Here we go again. For as long as man has walked the Earth, he's been making up stories about an Apple tablet computer being this close to launch. Man is at it again, this time in the form of a regurgitated rumor about Apple working with Verizon on said device, which The Street's Scott Moritz says will be available in time for this year's holiday shopping season.
To be fair, analysts, sources, and some guy on a street corner in Koreatown have been "leaking" "information" about touchscreens, chipsets, and other Apple tablet components for months now. So there may be something to the story. We've also been hearing lots about Apple and Verizon working on something or other that wouldn't violate AT&T's exclusive vice grip on the iPhone line. So, again, maybe there's something here.
Mortiz basically recycled the same info we've been hearing - 9 or 10 inch touchscreen, iPod Touch-esque form factor - while adding a few bits of his own: 1. The device may "possibly (have) a keyboard." Possibly. 2. The device will sell at a subsidized price when purchased with a Verizon data plan, but the two companies "won't be as tightly integrated" as Apple is with AT&T in their current iPhone deal. I took this to mean that we may see two versions of the device: One with an EV-DO radio available only with a VZW data plan and a second, likely Wi-Fi only version, available direct from Apple - at a higher up-front price without any data contract.
PC World also reported a few days ago on rumors linked to a report by Taiwanese site Info Times claiming that the Apple Tablet will drop in October. The Info Times article specifically stated that the device will have a 9.7" display made by Wintek (suppliers of the iPhone and iPod Touch displays) and a price tag in the $800 range. As PC World's Ian Paul points, out, "That high price tag would be part of the reason Apple is considering tying the device to a cell phone carrier."
If, that is, the mythical beast exists at all.
