As seen here: <a href="http://www.gibsonandlily.com/blogs/72" rel="nofollow">http://www.gibsonandlily.com/blogs/72</a><p>I have heard countless rumors like this one; about apple developing a tablet.<p>The question becomes "why?".<p>I think that very few people would try to make the argument that the iPhone has NOT been a phenomenal success. Lets look at why...<p>The iPhone is a computer. A pretty one, that can run lots of shiny, pretty apps covered in gradients. When people see it, they are immediately aware of how hip the person wielding it is. Apple took everything great about their desktop computers (pretty, fashionable, stable, simple) and condensed them all into a small, even more fashionable, even more convenient, simple package called an iBook. Coffee shop dwellers wielding an iBook could let their fellow caffeine-solution enjoyers just how hip they were, just how PRODUCTIVE they were with their wonderful macbooks.<p>Then came the iPhone. Apple took all the wonderful things about their desktops (stability, simplicity, etc.) plus all the wonderful things about their notebooks (simple, fashionable) and combined them into a wonderful even MORE portable packaged called an iPhone. This iPhone could be carried in its owner's pocket. The look-at-me oppurtunities were endless. People could admire the superior technical prowess (complete with white apple logo displayed in stark contrast the black case on the back of the thing) of iPhone users on the train, or on the bus, or on the sidewalk, or in a coffee shop, or the office, or in the kitchen, at a restaurant...ANYWHERE!<p>A tablet, however...what does this supposedly offer that the iPhone doesn't? It isn't as mobile, meaning less oppurtunites for look-at-me, it would likely run Mac OSX or some derivative of it.. meaning a hefty tax to the apple gods...it would undoubtedly be covered in ultra-high-gloss plastic, meaning that any hopes of replacing something like a panasonic toughbook would be seriously mis-guided.<p>The only market that apple has not yet tried to dominate, and that it is in any sort of position to even enter, is netbooks.<p>They had a sort-of false-start called the MacBook Air, something that I think everybody would agree is an example of just how much of a failure apple can produce.<p>The next itteration of the iPhone is, most certainly, a netbook. The question is whether or not apple is willing to forfeit its position as a luxury item in exchange for increased penetration. A sub-300-dollar netbook is something that is likely NOT in apple's future.<p>Apple has got something really great going for them right now. People WANT an apple. Macs are seen as something that is, in some way, better than their windows-based counterparts. Even Microsoft seems to be willing to admit this in their latest ads.<p>In conclusion, apple will NOT be creating a tablet; it simply does not follow with the current trend of their products. If anything, they will produce a $500 netbook that is still seen as "better" than its competitors. If this happens, I predict low market penetration and ultimate failure.