If you’ve been holding out hope that rumors of the Apple Tablet would pan out, there are two new bits that may offer the biggest validation yet.
Bill Keller, executive editor at the New York Times, has tagged the unseen, unannounced, hotly anticipated device as a key platform for the newspaper. At a staff meeting last Thursday, while talking about mobile content delivery, he made some eye-popping comments, including:
“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." (Click here for video)
Apple Slate? Though Cupertino hasn’t confirmed the tablet (or Slate), a number of sources claim it is definitely in the works. This just adds fuel to the rumors, and coming from an established institution like The Gray Lady, it definitely takes on a more serious air. But it’s hard to know if he’s talking from speculation or from some sort of inside knowledge.
The second bit has to do with hardware, specifically a SIM card tray (pictured below). It’s said to be from Foxconn (the rumored Apple tablet manufacturer), and by all accounts, it's available as of October 23rd for $14.05. For what exactly? Possibly for the 4th generation iPhone — or, as some are guessing, for the actual iTablet (Slate, whatever). Because it’s fatter than the tray used in previous iPhones, many pundits figure it must be for a larger GSM device. (Those who have buzzing about the Apple tablet-style gadget are pegging the size somewhere between the iPhone and the MacBook.)
After having waited for this all these years, I’m kind of wary of getting my hopes up again. And yet, I can’t help but be excited. Judging from the buzz this has gotten, I’m not the only one. But — like with all rumors — we’ll just have to wait and see what pans out.
[via Gizmodo, Endgadget, The Register]
