Rumour Mill : Apple Tablet PC To Appear In January 2010

Apple could be looking to release a tablet PC that uses the iPhone OS platform as early as January 2010 and possibly during the Consumer Electronics Show 2010 where Steve Jobs is set to deliver a keynote speech.

According to Jeremy Horwitz of iLounge, a reliable source, the same that brought to his attention the iPhone Nano with the camera, the iPhone 3GS and the Chinese iPhone, provided him with 10 (yes 10) details about Apple's next big hitter, the Tablet (ed: make that 11 because it does confirm that Apple has a tablet).

Apple has apparently designed three prototype of the tablet with the smallest one having a 7-inch screen and the biggest 10.7-inch. One can expect the one in the middle to be a 9-inch one.

Designwise, Apple has chosen to stick with the form factor of an iPhone 3G (or should I say, an iPod Touch) albeit a fat one and with a curve back. Two versions will be available, one with 3G and one without.

The iPad or giant iPod Touch will have a capacitive touchscreen with a 720p resolution. This means that it will be HD ready and be capable of displaying around 1280x800 pixels (16:9). Altogether the usable screen are is expected to be seven times that of an iPhone.

The company is clearly aiming the Amazon Kindle with the new tablet but will not be competing with netbooks. The expected launch date will be in May or June 2010 with the official press presentation on the 19th of January. Maybe Microsoft's latest project, Courier, will convince Jobs to go ahead with it.

Anyhow, we do believe that Apple's giant thingy will be a dud and for our five reasons why this will be the case, be sure to read our article here.