The first images seemed to indicate that the panel – expected to be around 10-inches in diagonal – would be of a similar aspect to that of the iPhone, whereas in this picture it’s almost square.  However the new angle does show that the unusual bolted screen surround is in fact a prototype casing, either as the hardware lacks its own case or, alternatively, intended to keep the tablet in place.

The various cables emerging from the tablet are masked, unfortunately, so it’s hard to tell what connectivity the device might have.  Even if we could see them, of course, it’s entirely possible that the ports might have changed in the transition to final hardware.  Guess we’ll just have to wait for the SlashGear liveblog at 10am PST today to find out for sure!

He claims the tablet has an OLED touchscreen and “thumpads” on either side for mouse gestures, while gaming is Wii-level; fingerprint biometrics (with up to five profiles supported, catering for family use) and a solar panel on the rear are also mentioned.  Calacanis dismisses the latter as more of a gimmick than anything else.

That’s a disappointment, as the most damning thing Calacanis suggests is that while the Apple tablet manages “great” battery life in ebook mode, when gaming or using WiFi he managed just two to three hours of runtime.  As for pricing, he says $599, $699 or $799 depending on size and memory.

Whether or not all this is true – and we wouldn’t put it past Jason to be stringing the Twitter world along, what with the amount of hype and speculation we’ve seen recently – it does highlight a real danger point for whatever tablet-style device Apple may produce.  Battery life has long been the significant shortcoming in tablets, capacity hamstrung by a desire to make such models thin and light enough to be readily portable.  iPhone 3GS owners still aren’t satisfied with the runtime their smartphones manage, and while a 10-inch tablet would have more room for a bigger battery, it’ll also have a bigger display – still pretty much the most hungry of all the components, even when OLED – to power.

Join us at 10am PST for our liveblog of the whole Apple announcement at http://live.slashgear.com/!

The event is due to begin at 10am PST on January 27th; that’s 1pm EST and 6pm GMT.  We’ll be using our homegrown liveblog system over at http://live.slashgear.com/, complete with automatic page refreshes so that you can sit back, relax and enjoy the stream of news.

We reckon Curtis’ “leaks” are fake, if only because he’s a reasonably well known designer and has already shown his skills in previous mock-ups (though not, admittedly, of the iPad).  Still, it gives the surging crowd something to discuss, and anything that occupies the time between now and 10am PST tomorrow has to be a good thing.

As for the pricing leak, according to German retailer Media Markt the Apple iPad will land on T-Mobile come March 1st.  They reckon the touchscreen wonder will cost €499 ($703) if you buy it with a data contract or a whopping €899 ($1,266) if you don’t want to commit to that.  Now those dollar prices are direct currency exchanges, which never really work out going from European to US prices, but even so – that’s an expensive machine.

Update: Turns out, the Twitter account in question didn’t belong to Media Markt at the time [via TechCrunch]

Finally, despite the tablet being – at this point – all smoke, mirrors and rumor, that hasn’t stopped companies from jumping on board and attempting to pre-emptively coax developers into the fold.  Appcelerator surveyed its registered developers and discovered 90-percent intend to develop for the iPad tablet, despite the fact we don’t even know if it exists yet.

[via Mashable; via Carrypad; via Scobelizer]

Their analytics system doesn’t tell us much about the rumored tablet’s hardware, either. According to Flurry the iPad is running iPhone OS 3.2; now while that’s yet to be released, certainly, it’s also a fair shot shy of iPhone OS 4.0 which we’d previously heard that the iPad would arrive with.

Instead, we’ve heard that Apple have been delaying rolling out a new iPhone OS version until the iPad launches, as the software will have too many references to tablet support. We’re still advising a big pinch of salt, and that you join SlashGear on Wednesday for our liveblog of the Apple event.

[via VentureBeat]

The two ports – one for the long edge of the iPad, the other for the short edge – would allow the tablet to be docked in both portrait and landscape orientations, something not currently possible with the iPod touch and iPhone.  Considering multimedia – including video playback – is meant to be a strong focus for the iPad, it would certainly make sense for Apple to allow it to dock in a widescreen manner.

