Apple

The widely rumored Apple tablet, a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, has just gotten a little more interesting.

Thanks to some crack reporting, MacRumors.com discovered that Apple purchased the domain for "islate.com" back in 2007.

What we know: islate.com was registered to Apple in 2007, through an intermediary (to disguise its true owner). At the moment, that domain doesn't seem to lead anywhere--and there are a few possible explanations. First, Apple bought it as a protective measure, to stop anyone else from using that "i" prefix with that particular word. Second, Apple had or has plans for either a product or a project by that name. Third, it's the tablet. Or fourth, it's Apple's take on Slate.com.

Maybe we'll find out just what that means in January, when the tablet is rumored to be announced.

This story originally appeared on Gizmodo.

Tech stocks typically have to break significant price milestones or have dramatic dips to make CNET's news story queue. Likewise, we try not hop on the Apple rumor bandwagon unless there's something credible or/and novel to report.

But being as it's Christmas Eve and all, we'll go out on a limb and offer you this nugget anyway. Apple's stock closed Thursday at an all time high of $209.04, up 6.94 points (3.43 percent) in a shortened day of trading on unconfirmed rumors that the company might unveil a long-awaited portable tablet computer next month.

The Apple blogosphere went wild Wednesday following several reports that the company told some of its key developers to prepare versions of their iPhone apps that will work on a device with a larger screen, in time for an event next month.

And Financial Times cited "people familiar with the plans" saying that Apple has booked the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco "for several days in late January." That's the very venue where Apple CEO Steve Jobs made his first public appearance in September following his medical leave.

For what it's worth, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster also said in a research note Wednesday that there's a 50 percent chance Apple will announce a tablet at a January event.

Apple will ramp up production on its long-rumored tablet in February with an eye toward a spring launch.

That's the word from Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner who says his checks into Apple's supply chain indicate that "the manufacturing cogs for the [device] are creaking into action." According to Reiner, the tablet will have a 10.1-inch multitouch LCD display and a price point of $1,000.

Apple plans to produce as many as 1 million units per month. So assuming it needs five to six weeks of inventory before launch, we can expect it to arrive at market sometime in March or April. In preparation for that day, the company has evidently been evangelizing the device to the publishing industry.

"Contacts in the U.S. tell us Apple is approaching book publishers with a very attractive proposal for distributing their content," Reiner wrote in a note to clients today. "Apple will split revenue 30/70 (Apple/publisher); give the same deal to all comers; and not request exclusivity. We believe the typical Kindle/publisher split is 50/50, rising to 30/70 if Kindle is given ebook exclusivity."

Noting dissension in the ranks, Reiner adds, "As innovative as it is, we believe the Kindle has disgruntled the publishing industry (book, newspaper, and magazine) by demanding exclusivity, disallowing advertising, and demanding a wolfish cut of revenue. The tablet is set to change that. It should also make e-books more relevant for education by simplifying functions such as scribbling marginalia."

Story Copyright (c) 2009 AllThingsD. All rights reserved.

Apple's tablet is all the rage these days. Companies are lining up to pledge support for the tablet even though Apple hasn't acknowledged its existence.

The latest publishing company to throw its hat into the tablet ring is Time Inc. With a concept version in hand, the publisher showed AllThingsD a version of the tablet-size edition of Sports Illustrated.

Time says with some confidence that its digital magazine format will run on "whatever tablet Apple or [anyone] else has up their sleeves." As you might expect, Time is planning to make all of its titles available on the new format.

Time isn't the only company getting ready for the Apple tablet. Conde Nast said in late November that it is preparing a version of Wired for the elusive tablet computer.

New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller is also looking to the tablet. He told staff in October that the tablet is one platform the company needs to be prepared to take advantage of in the future.

It's been widely reported by sites like Gizmodo that Apple has met with newspaper and magazine publishers to discuss content for the tablet, but Apple has remained quiet on the issue.

A new report from Digitimes on Thursday says Apple's anticipated tablet will not be released in the first part of 2010 as originally thought, but rather in the second half of the year. One industry analyst said the timing of the release is irrelevant to Wall Street.

According to Digitimes, Apple will delay the release of the long rumored tablet because it has decided to change some of its components. Citing unnamed sources, the report says Apple will launch a model using a 9.7-inch OLED from LG.

Financial analysts don't seem to be concerned about the report and are not worried if it doesn't come in the first part of 2010, as it was first rumored to be delivered.

"At this point we cannot confirm or deny the validity of this report, but believe the exact timing is irrelevant given Street models do not currently reflect the tablet, expectations for actual units in 2010 are low, and investors focus is more on whether the tablet is real and less on timing," said Piper Jaffray senior research analyst, Gene Munster, in a note to clients on Thursday.

The price of the tablet quoted by the Digitimes sources does not fit with Munster's expectations either. Digitimes says it expects two models, with one priced at $2,000 and the other priced between $800 and $1,000.

Munster maintains that Apple will price the tablet between the current $199 iPod Touch and the $999 MacBook. Munster said he expects pricing to be in the $500 to $700 price range.

If the tablet was released in September 2010 and costs $600, Munster estimated Apple would sell 650,000 of the units before the end of the year.

