Apple tablet rumors run hot and cold
The Apple rumor mill continues to churn out guesses about the details of the tablet device. Some of that conjecture is is interesting and possible; other guesses border on the absurd.
Some of the juicy rumors that make sense are based around the September time frame. Apple has a history of making keynote announcements in September, very often on subjects related to the iPod part of its product lineup. There have been parallel rumors of a major Apple announcement in the September time frame having something to do with competition with the new Microsoft Zune. This is rumored to be a music-related announcement, though, and may have more to do with a music-oriented social media application than the tablet.
Still, an announcement sometime in September and having to do with the new tablet would make sense, especially if it is simply the iPod Touch on steroids that some people claim. Some of the spin being placed on the device make no sense at all, however. A number of these “new” rumors were detailed in a CRN.com story. For example, the rumor that the tablet was designed to act as an auxiliary touchpad of Mac notebooks. It make you wonder how many people would pay $700 to $900 for a spare touchpad. One of the older rumors falls into the same sort of category. That one has it that the main function of the tablet is to play hi-res video on it’s 10-inch screen. Again, who would pay $799 for a portable DVD player available at Wal-mart for $99?
Another new rumor says that part of the September announcement will be a tablet specifically aimed at the educational market. This one may make a little sense. An educational section in iTunes, married to a netbook-like device that made note-taking easy and could display textbooks on a ten-inch screen may be very attractive indeed to some colleges and students.
More likely in September, though, is an official announcement that the tablet is real, perhaps with a prototype to help build the hype. There may be two products announced. A less expensive version with educational uses that could replace that back-to-school notebook, probably highlighting video on that small screen. That version might be priced at $499-$699. The other would be the Tablet Pro, with much larger computing capabilities and maybe useful as a phone, as well.
The educational tablet could be ready for sale by Christmas. The more powerful $799-$899 tablet computer-phone would be announced for next spring, after Apple has had a chance to design and build their own ARM processor and tweak an operating system somewhere between iPhone OS 3.0 and Snow Leopard. Those are rumors, started right here, that make sense.
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