The Apple tablet has been a thing of rumors for a long time now. Whether that’s because everyone wants one, just wants to look at it, or because it’s Apple-related, doesn’t change the fact that at this point in time, the rumors are looking to be more and more like unofficial leaks.
Much argument and debate today, as various photos and videos purporting to show Apple’s upcoming tablet (aka the Apple Media Pad) emerge. The short clips demonstrate various applications – seemingly from the standard Apple App Store – being run concurrently on the same device, together with boot-up and what’s said to be the development platform.
Videos after the cut
The weekend is here again fellow geeks and geekettes so I am back with another week in review. Monday more rumors surfaced that has Apple launching that long anticipated tablet device this November. The rumors further claim that the tablet will be aimed at gaming and media use. Early this week Verizon cut the pricing on all its smartphones save a few of the new ones to $99. That makes us think lots of new smartphone hardware is on its way.
Could this be Nokia’s upcoming Internet Tablet? Having heard little about the likely Maemo powered refresh from the company for a couple of months now, both the image you see here (more after the cut) and an FCC filing have appeared in short succession. Both the device, and the FCC diagram, seem to match the leaked image of what was called the N900 “Rover” Internet Tablet from May.
More live images after the cut
Stealth Computer have unveiled their latest notebook, the NW-2000, a ruggedized hybrid laptop/tablet based around Intel’s 1.06GHz Core 2 Duo, a 13.3-inch sunlight viewable resistive touchscreen and MIL-STD-810F, shock & vibration compliance. The sturdy convertible has 2GB of RAM (4GB maximum), a 160GB shock-mounted hard-drive (or optional SSD) and spill-resistant keyboard, and can cope with being dropped 91cm onto a wood-covered concrete surface 26 times in succession without impairing functionality.
It’s been a few months since we last heard Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster’s opinion on Apple’s much-rumored tablet, so happily the always-opinionated man is back with not only some pricing, sales and hardware predictions, but a slick render too. According to Munster, his sources in Asia have tipped an unnamed manufacturer winning the contract from Apple to produce the touchscreen device, with fulfillment at the end of 2009; that, he says, underscores his previous assertions of an early 2010 launch.
Of the Atom-based touchscreen tablets, the ASUS Eee PC T91 is probably the best known. If you want a slate-format device, though, your choices are more limited; the upcoming CrunchPad is supposedly based on Intel’s Atom N270, but until that drops in November you’ll have to head over to ARBOR Tech. Their new M1255 packs the Atom N270 together with a 12.1-inch resistive touchscreen, 1GB of RAM, 60GB hard-drive and WiFi a/b/g.
Mention of a new device in the latest beta of iPhone OS 3.1 has prompted further speculation that Apple’s much-rumored tablet will run the mobile platform rather than a full build of OS X. The device – listed as iProd1.1 – was spotted in the USBDeviceConfiguration.plist file, complete with a new product ID.
Nothing like a new computer concept to get us thinking, and Guy Ceder’s “Buddy” system certainly ticks the usual boxes of slick industrial design, couch-friendly touchscreen usability and modular components. Buddy consists of three main sections, a small portable touchscreen unit with handy hook, a larger touchscreen display with integrated projector, and a base-station with the hardware grunt and recharging elements.
Video demo after the cut
Dell are tipped to be working with Intel on a 5-inch touchscreen tablet, which will be provided free of charge to users who sign up to one or more digital content subscriptions. The unnamed device, expected to hit the market in around six months time, will be positioned as a direct competitor to Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader, and offer would-be users turned off by that device’s high initial purchase price an alternative way of accessing regular digital content.
SlashGear Japan
