AppleTablet
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Apple reveals iBook Store and app for the iPad
Put this down as something else rumored that's come to fruition today. Apple's just announced iBooks, an e-reader app and bookstore (called iBookstore) for the iPad, using the ePub format. We're seeing prices around $12.99 to $14.99 so far... looks pretty slick! We're sure Jeff Bezos and Co. are none too pleased to see this one, but we'll have to see for ourselves what reading's like on a non-E Ink screen. There's a gallery after the break. Be sure to hit up our hands-on right here!
Live from the Apple 'latest creation' event
Will the Apple tablet finally, really be unveiled? We're at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco (see above) patiently waiting to get inside and get this thing underway! Keep reading after the break for the minute by minute coverage!
Is this the Apple tablet? (update: new images)
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. We also see a WiFi icon and a cell service indicator, although tragically there's no carrier listed. As far as fakes go, this is as convincing as it gets, so either this is the real deal or someone deserves a hearty congratulations. On a totally separate note, we also received a tip claiming to have some specs -- we can't verify any of this either, but we're told that the device will have a 10-inch screen and look like a larger iPhone with a MacBook-like aluminum back, and that pricing will run $800 on contract with Verizon and $1000 without when it arrives in March. We're also told that the official name remains a secret and that Apple employees are still calling it by the codename of "K48" -- a name we last heard in May from the same source that pegged the iPhone 3GS exactly. This source also tells us that the iPhone will be coming to Verizon as well and that we'll see iLife '10 tomorrow, but there won't be any MacBook updates. A relatively safe set of predictions -- which is why we sort of believe them. Just 13 hours to go -- we'll find out if any of this is the real deal soon enough. Update: Based on some rough measurements, that screen does appear to be between 9- and 10-inches diagonal. Additionally, it looks as though there could be a front-facing camera on the opposite side of the home button (up top in these photos) due to that cutout section, though the images are really too grainy to know for certain. Update 2: Our source has shared another photograph, this time showing an iPhone resting on the tablet for comparison. Check it out after the break (bigger image for inspection available in the gallery). Update 3: Gizmodo managed to snag some images of what appears to be the back of the tablet from Chinese forum WeiPhone before they were mysteriously yanked. WeiPhone is the same forum that leaked the K48 name way back when, so who knows -- the image shows what could be RF testing, but one of them feels kind of render-y to us. Check 'em all in the gallery! %Gallery-83977%
Our live coverage of the Apple 'latest creation' event starts tomorrow at 10:00AM PT / 1:00PM ET
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Apple is supposedly set to introduce a tablet device (AKA the Apple Tablet, iSlate, etc.) at its latest event that will change the lives of every man, woman, and child on the planet. Sure, it could just be a fresh version of iLife and an 8GB iPhone 3GS, but we kinda doubt that. If you know what's best for you, you'll tune in for our minute-by-minute, live coverage of the event. There won't be a better seat in the house... well, except for wherever Steve Jobs is sitting. The show gets going on Wednesday, January 27th at 10AM PT. You can follow updates on Twitter or Facebook as well. Here's the URL where you should park your browser, and below are starting times around the globe: 08:00AM - Hawaii 10:00AM - Pacific 11:00AM - Mountain 12:00PM - Central 01:00PM - Eastern 06:00PM - London 07:00PM - Paris 09:00PM - Moscow 03:00AM - Tokyo (January 28th)
Poll: So... what's the Apple tablet going to be called?
