Apple Tablet Coming in Second Quarter 2010

Apple tablet watchers have completely bypassed CES 2010 in anticipation of the company's special event at the end of this month. More evidence is mounting that Apple will announce the tablet and begin selling the product during the second quarter.

According to Reuters, AVY Precision Technology begins manufacturing aluminum casings for the tablet computer body in February. Two other Taiwanese companies, Wintek and TPK Solutions, are both said to be shipping 10-inch touch screens to Apple.

Another supplier, Imagination Technologies, could be on tap to produce its PowerVR SGX545 mobile GPU for the Apple tablet.

The Apple tablet, most recently dubbed the "iSlate," could also be named "Magic Slate" or even be an update to the defunct iBook product line. Apple is rumored to be developing large-screen apps based on the iPhone OS for the device. Content is also in the works, with the company courting magazine publishers for a possible e-book focused iTunes store.

Although no leaks of prototypes have surfaced, the user interface is said to be stunning. Apple has several tablet-related patents on the books, including a touch screen that would dynamically pop-up a virtual keyboard when typing on the otherwise flat surface.

Comments

This tablet is going to be GREAT! I cannot wait for it to arrive. Having a version of iWork on it would be a boon to business folks.

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