Sure, every blogger worth his salt has weighed in on the long-rumored Apple tablet that may or may not be--its possible size, shape, specs, debut date, and on and on. Now offering up a perspective on the matter is a high-profile tech industry executive, Kai-fu Lee, who until recently was the head of Google's China operations.
It seems that Lee, who's now working to foster entrepreneurship in China, wrote on his Chinese language blog earlier this week that Apple CEO Steve Jobs will be releasing a tablet PC in January, and expects to produce a voluminous 10 million in the first year, according to the IDG News Service and other media outlets.
Kai-fu Lee
(Credit: Google)The tablet, according to Lee's post, will have a 10.1-inch touch screen and will look like an oversize iPhone. Other features are said to include a virtual keyboard, 3D graphics, and support for videoconferencing and e-books. The price reportedly will be below $1,000.
Coincidentally, reports have emerged in recent days that Apple may have an event planned for January 26 in San Francisco, with a focus on mobile offerings, and that Apple has told software developers to conjure up versions of their iPhone apps suitable for a larger-than-iPhone screen.
How would Lee, who hasn't worked at Apple in more than a decade, know all this? He said on his blog that he got the information from a friend (unnamed, of course) who's familiar with the project.
But it's not as if Lee is lacking for contacts in the tech industry. Until September 2009, he was the president of Google's Greater China operation. Before that, he spent seven years at Microsoft working on, among other things, speech, natural language, and assistance technologies, and founding Microsoft Research Asia. It was his move from Microsoft to Google, first announced in the middle of 2005, that brought him a wave of notoriety, as the two tech giants squabbled inside and outside the courtroom over his hiring, before settling in December of that year.
From 1996 to 1998, he was a vice president at Silicon Graphics, where he oversaw a group that developed a line of Web servers.
Before that, Lee spent six years at Apple, eventually serving as vice president of the company's Interactive Media Group, according to the biography on the Web site of his latest undertaking.
Lee's current venture, which launched in September, is the Beijing-based Innovation Works, which aims to nurture Chinese high-tech companies and entrepreneurs. Focusing on the Internet, the mobile Internet, and cloud computing, Innovation Works says on its Web site that it plans each year to "prototype some 20 new ideas, aiming to spin off 3-5 independent companies."
Innovation Works says it has $115 million in funding from "an elite group of venture capital groups and investors" that includes YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, Legend Group, and Foxconn Technology Group--the same Foxconn whose operations include the manufacture of the Apple iPhone.
But Lee told the Bloomberg news agency Thursday that his information on the purported Apple tablet didn't come directly from Foxconn, or from Apple for that matter.
"I have never discussed Apple's tablet products with anyone at Foxconn, or anyone at Apple," Lee said in an e-mail to Bloomberg.
Apple was not immediately available for comment.
Whatever news Apple has up its sleeve--tablet or no--it appears something will be announced on January 26, if an unnamed source of Fox News' turns out to be correct.
The Financial Times reported last week that Apple had rented out the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco for several days in late January, immediately leading to speculation that the event might give the world the first glimpse of a tablet device rumored to be in the offing in Cupertino. And now, Fox News writer Clayton Morris says he has a source at Apple who's confirmed that an event will be held there Tuesday, January 26, and that it will be focused on the company's mobile offerings.
Speculation abounds about what an Apple tablet would entail and when it might arrive: the DigiTimes reports that Apple has placed an order for 10-inch displays and that devices would be ready to ship in March or April; several reports have surfaced that Apple 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 the MacRumors blog did a little sleuthing that turned up two patented trademarks that could be used for the name of the device and its associated software.
But the event will also answer some questions about how Apple intends to make product announcements in the future. The company has said it will no longer participate in the Macworld Expo held in San Francisco each January, leading some to question whether it would make an appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas or strike out on its own so it would no longer be tied to other organizations' schedules when making product announcements.
Editors' note: while Macworld is traditionally held in San Francisco in January, this year it will take place February 9-13.
Because excitement has now reached beyond the red area on the dial, it is important to emit every single possibility about the alleged Apple tablet for instant world examination.
So I am delighted to report that the diligent sleuths at MacRumors have discovered a possible new name for the Apple product that is about to sweep all before it, should it ever actually materialize.