Okay, we're pretty sure Apple's going to announce a tablet tomorrow, and now we're pretty sure it'll be running some version of the iPhone OS. (Thanks, McGraw-Hill CEO Terry McGraw!) But the one thing we don't have any inkling about -- even after nearly 10 years of rumors -- is what this thing is going to be called. Sure, there are some trademark applications floating around, and even some crowd favorites, but arguably the single biggest surprise coming tomorrow is what Steve Jobs has decided to officially name his mythical tablet. Honestly, we have no idea -- so we're putting it to you. Let's run down the main contenders: iTablet: The most obvious name, but Amtek's had the US trademark since 2006 and has been selling the various actual devices like the iTablet T221 (pictured above) under the brand for a while. Of course, trademark issues have clouded Apple product launches before, so anything's possible. iSlate: Popped up in some trademark and domain name filings a while back and then applied for in the US by a shady company called Slate Computing, LLC that only seems to exist on paper. The registration can't be granted until the USPTO receives an example of the name being used in commerce, and that hasn't happened yet. iPad: The least likely, and only because Apple's had the most to directly do with it. Fujitsu sold a Windows CE-based iPad retail handheld for a few years, but let the trademark application lapse until June of this year. When the USPTO published the application for review by other mark holders, Apple stepped in and filed an opposition, presumably because "iPad" sounds too much like "iPod." That's the only real claim Apple has, as far as we can see -- it can't just oppose the registration because Steve wants to call it the "iPad" really bad. And if he does, all he's got to do is pay Fujitsu some of the billions in cash Apple has lying around -- so why tip his hand with the USPTO filing? Slate: The NYT's Bill Keller referred to it as "the impending Apple slate." Maybe he meant it as a proper noun? Canvas: Panic's Cabel Sasser tweeted this after the paint-spattered "latest creation" invite went out. It's certainly nice, but there's no evidence that it's real at all. Tablet: The Apple Tablet. Might as well at this point, right? So -- what's it going to be? %Poll-40577%
McGraw-Hill's CEO confirms Apple tablet, debuting tomorrow
Color us (not) surprised, but Apple is definitely launching a tablet tomorrow. At least, according to the CEO of one of the planet's most noted book publishers. In a recent interview on CNBC, Terry McGraw (head honcho of McGraw-Hill, naturally), very openly admitted that books from his company would be coming to an Apple tablet "tomorrow," and he also confirmed that his company has "worked with Apple for quite awhile." As he dug the hole deeper, we also learned that the "tablet will be based on the iPhone operating system," and he noted that said books would be "transferable." We're assuming an updated iPhone OS is also in the works, one that presumably supports textbooks in the way that the mythical tablet might. Obviously we're not taking any of this as gospel until Stevie J confirms or denies it on stage tomorrow -- for all we know, Mr. McGraw may have just seen something speculative -- but it's not too often you see a CEO blow this much pointed smoke. Peek the full quote after the break along with the interview clip.
And the winner for the first tablet software announcement is...
It had to happen. Somebody had to be the first to announce software for a still-nonexistent piece of hardware. A lot of us in the business of reporting Apple news and rumors were waiting for the shoe to drop on tablet-related software announcements. Sure enough, developer Ben Gottlieb has taken the bold step of announcing an "iPad" (please let that not be the name...) app in development. Gottlieb's Stand Alone, Inc. announced today that they're working on a larger version of their popular Crosswords iPhone app. As Gottlieb mentioned, "The main constraint in developing a Crossword app for mobile devices has been the distinct lack of screen real estate. We have been anticipating the Apple tablet as the greatest piece of hardware for App developers since iPhone itself, and Crosswords will be even better on the new device." So there you have it! A piece of history, right in front of your eyes -- the first software announcement for Apple's tablet device, which hasn't even been officially confirmed yet, and (technically) may not even exist at all. The price and availability of the app were not included in the announcement, but really, let's not sweat the details, shall we?
The Apple Tablet: a complete history, supposedly
It's no secret to us (or our readers) that Apple's products tend to generate what some might consider insane amounts of interest for weeks, months, and even years before they're launched or even announced. Whether you love the company or hate its guts, you can't deny that Apple is particularly prone to being fodder for the rumor mill. It comes in all forms: leaked photos (be they real, fake, or merely imaginative fan creations), analyst speculation based on "what if" scenarios for investors, "insider" reports from Asian supply chains, and a fair amount of conjecture via the press, both mainstream and blog alike. Here at Engadget, we've always been pretty proud of our ability to decode fact from fiction, and we try not to add too much noise to the echo chamber in which the gadget world seems to sometimes live. That said, we do cover plenty of rumors -- and the Apple Tablet (in its many rumored form factors) may just be the biggest and most twisted of them all. Apple's been kicking around the idea of a tablet since at least... oh, 1983. From real, physical prototypes to out-there ideas such as the Knowledge Navigator -- the company (who did not, alas, invent the idea of a tablet PC) has, somewhat unsurprisingly, seen fit to investigate the possibility for almost as long as it's been around. For one reason or another, though, they've never actually produced a device which saw the light of retail day (well, besides the Newton). Perhaps that's part of the fascination that Apple fans have with the product -- it's been rumored so long, and seemed on the verge of actual arrival so many times that it's become a Holy Grail of sorts for the tech community. The rumor timeline 2004 - 2006: The early years 2007 - 2008: Backburner 2009: The heat is (back) on 2010: The year we make contact? Wrap-up Follow the saga Evidence that any tablet actually existed or would come to retail, however, has always been slim at best. In the entire lifespan of Engadget, not one viable photo of a real-looking prototype has ever emerged, and not one source within Apple itself has ever really hinted that it was at work on such a product. Oh sure, there have been dozens -- possibly hundreds -- of people "familiar with the matter," but almost no one who would or could go on record to talk about the tablet, and in the end, it's always seemed like a non-starter. The Apple Tablet rumor started in earnest around 2002 -- before Engadget was even around. By the time we arrived to the party, the idea that Apple might be working on a tablet or slate PC was pretty firmly entrenched into the psyche of the avid gadget geek, but again, perilously little evidence existed to support the idea, or shall we say... the hope? And here we are, in January of 2010, on the verge of yet another expiration date for the rumored launch of an Apple Tablet (though let's be honest -- this thing is starting to feel pretty real). We thought now might be as good a time as any to take a look back -- back through the rumor timeline of one of the gadget world's longest-standing, and seemingly best-loved unicorns. Join us for the ride, won't you?
