Tablet coming – or too hard to swallow?

Apple has reportedly scheduled a media event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco on Tuesday Jan. 26, 2010, for "a major product announcement".

Citing inside sources, the Financial Times reported Financial Times reported that Apple has rented the stage for "several days" at the end of January. Officials from Apple and from the YB centre declined to comment.

The topic of the event is unknown, but in mid December there was so much tablet-related news it seems pretty likely that's what's going to be the star of the event.

A January release also gels with my own prediction that Apple would most likely still be in the mode of January releases after years of New Year's San Francisco Macworlds, even though it pulled out of the IDC-run event after January '09.

The December rumours included (thanks to AppleInsider for the round-up) that: The Financial Times reported that Apple's long-rumoured touchscreen device was due for an early 2010 unveiling, and would enter into mass production soon after. The publication said the device would have something to do with Apple's rumoured negotiations with TV networks for a subscription plan for video content on iTunes.

Analyst Gene Munster (of Piper Jaffray) has already said he believed there was a 75 per cent chance Apple would hold a special event in January. (He also said it is not guaranteed that such an event would be about a tablet device.)

Another report alleged a tablet with a 7-inch (17.78cm) screen was due to be announced in January. That's different from months of reports that the device would have a 10-inch (25.4cm) screen, though some have speculated Apple could release both form factors.

Perhaps the strongest indication is a Silicon Alley Insider posting that a source told them Apple had asked selected developers to prepare 'full screen' versions of their apps for a January demo. Apple reportedly wanted software to scale beyond the 320x480 pixel size of the current iPhone and iPod touch screen, but said that any applications that can accommodate the larger screen size will run "just fine" on the new device, leading to speculation that a tablet would be running a form of iPhone/touch Operating System.

Another rumour says Apple has been asking selected developers to prepare apps that could be demonstrated on a larger handheld device. It's not clear whether these are ports, though coders are being told that iPhone apps will work properly "as long as they're not coded for a fixed size".

The new hardware is said to have been created under the watchful eye of company co-founder Steve Jobs. As you'd expect.

Various publications have connected the tablet and its anticipated formal announcement with Apple's purchase of the music streaming service Lala, which is expected to result in an overhaul of iTunes. Apple has also been strongly rumoured to be in negotiations with CBS and Walt Disney to allow a TV subscription plan.

The tablet is expected to be a multimedia device capable of browsing the internet, watching movies and reading content.

Publishers have prepared for a tablet, even though it has not been officially announced. Many rumours over the last few months say Apple reached out to various print publications about providing their content 'in a new form factor' …

In a separate move, a group led by Time Inc looks set to create a digital store for magazines and other publications to sell their content in a digital format, according to The Financial Times: "Apple's forthcoming tablet device" is one of the devices the publishers are targeting, along with Amazon's Kindle. Time and others have reportedly had talks with Apple about putting their magazines on the tablet.

However, the report also alleges that Apple is reluctant to endorse the publishers' approach.

Representatives from The New York Times are also supposed to have spoken with Apple about the tablet, plus textbook publishers McGraw Hill and Oberlin Press have been working to put their content on iTunes in a DRMed format that would allow use for a period of time.

If the Tablet is shown in January, I reckon it might still take a month or two to come to market, as Apple appears to have lots of work to do to ensure the availability of suitable content. I'd guess March before we see anything in New Zealand.

If no tablet is shown in January, Apple may just just announce a camera-equipped iPod touch and/or an Apple TV with support for a subscription service. New Intel chips could also conceivably be announced as driving new models of MacBooks and/or Mac Pros.

I guess we'll see, and soon enough.

- Mark Webster mac-nz.com