Gizmodo posted some pictures about a prototype version of Apple’s latest creation. It appears to be the long rumored tablet computer. And it looks like a big iPhone. Even the home-button is on it. This is what Gizmodo says:

“Okay, we obviously can’t confirm this, but we just got two very interesting images of what certainly looks like a prototype Apple tablet, or what could be the tablet bolted down to a table. It’s big — really big — and it’s running what clearly looks like an iPhone app, although we’ve never seen an iPhone app with that interface or at that resolution before.”

click on the photos to see a larger version

Source: Gizmodo

“Yeah, Very exciting. Yes, they’ll make their announcement tomorrow on this one. We have worked with Apple for quite a while. And the Tablet is going to be based on the iPhone operating system and so it will be transferable. So what you are going to be able to do now — we have a consortium of e-books. And we have 95% of all our materials that are in e-book format on that one. So now with the tablet you’re going to open up the higher education market, the professional market. The tablet is going to be just really terrific.”

Here’s the video (at 2:50 they start talking about the e-books):

Below is another video I found on YouTube. It shows the possible new name of the iPhone OS. Because the latest rumours are suggesting that the Apple Tablet also runs iPhone OS, the name will be changed to iOS.

The video could have been made by a spy-camera or something like that, but some people think it is just a Photoshop job with Final Cut effects. I also think it’s a fake video, but the idea of changing the iPhone OS name to iOS seems logical, since the iPod touch, the iPhone and the iTablet all run the same OS. Only 7 hours to go and we’ll know.

Source: NBC and MacRumors

The question of the latest poll was: What do you think Apple will announce on January 26? (I forgot to change it to Jan. 27). The results are pretty obvious, even though not a lot of people participated in the poll. Most people (24) are pretty sure Apple will show us the tablet computer. An iPod touch with camera is expected to show up by 7 persons. The new iPhone OS is expected by 6 persons. A totally new iPhone by 5 persons. Another 5 persons say it will be something else. 3 persons think a new Max OS X will be introduced and one person has no idea what to expect.

Conclusion: if Apple doesn’t show the tablet computer a lot of people are going to be disappointed.

With the conclusion of the last poll, it’s time to introduce a new poll. This time the poll won’t last as long as the previous one. The question is: What did you think about Apple’s keynote on January 27th? Please state your opinion in the poll at the right side of the page. Obviously we can only vote after Apple’s media event is over.

We offer a live blog on the Live Coverage-page. Hope to see as many people as possible.
If you want to read a full report about the rumours from 2001 till now, please check the History-Page where the reports is divided in three parts. If you want to read the report in one piece, check this post: It began in 2001, but it will really start in 2010.

Number 6 is something I hope is not true. Then again, what means short. If a laptop/iphone hybrid device can run 10 hours straight, is that considered short? I think it’s pretty long. Another thing that I certainly agree with is number 19. It says early adopters will be heart-broken when version 2 of the product comes out. “Heart-broken” might a bit exaggerated, but I think version two will have those features that should be in the first version in the first place. Just like what they did with the iPhone.

Take a look at the full list below:

Source: Gizmodo

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We offer a live blog on the Live Coverage-page. Hope to see as many people as possible.
If you want to read a full report about the rumours from 2001 till now, please check the History-Page where the reports is divided in three parts. If you want to read the report in one piece, check this post: It began in 2001, but it will really start in 2010.

Apparently Apple has been very aggressive in discussion with publishers about bringing content to Apple’s latest creation. The tablet’s software is being touted by Apple as a game changer for the e-reader market. They will attack the Kindle directly and offer publishers greater control over content and pricing.

It seems Apple has not made any deals with publishers so far, but is expected to have general agreements with the biggest publishers by Wednesday. Apple prefers to work directly with the publishers meaning Scrollmotion is being cut out of the tablet. The App Store was only filled with a couple hundreds of apps on the launch day. The same thing will happen to the availability of e-books. A large library of e-books isn’t expected until mid-2010 at the very earliest. However, that doesn’t mean the tablet will not be in stores before then.

Even though publishers have not seen the Apple Tablet, they seem to have some knowledge about the device. According to those publishers the device will have a 10-inch glass screen and is smaller but roughly equal in weigh compared to Amazon’s Kindle DX. The price of the device will not be anywhere near the $1000 mark.

Speaking about the price. A Twitter tweet (see above), which has been quickly removed, from the German electronics retailer MediaMarkt claims the device will cost €499 with a monthly data plan and €899 without it. Looking at the price conversions in Apple’s online stores this could mean the tablet will costs somewhere near $999 without a data plan and $599 with a data plan. Leaves me with one question: If the publishers are speaking the truth, were they talking about the price with a data plan or not? On the other hand, the fact that the tweet was quickly removed (but not before it was retweeted many times), may indicate a false alarm.

No matter what the tablet will cost, it seems New York Times employees have a lot of confidence in the new product. According to a new report employees from NYT have been traveling to Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California to work on a new version of the newspaper’s iPhone application. The application must be prepared to offer video and an optimized resolution for a large-screen tablet device.

“Apple has been slowly amassing digital reading material for the forthcoming device. A team from the New York Times has been working in Apple’s Cupertino, Calif., headquarters in recent weeks, developing a large-screen version of the newspaper’s iPhone application that incorporates video for the yet-to-be-unveiled device, according to one person with knowledge of the matter. A Times spokeswoman declined to comment.”

