We’ve been inundated with Apple Tablet rumours in the past few months and recently heard that Apple has rehired an engineer from its old Newton team). But it seems we should have started whispering far earlier. As early as 2003, in fact. According to the New York Times, former Apple employees say a touchscreen tablet was in existence in 2003 but the battery life was too poor.
Steve Jobs has previously poo-pooed the idea of tablet PCs but if the New York Times’ rumours are right, Apple’s tablet plans predate the creation of the iPhone. Apple released its Rokr collaboration in 2005 and didn’t start truly working on the iPhone until 2006.
Joshua A.Strickland, a former Apple engineer, who was named on several of Apple’s multi-touch patents told the New York Times that battery and graphics performance meant Jobs had to kill the tablet. Parts costing $500 didn’t help either.
Apple tablet: 10 finger multitouch?
Another ex-Apple exec, who has to remain nameless thanks to Apple’s non-disclousre agreements, predicts the tablet will be iPhone-like with a bigger screen and more responsive touch capabilities. Ten-finger multi-touch anyone? We’ve not been in Apple’s secret labs but that’s what we’d predict too.
If the Apple Tablet doesn’t appear in January, we’ll be seriously surprised.
Out TBA | £TBA | Apple (via Gizmodo and the New York Times)