Apple rumor roundup: 'the day before' edition
We'll just come right out and say it: we couldn't possibly be happier to see that January 27, 2010 is tomorrow. Shortly after 10AM on the left coast, Stevie J himself will finally put a hush to the rumors that have been swirling constantly over the past fortnight or so (and we'll be there live to cover it). Till then, however, we've got one more round of scuttlebutt to serve up. Kicking things off is a New York Times report that explains in some level of detail what exactly the supposed Apple tablet will feature in terms of specifications. To quote: "It will run all the applications of the iPhone and iPod Touch, have a persistent wireless connection over 3G cellphone networks and Wi-Fi, and will be built with a 10-inch color display, allowing newspapers, magazines and book publishers to deliver their products with an eye to the design that had grabbed readers in print." We shall see. Moving on, we've got even more whispers that publishers -- with the NYT mentioned specifically -- around the globe have been getting wind of this thing as the suits in Cupertino attempt to nail down content deals. Broadcast Engineering even has a piece that straight-up states that Apple was "was in New York City last week showing the tablet to media companies as a new way to sell books, newspapers and other reading material through its iTunes online store." Still not convinced? NetbookNews has an apparently ongoing article about the authenticity / non-authenticity of a Media Markt tweet that "accidentally" leaked a supposed €899 price point for the device, while Hot Hardware switches things up and reports that AT&T will lose its iPhone exclusivity during tomorrow's event. Oh, and the very first hands-on review of the Apple tablet is also live (courtesy of Mosspuppet), while yet another hotly contested image has arisen to perch atop these very words. Phew.
Our live coverage of the Apple 'latest creation' event starts Wednesday, January 27th
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Apple is supposedly set to introduce a tablet device (AKA the Apple Tablet, iSlate, etc.) at its latest event that will change the lives of every man, woman, and child on the planet. Sure, it could just be a fresh version of iLife and an 8GB iPhone 3GS, but we kinda doubt that. If you know what's best for you, you'll tune in for our minute-by-minute, live coverage of the event. There won't be a better seat in the house... well, except for wherever Steve Jobs is sitting. The show gets going on Wednesday, January 27th at 10AM PT. Here's the URL where you should park your browser, and below are starting times around the globe: 08:00AM - Hawaii 10:00AM - Pacific 11:00AM - Mountain 12:00PM - Central 01:00PM - Eastern 06:00PM - London 07:00PM - Paris 09:00PM - Moscow 03:00AM - Tokyo (January 28th)
The MacView: An incredibly well-done concept tablet
Here at TUAW, we've been treated to so many concept drawings and fake photoshopped tablets over the past several months that we've become somewhat jaded about them. However, Polish designer Patrycjucz Brzezinski's concept for an Apple tablet, named the MacView, is so well done that it deserves mention. The MacView was developed as a diploma project for Brzezinski, and if the work shown on various Web sites is any indication, he may go far in his career as a designer. The concept of the MacView is different: rather than a single slab of aluminum and glass that looks like a large iPhone, Brzezinski has a "slider" design made out of carbon fiber materials. The MacView can be used as simply a tablet, or the slider section -- which is also a display -- can turn into a nook-like sub-display showing a Cover Flow view of files or songs, or into a full-sized virtual keyboard when pulled out a bit further. Brzezinski's vision doesn't stop at the design of the device. He's also created an iMac-like dock for the MacView into which the device can be placed to turn it into a full desktop machine. He even designed packaging for the MacView. The Pineapple Blog has many of the concept drawings with English translations, and you can see the full portfolio over at The Behance Network. Thanks to Wojtek for the tip!
