Will there be an Apple iTablet for Christmas?
The biggest rumor ever from the prolific Apple rumor mill is undoubtedly the tablet computer. Are we likely to see such a beast before the end of the year, in time for the holidays?
If there is fire where there is smoke, there is an Apple iTablet in our future. There have been too many rumors, and no little corroboration, for there not to be something solid to the story. There are a number of questions surrounding the iTablet, not the least of which is whether it really exists, since it has never been acknowledged by Apple. Regardless of that small factor, there has been almost endless speculation about two other questions: “What?” and “When?”
The “what” has been all over the board, but has settled down in recent months. It will have a touch-screen of about nine diagonal inches, a virtual keyboard, the ability to handle all types of media files (especially video), e-reader capabilities, and will run the wide variety of apps from the Apple App Store. At the top end of the scale, it may have an integrated telephone with headset and mic, it may be running a custom Apple processor, it may have a hybrid OS X / iPhone OS 3.0 operating system, and it may or may not prepare perfect bacon. There may be one or more models, and they may sell for between $699 and $999 each.
The “When?” question is not much easier to answer, although it is getting easier every day that it is not officially announced by Apple. As far as I am aware, there are no officially planned major Apple events before the end of the year at which the tablet could be announced, although something could surely be organized in a hurry. With a million reasons to bring the iTablet to market (including Steve Jobs’ legacy), according to a CNN story, one would think that sooner would be better.
But if the rumors on the high end are true, it certainly won’t be this year. It takes a long time to design a custom ARM chip and get it into production, and it may take even longer to write that hybrid operating system. So perhaps holding your breath for an iTablet under the tree, at least a really powerful one, could be a foolhardy venture. Maybe consumers should come up with something else for their Christmas list and move the iTablet to Easter.
Related Posts:
