Apple Tablet Coming to AT&T?

[javajolt]

The latest rumors say Apple's tablet will be fast, pricey, have a long-lasting battery and be available next February. But in what some would consider a surprise move, the tablet may run on AT&T's network. The latest rumors are based on a report from the Taiwan Economic News, which spoke to "industry sources" within Apple's supply chain.



Here are the specs, according to these rumors:


- The tablet will be priced between $799 and $999, and will launch in February.


-Its chipset will be designed by P.A. Semi.


-It will feature a 9.6-inch touch-based display supplied by WinTek--suppliers of the iPhone and iPod Touch displays.


-It will have a long-lasting battery pack to be supplied by DynaPack International Technology Corp.


-It will rely on the HSDPA network for mobile connectivity.


Some of these rumors we've heard before. As Apple's fall media event approached, the tablet was pushed back from October to November, and then it wasn't expected until early 2010. The P.A. Semi chipset makes sense since Apple purchased the company in 2008, and then started recruiting chip designers earlier this year. The touchscreen rumor is in line with previous estimates that the tablet's screen would be between seven and ten inches.



As for the battery pack, well, every company claims its batteries have long life. Taiwan Economic News says that DynaPack is contracted to produce about 300,000 batteries a month for the tablet. I'm no expert on supply chains, but that sounds like Apple expects the tablet to fly off the shelves. Who knows? Apple may even have enough supplies to meet demand, when or if the tablet ever makes an appearance.

What's really interesting, though, is the High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) feature that would give the tablet its 3G mobile connectivity. It was speculated the Apple tablet would run on Verizon's network. However, in the United States, only T-Mobile and AT&T use HSDPA for their 3G networks--Sprint and Verizon use EV-DO. It's possible that the tablet would go to T-Mobile, but the more likely target is AT&T.

The reasons for that are obvious: Apple is already working with AT&T as the exclusive U.S. carrier for the iPhone and the company is already investing a lot of money to upgrade its network to better serve iPhone users. 

Then again, Apple teaming up with AT&T for another device would be surprising considering the complaints lodged against AT&T service, the boos and jeers AT&T has received at recent Apple events and the constant calls for Apple to make the iPhone available on other U.S. networks. Maybe the Apple-AT&T relationship is stronger than everyone expected. I guess we'll find out next year--assuming the Apple tablet exists that is.


source:pcworld

[javajolt]

But one analyst is getting weary of the rumors, even though they 'make sense'

Apple will launch a tablet-style device sporting a 9.6-inch display in February 2010, according to sources cited by a Taiwanese Web publication today.

The Taiwan Economic News said industry sources have claimed several component suppliers are building parts for an upcoming Apple tablet computer, which will launch in about five months.

The tablet will feature the 9.6-inch screen, the multi-touch user interface made famous by the iPhone and iPod Touch, and a processor created by P.A. Semi, the Santa Clara, Calif. microprocessor design company that Apple purchased over a year ago.

Apple's device will also reportedly include a HSPDA (High Speed Download Packet Access) module. HSPDA is the 3G cellular data protocol used by AT&T in the U.S.; AT&T is currently Apple's exclusive carrier partner in the United States.

T-Mobile, which is an Apple partner in Germany and Austria, also uses HSPDA in the U.S.

If true, it would put the brakes on rumors that Verizon, which has supposedly been in talks with Apple, will replace AT&T on the computer maker's A-list. Verizon uses the EVDO Rev. A (Evolution-Data Optimized) data protocol instead.

The selling price for Apple's tablet, said the Taiwan Economic News's sources, will be between $800 and $1,000.

This is far from the first time that tales of an Apple tablet have been told. Talk of such a device, which some analysts have dubbed an "iPod Touch on steroids," has been both brisk and long-running. In May, for example, Wall Street analyst Gene Munster, of Piper Jaffray, used circumstantial evidence and checks with Asian component suppliers to bet that Apple would release a $500-$700 tablet next year.

Tablet rumors picked up significantly just prior to Apple's annual developers conference in early June, but analysts then predicted -- correctly, as it turned out -- that the company would not unveil such a device at the time.

By now, although the continuing chatter makes some sense, it's getting harder to swallow the gossip, said Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research who covers Apple.

"It makes sense, it hangs together, sure," said Gottheil today. "But I'm starting to think that this is just a bunch of people believing each other, or maybe even an Apple disinformation campaign."

What struck Gottheil today was the specificity of the report out of Taiwan. "The sources named the companies and they named the components," he said. "That's not how Apple does business." Rather, Apple goes to great lengths to make sure its suppliers keep mum about the work they're doing for the company, Gottheil maintained.

"The signs are there that it makes sense for Apple to be doing something in the 'bigger than an iPod Touch' space, but I'm not sure this report adds any evidence to those signs," Gottheil said. "It's almost starting to look like people [are] just playing with the idea or even having fun with it."

source:computerworld

[javajolt]

So imply Chinese moles

Apple is prepping a 9.6-inch touch-screen tablet that will include snappy wireless hardware - although it appears that AT&T's struggling infrastructure may be chosen to service the li'l fellow.

That is, if the latest round of rumors out of Taiwan are true. The Taiwan Economic News today reported that the tablet will run between $799 and $999 when it hits the shelves early next year, and will be powered by a chip developed by the PA Semi team that Cupertino acquired last year.

The TEN report focuses on the Taiwanese suppliers that have won contracts to serve up parts for the overgrown iPhone, but there are intriguing tidbits to be gleaned from its reportage.

For example, battery-maker DynaPak, according to the report, has won an exclusive contract to supply "up to 300,000" battery packs per month for the tablet. Even the most math-challenged can divine that Apple is targeting a top-end of 3.6 million tablet sales during a year of that contract.

The report's mention of PA Semi is no surprise, however, considering that shortly after acquiring that company, Apple CEO Steve Jobs told The New York Times that "PA Semi is going to do system-on-chips for iPhones and iPods."

No, the purported tablet isn't specifically an iPhone or iPod, but it almost certainly would share their lineage.

What is interesting is the report's mention of high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), a downlink technology that, when linked with enhanced uplink (EUL) tech, is known simply as HSPA.

And 7.2Mbps HSPA is the technology that Apple's exclusive iPhone partner, AT&T, is desperately scurrying to upgrade to in the US, along with a backhaul infrastructure upgrade to handle the increased bandwidth.

If the TEM report is accurate, US iPhone users grumbling over AT&T's spotty and feature-cramped service may be joined early next year by Apple tablet users grumbling over AT&T's spotty and feature-cramped service.

But, of course, it's wise to take any rumors of an imminent tablet with an entire shovel-load of NaCl. Rumors of the elusive item have been swirling since at least November 2002 - although they've grown louder in recent months.

Here at The Reg, for example, we've reported on other Chinese rumors in March, May and July; an analyst's touchy-feely experience; purported photos of the device itself; a generic place-holder name in a plist file; and other rumblings.

The consensus points to early next year.

Until then, Apple fanibois will have to content themselves with singing along with Tony from West Side Story:

Something's comin', I don't know what it is
But it is
Gonna be great!

source:theregisteruk