Their second insider snippet refers to the iPad’s antenna array, which is described as occupying a long plastic strip across the otherwise metal back of the slate.  That’s to accommodate a variety of antennas for WiFi (presumably 802.11n) and likely 3G cellular too.  iLounge go on to speculate about the possibility of inclusive wireless – perhaps just for iTunes downloads, similar to Amazon’s Kindle system – versus the willingness of buyers to either pay for a separate iPad data fee every month, or perhaps tether their iPhone via WiFi, Bluetooth or a cable connection.

Also supposedly confirmed is WiFi access to Verizon’s hotspots on the tablet, at least according to another source at the carrier.  The touchscreen slate will automatically switch between WiFi hotspots and its own 3G connection, just as the iPhone currently does with AT&T WiFi hotspots.  For their own part, no source at AT&T has suggested the same functionality, but it isn’t too great a stretch to assume they’d offer the same sort of access on their own network.

As for pricing, Verizon have apparently been discussing generic tablet-style data plans (though refusing to specifically mention the Apple device) and suggesting that they’d be priced more in line with netbook packages than smartphones.  Meanwhile, Apple Insider has received word that Apple Tablet prototypes have been spotted using CDMA radio hardware.

In something of an aside – though welcome news for many – the Fox tipsters also claim Apple and Verizon are in talks to launch the iPhone together.  That’s predicted to take place “by late spring or early summer” though details have not been finalized.

[via Apple Insider]

The slate PC runs stock Windows 7, nothing spectacular, but is noted to be physically comfortable to hold and relatively light.  The video does not that Stantum may not have picked the best of parts, as the display had some pixilation problems that is not usually noticed on Dell mini 10 screens.

Engadget notes that “Outside of the lightest of swipes that capacitive is well known for supporting, this is basically the perfect touchscreen experience. 10-finger multitouch, sensing and processing of multi-finger gestures, and simulated pressure sensitivity based on how much of a finger has been pressed down: all of these work brilliantly.”  Something like this only gears us up in even more anticipation for new and improved slate technology in the near future – some think Jan 27th, to be exact.  All eyes on you, Jobs and Co.

Slate PC Demo VIDEO

You might be wondering where the US trademark is, but that’s actually held by Fujitsu; the company registered it for handheld computing prior to Apple’s interest.  While that could present a legal problem should Apple decide to go with the iPad name, it’s an issue they’ve already surmounted at least once before with the iPhone (the trademark for which was held by Cisco).

Bizarrely, one of the companies who have applied for the trademark – Apple’s name is obviously nowhere to be found, and different firms are named on each registration, but this whole thing seems coincidental with the upcoming launch – has a name the initials of which (IP Application Development, LLC) spell out iPad.  Whether that’s an odd in-joke or a strange coincidence is something we’ll find out next week; SlashGear will be liveblogging the whole Apple event, so join us on Wednesday.

[via MacRumors]

Also tipped are various UI and graphical changes, that have apparently been made to improve and streamline navigation, together with OS-wide support for multitouch gestures.  Meanwhile there’s some vague talk of new synchronization options for the calendar and contacts, though no exact details of what that might be.

Unfortunately for first-gen iPhone owners, however, it seems they’ll be left out of the upgrade to iPhone OS 4.0.  Only iPhone 3G and 3GS handsets will apparently get the software, which will “put them ahead in the smartphone market because it will make them more like full-fledged computers.”  The unnamed source goes on to say that everyone involved at Apple is “really excited”, though we imagine that’s a mandatory state of affairs in Cupertino; he also suggests that the Apple tablet will not be called the iSlate, as previously tipped, but the iTablet.

Join SlashGear for a full live coverage of the event at http://live.slashgear.com! Stay tune for more info!

Not only does this – if taken at face value – confirm that Apple are preparing iPhone OS 4.0 for imminent release, but it also suggests that the iSlate tablet is also ready to go public.  Considering all the rumors are pointing toward an Apple event later on this month at which the company is expected to announce the iSlate, such a timescale certainly fits in.

