“Fueling expectations some more, a new tip today [via TechCrunch] hints that even Apple chief Steve Jobs has high expectations for the tablet rumored to be launching at Wednesday’s special event,” Electronista reports.

Electronista reports, “Several eyewitnesses, allegedly including Apple executives and Jobs’ friends, say they’ve heard Jobs state that the project is the ‘most important thing I’ve ever done.’”

“Jobs has long been rumored as having devoted full attention to the tablet, especially since his return from medical leave in June,” Electronista reports. “Most believe he last gave a similar level of care during the development of the iPhone.”

Full article here.

Source: MacDailyNews

“Rumors are swirling that Apple’s yet-to-be-announced tablet will come with a connection to cellular networks like those run by Verizon and AT&T. Apple, in its infinite secrecy, hasn’t said a word about the tablet, let alone what deals they might be striking with wireless carriers,” Niraj Sheth reports for The Wall Street Journal. “But there’s another big question: Will any network be ready?”

“The tablet’s little brother, the iPhone, has already shown how an explosion in data usage can overload a network, in this case AT&T’s,” Sheth reports. “And the iPhone is hardly the kind of data guzzler the tablet is widely expected to be… ‘Clearly this is an issue that needs to be fixed,’ says Broadpoint Amtech analyst Brian Marshall. ‘It can grind the networks to a halt.’”

“Verizon, which touts its network as more dependable than AT&T’s, could prove better at handling data traffic. But ‘frankly, it hasn’t seen a device like the iPhone saturating its network,’ says Kaufman Brothers analyst Shaw Wu,” Sheth reports. “Apple is expected to unveil the yet-to-be-named tablet next Wednesday.”

Read more in the full article here.

Source: MacDailyNews

“While Apple’s tablet is still expected to see a formal introduction at a media event next week, issues with battery life and durability could result in a June launch, an analyst said Tuesday,” Neil Hughes reports for AppleInsider.

“In a new note to investors, Shaw Wu with Kaufman Bros. said checks with supply chain sources indicate the launch pattern for the tablet could follow that of the original iPhone in 2007, with a January unveiling and final product shipping to consumers six months later,” Hughes reports. “He said that the June launch could be due to ‘minor issues’ with more work needed on battery life and durability.”

Hughes reports, “However, he said, checks also indicate that a tablet-type device will be introduced next week, at a Jan. 27 event… The analyst’s claims of a June launch contradict with The Wall Street Journal, which reported earlier this month that the hardware is expected to ship in March.”

Read more in the full article here.

Source: MacDailyNews

“Apple is already in full swing manufacturing its tablet device, analyst Matt Thornton at AVI Securities said in a note on Friday,” Electronista reports.

“Talking to a component supplier, he says the parts have been in the supply chain for some time but that the finished products are now in ‘full production’ for release soon,” Electronista reports.

“The iPhone designer had supposedly planned to start assembly late in 2009 but encountered a delay that impacted some suppliers who had expected the increased business,” Electronista reports.

More details in the full article here.

Source: MacDailyNews

“One of our close Apple connects who haven’t steered us wrong dropped a little bit of information on us,” The Boy Genius reports.

• The tablet’s multi-touch gestures are “out of control.”
• It’s powered by an incredibly fast ARM CPU
• It runs on the iPhone kernel.
• The tablet is basically an “iPhone on steroids.”

Full article here.

Source: MacDailyNews

“I’m hearing there is no camera, webcam or otherwise, on The Tablet,” John Gruber reports for Daring Fireball.

Full article here.

Source: MacDailyNews

“Recently, anticipation for new tablet computers has been almost absurdly focused on the magical product that people expect to emanate from the mind of Apple’s chief executive, Steven P. Jobs,” Brad Stone and Nick Bilton report for The New York Times. “Analysts who have spoken to Asian component suppliers now think that an Apple tablet will ship by the end of March, and that Apple will hold an event to introduce a new product by the end of this month.”

“But Apple’s tablet may not end up dominating the emerging market for tablets, as some seem to expect. One reason is price. Analysts think the Apple tablet could cost anywhere from $700 to $1,000,” Stone and Bilton report. “Conversations with several former Apple engineers who worked on the long-gestating tablet also suggest that Apple may be asking users to learn a somewhat complex new vocabulary of finger gestures to control it, making use of technology it acquired in the 2007 purchase of a company called FingerWorks.”
[Read more →]