Frog Design outs the Apple tablet that could have been... in 1983
We don't know about you, but back in 1983 we were still playing in the mud with sticks and learning how to read. Frog Design, on the other hand, well, they were busy creating zany gadget prototypes. The company -- which helped create such august products as the Apple IIc (which was unleashed in 1984) -- also worked on a tablet pc for Apple around that same time, and its recently let slip some photos of what might have been. The tablet you see in the photos (there's another after the break) was called Bashful, and it's a pretty slim character considering its birth date, boasting a full physical keyboard and stylus to boot. Several prototypes of this little lover were made, including one with a disk drive and even one with a phone. So that means, by our count, Apple's been mulling this whole tablet deal for... twenty-six years. Hit the source link for even more photos.
Tablet analysis and opinion: What TUAW has put on the table
In light of the current tablet frenzy, TUAW is not alone shouting "Tablet, Tablet!" from the rooftops. The tablet has been a widespread and consistent story from several directions which we have been compiling and discussing. Over the last few weeks, TUAW has depended on multiple background sources who have information about the device, as do scores of other sites and news outlets. In that light, we've assembled this round up of analysis and opinions posts, based on the most-likely credible rumors and sources we've been able to dig up from the last few years. Here are some of our longer discussion pieces that you might have missed the first time 'round. Publishing different: What the tablet brings to the table Like newspapers before them, traditional book publishers are facing the reality of the new digital world. With Apple's much anticipated tablet expected to debut within the next few months, they're... App Store approvals and the tablet: why it matters When iTunes Connect returned after its Christmas break, developers noticed that things had changed quite a bit on the App Store approval front. Applications that had formerly taken ten to fourteen... Tablet speculation: How could a tablet connect to the world? Do you know what word Dave Caolo is hearing in his sleep? Tablet. What phrase is trending mightily on Google Search? Tablet. What is every Apple fanboy and fangirl dreaming of for...um...some new... Also of interest: Talking tablets with Aaron Vronko of RapidRepair iPhone devsugar: Working with tablet resolutions Pricing the tablet: How high can they go? TUAW Watercooler: Apple's next big thing A Mac tablet? Not just yes, but 'heck yes' Buyer's Guide: 33 things you don't need if you have an iPhone Apple's original tablet Our iTablet Dreams: What TUAW is wishing for
Apple Tablet rumor roundup: publishers and carriers edition
This day simply wouldn't be a day between January 18, 2010 and January 27, 2010 without a new gaggle of Apple Tablet rumors to sift through, and while we're gritting our teeth as we skim every word, we've the latest and greatest most far-fetched rounded up here for your perusal. The rumor: The Apple Tablet will "strike a familiar chord with owners of the original iPhone, with similarities in industrial design trickling all the way down to the handset's button and connectivity components." Our take: Honestly, we can believe this one. Apple has had a great deal of success with the iPhone, and we've already seen the "tablet PC" as it's known today take a nosedive. Apple Insider is saying that the device may look a lot like a "first-generation iPhone that's met its match with a rolling pin," and while we've obviously no inside way to confirm nor deny, we can get why Apple would stick close to a design that it knows will work. Oh, and be sure to peek two more clearly fake mockups after the break. The rumor: New York Times Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. won't be at Apple keynote next week. Our take: So? Just because the head honcho from The Times is planning to be in Davos, Switzerland next week while Apple unveils its tablet doesn't mean that Jobs can't showcase the device's ability to video chat across oceans in front of the masses... if Apple even has a deal with any publisher. If Apple really is reaching out to publishers for content deals, you can bet your bottom dollar the NYT is listening. And be honest -- if you had the option of being in Davos or some convention center in San Francisco, which would you pick? More after the break... if you dare.
Publishing different: What the tablet brings to the table
Like newspapers before them, traditional book publishers are facing the reality of the new digital world. With Apple's much anticipated tablet expected to debut within the next few months, they're under more pressure than ever before to "Think Different". Moving from print to digital isn't a smooth or easy path, despite the fact that most authors are working digitally in the first place. As early experiences with the Amazon Kindle have shown, digital tablets are not geometric or mental equivalents of the printed page. "You've got to think beyond the page," says Chuck Toporek, my editor at Addison Wesley/Pearson, "because the page no longer exists -- there is no page number, or page to flip." Book content has to adapt and flow to on-device presentation. Like the HTML revolution of the '90s, publishers will need to rethink how their content can adapt to changes in font size, and "the page" is more driven by screen dimension and resolution than a piece of paper is. "[Interaction styles like] pinch and zoom should not hinder the user," Toporek adds.