Please now tuck your hands beneath your hamstrings, move slightly further from your screens, and remove all items of sharp jewelry. For the name that, like iSlate, has apparently also been trademarked by a mysterious Delaware company with links to Apple is iGuide.
iGuide.
Please just digest this for a moment. Do you want to clutch your iGuide? Do you want to stroke your iGuide like a fine, fresh painting? Will you quickly want to slip that word into a sentence? ("Hey! I got Playboy on my iGuide!") Will you even want to create little slogans for your own use? ("I nearly died when I got my iGuide!") Now, as MacRumors itself points out, it is also possible that iGuide will turn out to be the name of the service or software used by Apple's new device, not the name of the device itself.
I know that there has been some increasing of pulse rates at the idea of iSlate, a trademarked name that was also unearthed by MacRumors. However, I have a small feeling, a kind of friendly, slightly slobbery nibbling at my ear, that real people out there aren't all that instantly comfortable with the words "tablet" and "slate."
iGuide might remind some of, for example, TV Guide and it does feel just the slightest jot more human than "tablet" or "slate".
This doesn't mean that iGuide is any more likely than any other name that has been posited so far for this product that might not actually ever exist. But if there's one thing that Apple does so very, very well, it's being human.
It won't be the 10-inch touch-screen display that drives adoption of Apple's rumored tablet computer, but rather the availability of apps for the device, according to one industry analyst.
Gene Munster, senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray, said in a research note to clients on Monday that initial tablet successes will come from the confidence consumers have with Apple's mobile platform. It is widely expected that Apple will use an iPhone-like operating system on the tablet, enabling consumers to utilize existing apps.
Recent media reports that Apple is asking developers for super-sized versions of their apps is helping to fuel speculation that existing apps will work on the tablet.
An interesting tidbit of information in Munster's research note is that he expects Apple's tablet to compete well in the netbook category. While the Netbook focuses on its portability, Munster sees the tablet focusing "more on apps, entertainment content (from the iTunes Store), and Web surfing."
Apple reportedly chose Innolux, a subsidiary of longtime manufacturing partner Foxconn, as the supplier for the 10-inch displays.
Apple's long-rumored tablet may be nearing reality, as new reports of 10-inch display orders came to light on Monday.
The newest Apple tablet information comes from DigiTimes, a site well-known for reporting on Apple rumors. Citing sources from Apple's component suppliers, DigiTimes says that Innolux, a subsidiary of Foxconn, will be the initial supplier of the glass panels to be used in the tablet.
While DigiTimes has a hit or miss record on reporting rumors, it says that Foxconn will manufacture the tablet. That makes perfect sense, since it is the same company that makes many of Apple's products, including the iPod and iPhone.
One interesting piece of information in the report is that Apple delayed the launch of the tablet because it was concerned about the strength of the glass. DigiTimes says that another Foxconn subsidiary, G-Tech Optoelectronics, will provide a process to strengthen the glass, allowing production to move forward.
Shipments of the finished tablet are rumored to begin in March or April.
While Apple has yet to announce an event to unveil the tablet, The Financial Times reported last week that the company rented San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in late January.
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 to 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.
The Apple tablet is threatening to approach Yeti status, but here's an indication that it will turn out to be real: the company has 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.
Add that to the news that Apple has reportedly booked the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco "for several days in late January," according to the Financial Times, and it's pretty easy to connect the dots. It's a very good bet we're getting a look at this thing within the next 30 days or so.
A mobile industry source tells me developers have been told that the mystery device will be shown off at the event only, but won't be ready to ship (Dan Frommer at Alley Insider relays the same news).
Announcing a product before launch used to be unusual for Apple, but it's a pattern the company has practiced more recently, notably with the first iPhone. And if Apple is indeed coming out with a new product that will require developers to rethink their approach, it makes a lot of sense.
I've asked Apple for comment, but I'm not holding my breath.
My source says Apple's instructions to developers indicate that the tablet--or at least the thing it's showing off next month--will be based on the iPhone OS and will rely on the same iTunes Store that has moved 2 billion apps in a couple of years.
... Read moreStory Copyright (c) 2009 AllThingsD. All rights reserved.
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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."
... Read moreStory Copyright (c) 2009 AllThingsD. All rights reserved.
Additional stories from AllThingsD
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.
