So what will Apple’s tablet look like? What OS will it run? How much will it cost? What’s it going to be called? Will it breathe new life into the publishing industry?
Here’s what we know so far according to “various sources” that have emerged in recent weeks:
- Here’s a “leaked ad” for Apple’s iPad. What do you think? It’s a pretty good fake, IMO.
- Did ARM’s Director of Mobile Computing, Bob Morris, just spill the beans on their relationship with Apple?
- The LA Times is reporting that a team from the NY Times has been in Cupertino for several weeks working on a Tablet version of their popular iPhone app.
- Tim Horan, a telecommunications analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. (via Bloomberg) thinks the Apple will release the iPhone across all carriers this year starting with T-Mobile sometime this summer followed by Verizon and Sprint in the fall.
- The Post is chiming in with details from sources that say Apple will announce Verizon as the carrier of choice for the Tablet. Meanwhile, Boy Genius sort of corroborates that Verizon would be carrying the Tablet.
- HotHardware is citing an “inside source” in a rumor that claims Apple will announce the end of its relationship with AT&T. We’ve heard ourselves that Verizon will be getting the iPhone in June, but why would Apple announce a switch this early?
- FOXNews is reporting that both AT&T and Verizon will carry the tablet, bringing two very adverse mobile competitors into the same room next week during the big unveil. Awkward? Maybe. But, the decision makes sense. If Apple wants this to be successful on an iPhone level, consumers will need a choice of networks.
- Flurry Analytics is reporting that they’ve found 50 tablet devices running what they believe to be iPhone OS 3.2 at Apple’s Cupertino campus. The majority of apps being run on these devices that Flurry purports are the fabled Tablet have been games. Weird, right? It was just last week that we heard rumors of seeing iPhone OS 4.0 (see below). Link bait? Probably, but we’ll bite to cover our bases.
- There are also a slew of new tablet details iLounge says they’ve had “double-confirmed:” Double-dock connecting that will enable the tablet to be charged in either portrait or landscape mode, antenna compartment for wireless radio, subsidy-pricing for tablets bought with multi-year contracts from wireless providers, service fees could climb into the $50 or $60 range for monthly wi-fi access.
- Apple or Steve Jobs’s vision for the iSlate/iTablet/iPad is to share the device among family members, says the WSJ. Contrary to what Gruber has heard, the iSlate/iTablet/iPad will have a built-in webcam with facial recognition allowing multiple users to leave virtual sticky-notes for each other. However, the WSJ isn’t sure whether or not said features will be included at launch
- iTunes will hit the Web (iTunes.com) allowing users to purchase content without having iTunes installed. Is this where Lala comes into play? If it turns out to be true then I’d say it’s a safe bet. And it appears that Apple will deploy “buy” buttons to various sites.
- I honestly don’t see this happening, but the WSJ’s source(s) are saying that Apple is in deep talks with Microsoft over ditching Google for Bing. I can see Apple ditching Google Maps after their acquisition of Placebase, but I’m not buying Bing for Google for search. Microsoft would have to shell out mucho bucks for that to happen. I’ll eat something terrible on camera if it does.
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