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Indiatimes Infotech

Gossip mills are buzzing overtime over Apple launching a tablet Computer. Speculations are running high on everything, from Apple Tablet’s positioning to name to features to looks.

In fact, the recent slew of PC tablet or Slate launches at the just-concluded Consumer Electronic Show (CES) are said to be aimed at stealing Apple Tablet’s thunder (rumoured to be launched on January 27).

So, here’s over to how the much anticipated Apple device may look like and will offer.

Not a laptop

Mark Rolston, chief creative officer for Frog Design believes Apple won’t market a tablet as a replacement for a workhorse laptop. Instead, Apple will describe a limited set of uses for the device at first, Rolston believes, and later Apple may broaden how it advertises the tas.

He pointed to the way the iPhone evolved from easy-to-use phone to multipurpose pocket computer a year after its debut with the advent of the App Store, which sells add-on software of all sorts.

What it will be called

The Apple tablet is likely to be named iSlate. Apple purchased the domain name iSlate.com in 2007. Some other rumoured names for the device include iTablet, iTouch, MacBook Touch, iPad, Net tablet and Canvas.

Photo Courtesy: Tommaso Gecchelin

Looks

Widely speculated to be a 10-inch device, it is rumoured to have a virtual keyboard. Some speculate that users will be able to use their whole hand to open programs and flick through pictures on the device.

Though most agree that the easiest way of visualising tablet is to think of a big iPhone, Apple’s designers are likely to have come up with a new look and feel for the device.

Tablet’s camera is speculated to come with facial recognition features.

Photo Courtesy: Gizmodo

Gaming

Apple’s new device is speculated to have something for gamers too! For, the company has sent invitations for the January 27th event to gaming publications too.

The company is said to be working with Electronic Arts to show off the tablet’s game capabilities. Also, video games are a known to be a hotseller on the App Store.

Multimedia

Some think it will simply be an oversized iPod Touch, a music player that is also used to view movies, family photos and other content on the go.

Video and music have been predicted to be the key applications in tablet. Rumours say that tablet is the reason Apple developed iTunes LP in the first place.

Gossip mills also suggest that the device could even double as a home entertainment hub — streaming content from the internet to a television, or being used as a home games console.

Photo Courtesy: Jesus Diaz

Battery

Some believe that Apple may follow Microsoft, Samsung and HTC in using an AM OLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) display in their 7-inch tablet because of its ability to reduce power consumption. This could extend the battery life anywhere from 40 percent to 75 percent, depending on your usage.

The tablet is expected to offer internet connectivity over Wi-Fi and 3G.

Photo Courtesy: Logan Lape

E-reader too!

Many believe that Apple is building the tablet with an eye to the burgeoning electronic book market (though Jobs said in 2008 that “people don’t read anymore.”)

There have been several reports of Apple approaching book, newspaper, and magazine publishers about their content. Apple is said to have held talks with NYT, WSJ, Conde Nast, Harper Collins, and others to create a library for online reading content just like the iTunes for music.

Photo Courtesy: Adam Benton

Tags: apple, gadget, Indiatimes, Infotech, laptop, News, Technology

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