Pricing the tablet: How high can they go?
With the Apple tablet due to be announced next Wednesday, we've been seeing a lot of possible price points thrown around. Will the tablet retail for $999? Or is a $699 or $799 unit in the cards? It's really hard to say because as with all retail, both price and value depend a good deal on supply and demand, as well as on any deals Apple has with potential data providers. Take the iPhone for example you can buy a contract-free 32GB iPhone 3GS at the Apple store, for a rather steep $699. Apple doesn't make this easy for you. I found you had to search by model number (namely 718LL/A, for the screen shot shown here) rather than by the 3GS model name. Apple isn't exactly pushing AT&T-free models at their store, and I think the price here reflects that. You can pick up a 64GB iPod touch for $399 shipped, today. What makes the 32GB iPhone with just half that memory worth $300? In my opinion, it's Apple's way of dissuading customers from purchase. Slap a premium on the price, keep customers away. What's the true value of a phone? An informal survey in the TUAW newsroom came up with a figure of $50, mostly by waving our hands in the air. Looking at standard phones in the market, we decided that $50 could easily cover a retail assessment including 3G data reception, built in GPS, and a built in magnetometer. That would make a "real" market price for the 32GB iPhone hover at about $349, namely the price of a current generation 32GB iPod plus $50 in phone extras, namely half the price of what the current unit sells (or, more likely, and quite deliberately, fails to sell) at. So what does it take to go from a phone to a tablet? And I say phone, because I think it's likely that the tablet will ship with some sort of data plan option. I think the same sort of math applies. I wouldn't be surprised to see a $999 tablet be announced next Wednesday with a $699 deal for anyone who signs up for a two year data plan at, say, $39.99/month. In other words, I think it could be likely that Apple will push high on their initial price, moving that price downwards as early adopters give way to regular consumers later this year during pre-Christmas Q4 sales. As much as I want my $699 contract-free tablet, I don't think Apple's is anywhere near being on board with that low number. So what's your take on this? What will be the contract-free price? What kind of discount do you anticipate if the tablet comes with a data plan, and what monthly charge do you think the market is willing to take on for that data access? Let us know in the comments.
WSJ: Apple tablet to have books, games, music, TV, will make sandwiches
The Wall Street Journal just laid out a doozy of an Apple tablet rumor piece, all from anonymous sources, "people familiar with the matter," and the like. There's a lot to go through, so without further ado: The tablet will come with a virtual keyboard -- kind of a no-brainer if it's gonna be a keyboard-less tablet and not, say, another laptop. Apple's been talking with The New York Times, Conde Nast, and HarperCollins / News Corp. over how they could collaborate. When asked, NYT Chairman Arthur Sulzberger would only say "stay tuned." Electronic Arts has been working closely to prep games for the tablet. We know of a number of gaming journalists who've gotten invites to next week's event, and given Apple's heavy games push over the past year or so, this wouldn't surprise us in the least. A reaffirmation of earlier murmurings about potentially swapping Google for Bing as the default search engine. Maps, too! Those TV subscription rumors? Apparently the gang in Cupertino have been pitching a "best of TV" service that would package the best four to six shows per channel. A web-based version of iTunes, tentatively called iTunes.com and potentially launching in June, for buying music outside of the dedicated app. Additionally, there'd be a new initiative "to populate as many webs ites as possible with 'buy' buttons, integrating iTunes transactions into activities like listening to internet radio and surfing review web sites." No mention if music will be downloaded or streamed from the cloud, but we can definitely see how Apple's recent Lala acquisition would play into this in the future -- in fact, we've already seen it start to bear fruit. Here's a weird one: Apple has supposedly designed the tablet "so that it is intuitive to share." One such experiment is virtual sticky notes that launch for the intended recipient by facial recognition via built-in camera. If nothing else, we're really looking forward to next week putting a large clamp on the torrent of tablet rumors that have have propagated the internet for the last few months.