Alternatively Apple could be readying a new iPhone model, though considering the company has previously refreshed their smartphone line in the summer (and, aside from the first handset, put it on sale straight away) it’s perhaps more likely that a new iPhone OS release would pave the way for the fourth-gen iPhone several months later.  Apple generally holds iPhone developer events in March to bring them up to speed with a new OS release ahead of a public release.

[via MacRumors; image via Jesus Diaz]

Otherwise the source says that the Apple tablet runs an “incredibly fast” ARM processor – perhaps the recently debuted ARM Cortex A9? – and uses the iPhone kernel, complete with multitouch gestures that are “out of control”.  We’re guessing that’s meant in a good way.  Oh, and the internal model number is K48AP, just in case Steve Jobs has been whispering that codename into your ear every night and you’ve been wondering what it might refer to.

If true, that seems a somewhat bizarre omission on Apple’s part, unless they really are determined to focus the iSlate on a completely different, non-communication-primary market.  The touchscreen device is expected to excel at media consumption as well as feature new e-magazines and e-newspapers, but it was also presumed that Apple would include at the least iChat iSight video calls.  As ever, there’s a big pinch of salt in order with any iSlate rumor.

“These responses in no way reflect Orange’s confirmation of the existence of the rumoured device. The spokesperson was merely confirming that he is aware of the speculation surrounding a launch and that Orange would be delighted to have such a product were it ever to be available” Orange statement

Once again, too much reading between the lines and – dare we say it – wishful thinking caused many to jump to conclusions.  The Europe1 interview didn’t help matters, with unclear questions that made (in one interpretation, anyway) it seem like Richard was confirming the iSlate.

However we’re still expecting Apple to announce an event on January 27th, at which the near-legendary iSlate will get its official launch.  Right now there’s no word from Apple on the event, but we’re used to the company waiting until only a week prior to invite press along; if that holds true, we shouldn’t expect to hear anything until sometime next week.

Jean Pierre Elkabbach: “According to the weekly Le Point, a few days your partner Apple will launch a Tablet with a webcam”

Stéphane Richard: “Yes”

Jean Pierre Elkabbach: “Is that Orange users will also benefit”

Stéphane Richard, “Sure!”

Now, SlashGear’s French is of the rudimentary variety, and the above exchange comes courtesy of Google Translate.  We’re cautious about accepting this at face value for a number of reasons, not least that we’d expect a carrier exec to be more media-savvy when it comes to prematurely scooping Apple’s always-secret wares.

There’s also some room for interpretation in his answers.  The way interviewer Elkabbach phrases his initial question, Richard’s “Yes” could be an agreement that yes, an Apple tablet is on the way, or merely that yes, newspaper Le Point did suggest that fact.  What little French we do know – yes, we can recognize “le webcam”! – confirms that when asked about Orange customers benefitting, Richard talks about how they can use webcams for video calls, rather than how they could benefit from a tablet.

Confirmation of an Apple iSlate headed to Orange France?  We’re not sure about that; we’ll have to wait and see whether Apple’s rumored January 27th launch event pans out.  We’ve snipped out the relevant section of the interview in the video below:

[via Nowhere Else]

“Production of the cases will begin in February, so everything points to a second-quarter launch right now.  It doesn’t take that long for the company to assemble the PC together, but a second-quarter shipment date is what we’re looking at now” unnamed source

No design details about the iSlate casings have been revealed, aside from the fact that they’re made from aluminum.  That could be left shiny and polished, like the back of an iPod touch, or brushed to a matte finish like a MacBook.  Since a camera and wireless connectivity have been tipped for the iSlate, we’re guessing there’ll be at least one patch of plastic somewhere on the rear of the tablet.

Right now rumors are still bouncing between 7-inch and 10-inch panels, and we’re still not entirely sure what size Apple will eventually be announcing nor even whether they’ve one device or several planned.  CES 2010 has been filled with touchscreen tablets, prompted in no small part by the urge to cash in on what many manufacturers see as Apple-fuelled hype.

[Thanks Phil!]

