Steve Chuang of Taiwan Economic Times has cited "a couple of Taiwanese suppliers of PC parts and components" in a report that claims the device will debut in February 2010 with a price between $799 and $999. The rumored device is alleged to have a 9.6-inch touchscreen, a chip from Apple-owned P.A. Semi, built-in 3G HSDPA, and a "long lasting battery pack."
"Outbidding its Taiwanese counterpart Simplo Technology Co., Ltd., DynaPack International Technology Corp. has been exclusively contracted to supply up to 300,000 units of long lasting battery packs a month for Apple`s newest tablet PCs," the report said. "Bearing higher gross profits than conventional models, the long lasting battery packs are expected to serve as a profit booster for the firm in the future."
The report said all of the suppliers have alleged that they will provide the necessary parts to Apple in December for assembly, paving the way for a February 2010 launch.
The inclusion of HSDPA would suggest that the device would work with the AT&T 3G network in the U.S., much like the current iPhone. If true, it would seem to debunk earlier speculation that the device would run on Verizon's network.
In addition, Chuang states that Wanshih Electronic Co., Ltd., has won the contract to supply "mini coaxial cables" for about 70 percent of the tablet supply. The device's "power supply chokes" will come from Mag. Layers Scientific-Technics Co., Ltd., and Wintek Corp. will provide the touchscreens.
"Noteworthy is that Wintek's touch panels have been used in Apple's iPhones for awhile, while Mag. Layers has effectively squeezed into Apple's power (choke) supplier list," the report said.
Much of Chuang's report seems to corroborate with what sources have told AppleInsider, namely that the device would launch in 2010 and sport a custom processor from fabless chip designer P.A. Semi. People familiar with the matter have told AppleInsider that the device will sport a 10-inch touchscreen, though the latest rumor has a relatively negligible difference of four-tenths of an inch.
204 Comments
I want one, but I am not sure why ...
I'd love one, but I don't want a second 3G contract. I hope Apple release a version without built-in 3G, as I already pay for a 3G USB dongle that I can use on the go.
that price range is too much for a tablet the most expensive ipod touch is 399 and the macbook is 999 so I'd position it within the range of 599-799
And when it comes out everyone will say "Apple blew it on the price, it's way too expensive, and only meets a small niche of early adopters," and then it will sell 10 million units in the first two years and redefine the market and people will say, "Oh, we knew apple would do that."
Killer app: total sync with home computer and mobile me every time it's within range of its "home" wifi LAN.
AI has been good at tamping down the wild Apple Tablet rumors. Early 2010 makes sense, as they've been saying for quite some time now. Most of the technical specs - screen size, CPU, etc -sound doable.
The big question now is operating system - will it run an expanded version of the iPhone OS or something closer to 10.6? If it's a slimmed-down 10.6 then that means many standard desktop apps might run on the thing (Office, iLife, Firefox, etc.) But if it's iPhone OS based, then it'll only run apps from the apps store. So, will it be like a really big iPod Touch or a shrunken down MacBook Air? Hmmm...