Analysts debate P.A. Semi's role in forthcoming Apple wares
It's easy to forget that Apple snapped up P.A. Semi for a song way back when, but now that we're just days, hours and seconds away from Apple's expected tablet reveal, a new wave of processor-related conjecture is hitting the fan. Richard Doherty, director of technology consulting firm Envisioneering Group, has come forward with some exceedingly detailed rumors on said tablet, a touchscreen MacBook and an OS X-based unicorn that lives in the cloud. As the story goes, Apple's pickup of P.A. Semi was primarily an effort to acquire a huge pool of engineering talent to use for its own internal designs, and now Doherty is saying that "before the year is out, Apple will have the most powerful, lowest-cost SoC in the industry." According to him, there's nothing from "ARM licensees or Intel that could challenge the power-per-watt, the power-per-buck, the power-per-cubic-millimeter of size," and he anticipates that four new products are in the pipeline from Cupertino. Need details? How's about a touchscreen iMac, an "iPod touch on steroids" with a 5-inch display, and "two different versions of media pads in the 7- to 9-inch (screen size) area." Alright Dick, you just put your reputation on the line -- here's hoping you've got your story straight. Update: Looks like UBS Investment Research has been hearing something similar. According to it, the forthcoming tablet "will be powered by a processor designed by P.A. Semi and built by Samsung."
Apple Tablet rumor roundup: summer 2010 edition
Before we get into the rumors, here's a fact: unless the Apple Tablet cures cancer, global warming and obesity in one fell swoop, there'll be plenty of disappointed faces leaving the Yerba Buena theater next Wednesday. The hype is that overpowering. But hey, that doesn't mean we are not curious to know what it will actually do, so let's get to the latest batch of uncorroborated scuttlebutt. The Rumor: The Mac Observer believes these are legitimate photos of a 10-inch glass front for Apple's new machine. Coming from a "trusted source," the pictures seem to confirm a 10-inch screen size and an iPhone-inspired design (which includes an earphone hole!). In the pic to the side, you can see it resting atop a unibody MacBook Pro's keyboard for a sense of scale. Our Take: Naturally taken in the worst possible light and suffering from a strong dose of noise and noise-reducing blur, the photos are close to impossible to verify. Their claim for legitimacy is also not helped by the blatant appearance of a scaled-up iPhone front plate -- something we could mock up ourselves if we had the patience. The Rumor: Actual retail units of the fabled world-changing device won't be available until June. AppleInsider reports some analyst noise indicating that battery life and durability issues could delay the tablet's release until the middle of this year. Moreover, on the authority of "supply chain sources," it has been described as a "super iPod touch," with a suggestion it might have an ARM-based core inside. Our Take: It's well known that the original iPhone followed a similar launch pattern of a January announcement and a June release, but Apple must be equally aware of how disappointing to its fans (and shareholders, more importantly) a paper launch would be. ARM internals seem logical, particularly since the iPhone already runs such hardware, and NVIDIA's Tegra 2 platform -- driven by a dual-core Cortex A9 chip -- has made some lofty promises about what can be done with the architecture. The Rumor: The Guardian, via 9to5Mac, informs us that Apple has been in talks with UK mobile carriers about bringing its famine destroyer to the Queen's backyard in subsidized form. We're told it'll be bundled with mobile broadband contracts -- in much the same fashion as netbooks are treated currently -- but there'll be no exclusivity deals on the table so Orange, O2 and Vodafone are all in the running. There's also pretty firm word that the iWonder won't be making its UK debut until "later in the spring." Our Take: Mobile broadband takeup is only going to grow in the UK and netbook bundles seem to have been popular so far, so it seems like a no-brainer to try and capitalize on this burgeoning market. As pointed out in The Guardian, behind the scenes talks don't always turn into real world deals, but at this point we'd be surprised if Apple wasn't talking to carriers about subsidies. Well, we wanted photos and we got 'em -- in the signature grainy style that all pre-announcement hardware seems to appear. The latter two rumors have some intriguing synergy, though: both point toward availability coming significantly later than the announcement, and both seem to steer away from integrated 3G connectivity. We really can't wait to know -- if only to stop this speculative madness.
Take two tablets and call us in the morning
Speaking of thin support & quite amusing -- It's not much to go on with respect to a name, but as suggested by reader Nicholas, we did take a closer look at Apple's invitation copy. "Apple's latest creation," without the spaces, becomes "Appleslatestcreation," which of course does contain the phrase "Apple Slate." Yes, well, it seems pretty silly and inelegant to me too, and not something Apple would do... and yet. [Editor's note: OK, we went and looked again -- the exact phrase "Apple's latest creation" isn't there, it says "our latest creation," so this bit of pipe-dreaming goes from silly to ludicrous... don't blame Erica, blame the editing.] %Poll-40177%
