In case you hadn’t heard, rumor has it that Apple will release a new ‘tablet’ on Wednesday. Here at OnSoftware, we decided that rather than add to the echo chamber, we’d stay out of any debate on the putative features and software of this alleged device. We’ll be offering our thoughts when we know how the machine looks and feels, which version of OS X it runs and what software-enhancing goodies it has packed into its super-thin body.
At the same time, there is a lot of great analysis and gossip-mongering going on out there in the blogosphere. So with about 28 hours to go, here’s a round up of some of the best articles we’ve read about the mysterious “Jesus Tablet”.
TUAW has a rundown of their tablet coverage. They discussed the ramifications for software developers, ‘print’ publishers and how the tablet might connect with the world. They also think that Steve Jobs might be planning to revolutionize the education sector with this device.
Seth Weintraub at 9 to 5 Mac wrote a great post arguing that the tablet will be a breakthrough convergence device. In short: it’s going to do most of what you want it to, plus lots more.
Plenty commentators reckon that the Wall Street Journal is receiving lots of leaked information directly from Apple, which would explain why that newspaper is so packed with insightful, authoritative articles about a device ‘no one’ has seen. Like this one.
MacRumors has been, as usual, a great place to read up on the latest gossip. One of its most repeated topics is that the tablet might be called the iPad. Personally, I prefer Canvas as a name, but a forum user has pointed out a good reason why that might not be so.
John Gruber’s Daring Fireball blog is always an excellent place to visit for news and analysis, and he’s been particularly good as the hype has built around the tablet. (That last link includes a link to a very entertaining and incisive article by Chicago Sun-Times writer Andy Ihnatko, which is among the best tablet-related pieces we’ve seen so far).
Leigh McMullen at Cult of Mac wrote a piece which really resonated with us. He doesn’t want to see a tablet that runs something like iPhone OS. Nor do we. A hybrid between Mac and iPhone makes more sense… but Apple might well ignore that.
The Guardian is also crowdsourcing a prediction on the possible specs of the new tablet. It’ll be interesting to see how close the results are to reality.
Finally, here’s Mosspuppet reviewing the tablet [via: 9 to 5 Mac]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_Fi9V_ot4I[/youtube]