New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. said he will not be attending Apple’s media event and only said “Stay tuned”
when asked for a comment on Apple’s involvement with the newspaper’s plan to bring the newspaper to the tablet device.

To end the summary, here are two photos of the so called iTablet. They are probably fake, but they look very good. If the tablet looks like that I think I speak for most of us when I say: “What a beauty!”

click on the pictures to see a larger version

Source: Publishers Tidbits / MediaMarkt tweet / NYT Tablet App / Leaked Tablet Pictures

1. PowerBooks won’t need keyboards once they get styluses:  Sources said Apple is considering adding pen-input support to the trackpad of Mercury, the company’s next-generation PowerBook G4. ”The idea is to eliminate the need for a keyboard,” said one source familiar with Apple’s plans. So you get a laptop with a giant trackpad?
2. Apple’s tablet will finally link our computers, tv’s and vcr’s, because of ultra-wide band wireless: What’s needed is a networking technology optimized for video transport. One has been in the works for sometime, and down at the IEEE, they call it 802.15.3, and this is where I believe Apple sees opportunity… Understand that 802.15.3 is a high data rate Personal Area Network with a range of about 10 meters. This isn’t a WiFi competitor. Think of it as a kind of Super Bluetooth, capable of sending video over short distances without interference and with true quality of service, which 802.11 can’t provide. And now we have the Apple TV.
3. The wireless tablet without a battery: Apple Computer plans to launch a wireless display for a desktop system, according to sources. The display is said to resemble a Tablet PC in appearance and include a detachable keyboard but not have a battery. Whether it has handwriting recognition or any screen input capability is unclear…The Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported today that Quanta had landed orders for a 15-inch Tablet PC-like device, with shipments to begin in the first quarter of 2004. This is a weird one. Did they just used some drugs?
4. A “Mega Platform”: Hot for Touchscreens, Apple Kills All Keyboards: The UBS analyst said he expects the new platform to become prevalent in each of the consumer electronics maker’s major hardware products within 3-5 years, possibly sparking touchscreen Macs later this holiday season or sometime in 2008. Among his expectations are touch-screen iMacs, as well as “tablet-like” notebook devices that provide basic computing without the need for a keyboard or stylus if the user desires to keep the device closed. ”We also expect new touchscreen video iPods, more phones and possibly even TVs in the future,” he added. “With regard to the iPhone, we expect Apple to have a full line of phones from $150 to $600 available for purchase at multiple retailers in several geographies within three years, just like it did for iPods.” So the iPhone is good with a touchscreen, and now all products should have a touchscreen?
5. The Tablet That Lives in a Lobotomized iMac: Meet the flagship of Apple’s recent flurry of patent activity, a product some have been predicting Apple would release for years: the Mac tablet. This slate-format tablet is as portable as a MacBook Air, but with a twist: It also docks into an iMac for regular desktop work. Although the idea is cool, it’s not really Apple’s thing to do such a thing. Interaction between more devices is not the weird thing though, but putting a smaller device into a bigger device…not going to happen.

For a more detailed report you can go to this page.

“Nevertheless, Apple is in talks with both AT&T and Verizon to support the tablet, according to sources within the companies: One version of the device will run on CDMA networks such as Verizon’s, and one will operate on GSM networks like that owned by AT&T.”

In earlier reports the Apple Tablet is expected to have Wi-Fi connectivity and have optional 3G service for internet use when you’re away from home. If deals are reached by next week’s event, Fox News doesn’t believe data pricing plans will be settled by that time. I think that doesn’t have to be a problem, because it is very likely Apple is going to launch the tablet later this year. So there’s plenty of time. On the other hand, I think it would be wise to inform the audience at next week’s event about the price of the product and the price of the optional data plans.

Source: Fox News

The pictures show the front-side of the possible casing of the tablet, which looks like a giant iPhone. On the picture below you can see the casing lies on top of a MacBook to give you an impression of the size. The dimensions of the casing resemble the rumoured size of the tablet: 10.1-inch.

The Mac Observer says they trust their source, but I refuse to believe this is the real deal. It looks like an exact copy of the iPhone but a lot bigger. I can’t believe that the Home-button would be placed on the same place as the Home-button of the iPhone. When you look close enough (second picture) there’s even a place for the speaker. Also at the same place as on the iPhone. And that’s even more unlikely.

Tell me what you think? Real or not?

click on the pictures for a larger version

P.S. January 27th is only a few days from now and I will be working together with the people from iPhoneFreakz.com to deliver a live blog on that day. You can follow that live coverage here on this page as well as on iPhoneFreakz.com. Hope to see you then.

Earlier rumours suggested the tablet would be available for purchase in March this year, but it looks like something has changed. According to the source there are a few unresolved problems about the battery and durability of the device.

If Apple introduces the tablet device next Wednesday and confirms that it will be available in June, it steps right in the footsteps of the first generation iPhone. The 1st gen iPhone was also introduced in January and was available for purchase in June. Shaw Wu expects the tablet computer to be a combination between the Mac and the iPhone, but that it will look more like an iPhone.

Source: Electronista

P.S. January 27th is only a few days from now and I will be working together with the people from iPhoneFreakz.com to deliver a live blog on that day. You can follow that live coverage here on this page as well as on iPhoneFreakz.com. Hope to see you then.