Despite all of the rumors, no one really knows when or if Apple is going to ship an Apple tablet.
But playing “guess the mystery product” when it comes to Apple is a sport that many like to play including me. Why? Because it’s harmless fun to think about ways the folks in Cupertino might blow us away.
One thing to remember, for all of the many years of rumors leading up to the iPhone we imagined all sorts of things but no one predicted the touch/swipe/tap gesture experience.
I like the way John Gruber puts it
If you’re thinking The Tablet is just a big iPhone, or just Apple’s take on the e-reader, or just a media player, or just anything, I say you’re thinking too small — the equivalent of thinking that the iPhone was going to be just a click wheel iPod that made phone calls. I think The Tablet is nothing short of Apple’s reconception of personal computing.
So, if Apple does ship an iSlate or tablet, I’m guessing they do the same thing and give us something we didn’t expect or thought we needed.
Anyway, back to the game at hand :)
Here’s what I want:
-10" display
-iSight
-10hour or more battery life
-book reader that also gives me 2 way capabilities (let me tag, share, email, tweet, blog thing I read)
-browser that supports flash
-same magsafe power adapter as the MacBook Air.
-wireless sync music, videos and photos with my Mac
-open app store (I remain an optimist that Apple will fix this one)
-hdmi output
The most interesting thing about the alleged tablet is where it will fit in our lives. I have an iPhone and a MacBook Air. Is this a 3rd device or a replacement for the MacBook Air?
So who knows if this thing is real or just fiction for 2010 or beyond. But it’s fun thinking about the possibilities.