development).
If any of this turns out true, awesome. If not, oh well. Purely based on what I have heard from someone at Apple, and also from other online sources (you can find what has, and hasn't been discussed previously).
Thoughts?