Apple's supposed tablet has been one of the most talked about devices that nobody has seen. The company has reportedly spoken with media companies from around the world about having their products available for the device when its released, but Apple has yet to confirm or deny the tablet's existence.

I don't remember hearing so much talk over a product that nobody has even seen, but the scuttlebutt continues, this time from Australia.

Apple is reportedly shopping its rumored tablet to media companies in Australia to gauge interest in having their products available on the device when its released, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. While specifications of the device were reportedly sent to the companies, nobody would confirm it on the record.

One thing to come out of the Australian talks that we haven't heard before focuses on pricing, and more importantly for the media companies, how much they will get to keep.

The Herald says that it expects Apple to give the media companies a similar price offered to iPhone app developers. Apple keeps 30 percent of the sales and the media companies would pocket 70 percent.

If true, that would be a significant raise for the media companies over what Amazon was offering the companies to have its content available for the Kindle. Amazon's deal was reportedly exactly the opposite--70 percent would go to Amazon, while 30 percent would stay with the publishers.

On Monday, news from an off-the-record meeting with the digital staff of The New York Times revealed that Executive Editor Bill Keller may have knowledge of Apple's tablet as he was preparing the company for platforms of the future, including the "impending Apple slate."

It's no secret that newspapers in the U.S. are having their share of difficulties during this economic downturn, but New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller is looking to the future and that future includes an Apple tablet.

Keller's remarks came during a presentation earlier this month to the digital staff at The New York Times. Video of the "off-the-record" meeting was obtained by the Nieman Journalism Lab and posted on its site. At the meeting, Keller addressed some of the things the newspaper needs to do to succeed, including preparing for platforms of the future.

"We need to figure out the right journalistic product to deliver to mobile platforms and devices," said Keller. "I'm hoping we can get the newsroom more actively involved in the challenge of delivering our best journalism in the form of Times Reader, iPhone apps, WAP, or the impending Apple slate, or whatever comes after that."

It's not clear whether Keller has inside knowledge of an Apple tablet or if he was just assuming the existence of the device based on the rumors and speculation that have been around for months.

However, Keller could know more than the average person. Apple has reportedly been talking to several high-profile media companies, negotiating to get its content ready for a new device the company is preparing to launch, according to Gizmodo.

Attracting companies like The New York Times could be a win-win for both companies--Apple would have reputable content for its device and companies like The New York Times would have a new revenue source for its business.

More "details" have emerged about the supposed upcoming Apple tablet. iLounge says a trusted source has provided 10 bits of info about the device, including a notably specific announcement date: Tuesday, January 19, with the product shipping in May or June.

This potential product has been discussed ad nauseum. But Apple isn't the only one pondering this market. As more companies start offering their own versions of tablets in anticipation of Apple jumping in later, and as more tidbits leak out about what Apple might be cooking up, it's useful to look at how it would stack up with what's already available to buy.

• First, iLounge's source says Apple has created three different prototypes. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that two previous prototypes were killed for battery and memory problems. Though the iLounge source says the first version's 7-inch screen was judged to be too small, it doesn't give the size of the second version. The third prototype apparently has a 10.7-inch screen.

• 10.7, or really 11 inches when you round up, would put it on the small side of the better tablets--according to our expert reviewers here at CNET--currently on the market. 7 inches, which was apparently dismissed, is the same as Toshiba's new JournE Touch tablet, and slightly smaller than the 9-inch Windows 7-based Archos media tablet.

• 10 and 11 inches is judged to be the so-called sweet spot of Netbooks. This is "not supposed to compete with Netbooks," but rather is supposed to be a media player and a "light communication device." That's exactly how Michael Arrington describes the tablet he has partnered with Fusion Garage to develop.

• It's supposed to look like an iPhone, but "with a curved back." Most tablets currently available look like a regular laptop that when the screen is twisted and closed converts to looking like a tablet. A slate-style design with perhaps one physical button, like the iPhone/iPod Touch would make it stand out.

• There will be an option for 3G networking. If it is like an oversized iPhone, that makes sense. Though most of the tablets available now rely on Wi-Fi. As Harry McCracken at Technologizer points out, the more interesting thing here is which wireless carrier will be supplying the service.

• It's not a Netbook, but supposed to be a replacement for full-sized books, magazine pages, and even newspapers. Plus you should be able to play games, view videos and photos, and surf the Web. As a result, the resolution will be "5 to 6 times" that of the iPhone or iPod Touch, putting it at 720p, or high-definition resolution. There are a few tablets, like the smaller Archos 5, that can do HD already.

• Obviously the biggest differentiator with an Apple tablet would be its software. iLounge's source says it would come loaded with iPhone OS. That will open it up to the App Store universe, which is growing exponentially. While other smartphone makers have developed their own online application stores, there aren't any traditional tablets with access to them yet.

• The gating factor here--which we've heard before--is Jobs. He gets the final say and it's been reported that he killed previous versions that didn't meet his standards. iLounge's source reports that there's still a 20 percent chance this latest prototype could be killed before its supposed January release date. Frankly, other tablet makers would probably be wise to be as circumspect about the pitfalls of this market. As my colleague Rafe Needleman pointed out in a column last month, there has never been a tablet that's been commercially successful. If the Apple tablet were a success, it would be the first.