media pad

Check out this alleged photo of the forthcoming Apple touch pad / HD media tablet / extra-large iPod Touch / netbook killer / iPAD in-the-works. Nice touch making it look like it's booting Leopard for the first time.

There are sure to be many more "leaked photos" churned out by zealous Photoshoppers. Maybe they'll have better mobile phones. Word on the street is that the upcoming Apple event on September 9th will NOT mention anything about a tablet device.

More information has surfaced about the Apple media pad, a touch-screen device larger than an iPhone with the functionality of a netbook. Barron's reports on an unnamed "veteran analyst" who claims to have held the prototype device in his own hands.

The source describes a slate-style computer only six weeks away from the final design stages that would be announced in September and hit shelves in November. Manufacturers of key components have already been described in industry publications.

Parts suppliers and manufacturers have already been selected for a rumored Apple media pad, a touch-screen device larger than an iPhone with the functionality of a netbook. The tablet could hit shelves as early as September.

Foxconn, manufacturer of the iPhone and Apple's notebook computers, will make the new device. Wintek is providing a 9.7-inch multi-touch panel, and Dynapack International Technology is supplying the battery.

If news from Chinese manufacturers means anything, Apple is clearly planning on an iPhone-like device that would fill the gap between the iPod Touch and the MacBook. The latest reports and rumors are interesting, to say the least, and point towards a possible 2010 release of the product.

It sounds like elements of the iPhone OS have already been adapted for a larger touch screen with similar multi-touch capabilities. The new Apple media pad would simultaneously compete with netbooks and portable gaming systems such as the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS.

Reports indicate Verizon Wireless and Apple may actually be discussing two new iPhone-like devices for launch as early as this summer on the Verizon network. One piece of hardware would be a simplified iPhone, with fewer features and a lower price, using CDMA network access.

The second, and arguably more interesting device is somewhere between an iPod Touch and a netbook. Dubbed the "media pad" by a source talking to BusinessWeek, this entirely new Apple hardware would also have access to the Verizon Wireless network, and have the capability to make calls using WiFi.