Thanks to that – and because Apple have invested twice in Imagination Technologies – people are now speculating that the SGX545, not the new NVIDIA Tegra 2, will be powering the Apple iSlate tablet.  It would require a companion processor – an ARM Cortex A9 is most likely, the same as found in the Tegra 2 – but offer a significant graphics boost over the current SGX535 in the iPhone 3GS: up from 28 million polygons per second to 40 million.

The real kicker?  Imagination say “the IP is already proven in silicon in a test chip” as well as being “licensed by a lead partner”; no names mentioned, but you can imagine that’s got more than a few people pointing in the direction of Cupertino.  We’ll have to wait until later in the month to find out – Apple are rumored to be announcing the iSlate on January 27th.

Press Release:

Imagination Technologies announces POWERVR SGX545 graphics IP core with full DirectX 10.1, OpenGL 3.2 and OpenCL 1.0 capabilities

New core takes mobile & embedded graphics family to a new level; delivers unrivalled capabilities
Las Vegas, USA, 8th January 2010: Imagination Technologies, a leading multimedia chip technologies company, announces POWERVR SGX545, the first and only DirectX10.1 capable embedded graphics IP core available for immediate licensing. SGX545 will also deliver OpenGL ES 2.x and OpenGL 3.2 to deliver class leading 3D graphics performance, and will also support OpenCL 1.0 full profile capability which will enable mobile and embedded applications to take maximum advantage of the capabilities offered by these GPU APIs for both 3D graphics and general purpose applications.

POWERVR SGX545 is available for licensing now. The IP is already proven in silicon in a test chip from Imagination and licensed by a lead partner.

Says Tony King-Smith, VP Marketing, Imagination: “Combining our many years of experience in the embedded, mobile and PC-based DirectX graphics worlds, POWERVR SGX 545 takes the possibilities of hand-held graphics to a new level by delivering a full DirectX 10.1 and OpenGL 3.x feature set as well as delivering GPU powered OpenCL heterogeneous parallel processing capabilities for the mobile and embedded markets. This makes POWERVR SGX545 a compelling solution for application processor SoC designers targeting the next generation of netbook and MID mobile products demanding exceptional graphics capabilities.”

The debut of POWERVR SGX545 reinforces the SGX family’s outstanding scalability which ranges from ultra-small OpenGL ES 2.0 mobile cores through solutions for feature-rich mobile and HDTV platforms, to high-performance gaming and computing solutions. The SGX family supports a wide range of APIs including DirectX9 & 10, OpenGL ES 2.x, OpenGL 3.x, OpenVG 1.x and OpenCL 1.x.

POWERVR SGX545 delivers real-world performance of 40 million polygons/sec and 1 Gpixels/sec fillrate at 200MHz,* and is capable of driving HD screens with ultra smooth high frame rate 3D graphics content.

New features in POWERVR SGX545 include:

DirectX10.1 API support
Enhanced support for DirectX10 Geometry Shaders
DirectX10 Data assembler support (Vertex, primitive and instance ID generation)
Render target resource array support
Full arbitrary non power of two texture support
Full filtering support for F16 texture types
Support for all DirectX10 mandated texture formats
Sampling from unresolved MSAA surfaces
Support for Gamma on output pixels
Order dependent coverage based AA (anti-aliased lines)
Enhanced line rasterisation
SGX545 was also designed to deliver full profile OpenCL 1.0 capabilities, with advanced features including:

Support of round-to-nearest for floating-point math
Full 32-bit integer support (includes add, multiply and divide)
64-bit integer emulation
3D texture support
Support for the maximum 2D and 3D image sizes specified in the full profile.
Inside POWERVR SGX545
USSE (Universal Scalable Shader Engine), the main programmable processing unit within each POWERVR SGX545 pipeline, is a scalable multi-threaded GPU shader processing engine that efficiently processes graphics as well as many other mathematically-intensive tasks. USSE can be programmed using the GLSL language that forms part of the OpenGL ES 2.0 specification, or in the C-based parallel processing language used in the OpenCL specification – both APIs from the Khronos Group.

POWERVR SGX545 delivers the broadest range of graphics API feature sets in the industry, while also enabling developers to gain greater access to the full capabilities of the USSE-powered GP-GPU in a broad range of applications including digital imaging, video processing, game physics, cryptography, and other general computing tasks that can benefit from parallel processing.

