Quote:
Originally Posted by Kali Yuga
pfft
Apple tablet rumors have run rampant since 2001, so don't hold your breath. "Slate tablets" have existed since around 2005 or so, and didn't exactly fly off the shelves. Heck, a few even still exist, though they'll set you back close to $2,000. And no matter who makes it, tablets will be heavier, bigger, thicker, more expensive, possibly less secure, harder to read, and will have a shorter battery life. It'll be useless as a phone, too big as a PDA, won't have a substantial enough keyboard for real computing, is just as likely to have (proprietary) DRM, will likely interrupt your reading by informing you that you've got a new email.... Shall I go on? 
A slate PC will be better than an ereader for some purposes, users and tasks. But better for reading? Not likely. |
Yeah, the rumors have been around forever, but I think that there's good evidence that there will be some new Apple device next Spring. Whether it is a netbook, a tablet, or an ereader is anyone's guess. The general view is similar to yours, which is that it will be a multimedia tablet.
Your objections make plenty of sense, except that if Apple holds to form, the device will be something no one quite expects, and none of your objections will apply because Apple will have changed the context. That's what Apple does, under Jobs.
One thing to bear in mind is that Apple is not a content provider. It is a content broker. And unlike its rival Microsoft, it has figured out how to grab a cut of third party applications running on its post-Jobs devices.
Another thing to consider is that Apple will not want to cannibalize its iPhone sales, nor its laptop sales. So on the one hand the device will probably have wi-fi but not 3g, and on the other, it will not be focussed on content creation - i.e., it will not need a keyboard to do whatever it is going to be doing.
Everything is in place for Apple to make a device which is the ultimate media broker, and I'll bet they have figured out how to do it in a fairly transportable device.