Apple tablet rumor round-up

• The rendering at right created by Flickr user Fotoboer.nl last August is "strikingly close" to the real thing, people "familiar with the device" tell AppleInsider's Kasper Jade.
• Apple is building two versions, one that would run on AT&T's (T) GSM network, the other on Verizon's (VZ) CDMA network, sources tell Fox News' Clayton Morris.
• According to iLounge's Jeremy Horowitz, the device has an extra-large antenna — "a long rear stripe" — and dual dock connectors, one on the bottom and one on the side, so it can be viewed in either portrait or landscape mode.

The rumor mill is abuzz with “news” of Apple’s tablet computer, which may or may not be called the iSlate and might or might not debut in late January. Proving once again that even those of us who don’t particularly like their products have to concede that they are masters of marketing, the company has scheduled an “event” for January 26 in San Francisco, and there is much speculation that at least one purpose is the debut of the new tablet.

I hope it’s true. Not because I want an iSlate – I imagine I would find it just as annoying as I find the Mac and iPhone – but because I’m hoping that if Apple is able to make the form factor into a best seller, other companies will play follow the leader and bring us more and better (and lower cost) tablet PCs running Windows, just as the iPhone spurred innovation on the parts of other mobile phone makers.

For years, I’ve longed for a small, light, reasonably powerful tablet that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. Heck, I’d be willing to pay a hand and foot to get the right configuration. My dream tablet is a convertible, about the same size and weight as my little Sony TX laptop but with the hinged screen. It would be able to max out at a minimum of 4 GB of RAM and have a decent processor (not an Atom). I don’t care about a built in optical drive but I do want an SD slot and at least two USB ports.

Given its rumored name and all the mockups I’ve seen, the Apple tablet won’t have a physical keyboard. That will keep it thin, but it will take away much of the functionality for me. I want to be able to use the device to take notes in meetings and I type far faster than I handwrite. Swype (the amazing text entry technology that’s built into my Omnia II phone) might help, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do 90 wpm with it so I want a real keyboard. But I want it thin – and the Macbook Air and the Sony X series have proven that’s doable.

Some say the Apple tablet will have a 10 inch screen; others say 7 inches. It will be interesting to see how that shakes out. I want something that’s easy to carry, but the screen needs to be large enough to make it worthwhile to use it instead of your smart phone. I’m curious to see if Apple will, in this tablet, correct the major flaws in the iPhone – the lack of removable battery and the lack of a flash memory slot. Those were big deal breakers for me when I briefly considered an iPhone, and the ability to add extra storage, especially, is even more important with a tablet computer. Some will say you can just store all your data in the cloud, and someday that might be a viable option, but I don’t believe we’re there yet.

Will the iSlate be more than just an overgrown, glorified iPod or will it be a crossover device that can be truly useful for business as well as an entertainment gadget? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Whatever is revealed in January, I have no doubt there are vendors already plotting and planning on how to improve on the concept, and that’s where my interest really lies.

deb@shinder.net www.debshinder.com