Editor’s Notes
* All fill rate figures stated assuming a scene depth complexity of x2.5.

[via Twitter]

To be fair, that idea has been floating around since Apple bought PA Semi back in April 2008.  The company had been working on Power Architecture processors not currently in use in any Apple device, with the Cupertino company switching to Intel’s CPU range for its laptop and desktop lines shortly after the acquisition took place.

Apple rumors and analyst hot-air are frequent bed-fellows, especially when there’s a tablet in the mixture, and so we’re helping ourselves to a generous pinch of salt on this one.  If the fates are correct, we’ll find out for sure before the end of January.

Gruber describes it as a “cone of silence”, and it’s one that – despite talk of Apple discussing ebook and other deals with publishers – even content partners might be kept out of.  Apparently Apple goes into such meetings without prototypes, mock-ups, designs or even verbal confirmation that such a product is in the works; instead, they merely ask if the would-be partner is interested in getting involved “if we were to create a new platform”.

As for the potential functionality, Gruber reckons predictions of a Kindle rival, overgrown iPod touch or simply an HD media viewer all miss the point: the Apple iSlate (as we expect it to be called) will be all those and more.  Apple may illustrate its purpose – set its context to potential buyers, as it were – by highlighting two or three key uses, just as they did with the iPhone, but the iSlate won’t be limited to any such small subset.

TechCrunch dug a lot deeper and found other iSlate domain names registered around the world.  The United Kingdom is a big market for Apple – Mark Monitor also manages the iSlate domain name islate.co.uk. It’s the same company that also manages the iSlate domain names iSlate.jp and iSlate.cn, while in France iSlate.fr is managed by a Paris-based IP property attorney firm called Wilson & Berthelot. This company named Mark Monitor as the technical contact for the islate.fr domain name.

The plot thickens with the iSlate trademark here in the United States. Back on November 21, 2006 a company called Slate Computing filed for a US word mark for ‘ISLATE’. Interestingly, it’s roughly the same time frame of when the last three islate-related domain names were registered.

Computers; computer software, namely, database management software, electronic mail and messaging software, Internet browser software, paging software, database synchronization software, software for accessing, browsing and searching online databases, software for creating spreadsheets, tables, graphs and charts, software for organizing and analyzing data, software for word processing, software for creation and display of presentations including text and graphics, software used for image editing, image processing, image acquisition, image file management, image viewing, image sharing, and the creation of documents incorporating images, software for use in developing websites, software to help users create, edit, organize, search, transfer, publish and subscribe to weblogs, blogs, podcasts, web broadcasts and news and information feeds on global and/or local computer and telecommunications networks, software for use in authoring, downloading, transmitting, receiving, editing, extracting, encoding, decoding, playing, storing and organizing audio, video and still images, software for authoring digital content, software for personal information management, software for DVD authoring, software for the electronic storage and retrieval of electronic calendar files, software with clock and alarm clock functionality, telephony management software, character recognition software, application development tool software for personal and handheld computers, software for the redirection of messages, Internet e-mail, and/or other data to one or more electronic handheld devices from a data store on or associated with a personal computer or a server, and software for the synchronization of data between a remote station or device and a fixed or remote station or device; computer operating system software; computer utility software; computer peripherals. notebook computers; laptop computers; tablet computers; computer servers; handheld computers; mobile computers; hard drives; audio speakers; speakers for computers; radios; cameras; video cameras; telephones; mobile telephones; personal digital assistants; electronic personal organizers; electronic notepads; blank magnetic data carriers; computer gaming machines; microprocessors; memory boards; computer monitors; keyboards; computer input devices, namely, touch screens, styluses, mice, trackballs and shuttle dials; computer cables; modems; printers; computer accessories, namely, computer battery chargers, battery packs, docking stations, adaptors, computer wired and wireless remote controls, audio headphones and earphones, and replacement parts for all the aforesaid goods.

Everything is pointing to an Apple iSlate. If rumors are true, the announcement could come as early as January 26th, 2010.