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Is it finally time for a truly portable computing/media device from Apple? Apple fanatics and yours truly are holding our collective breath.

Apple will have a tough time keeping the lid on their mini-itablet (720×480) device rumored to be announced at the WWDC on June 9th. The reality  of an internet connected device capable of being a book reader and gaming device may no longer be a thing that sloppy wet dreams are made of.

Take a look at these “Artistic Interpretations”.

It’s become quite clear over the last several months that Apple is ready to bridge the mobile computing gap, with plans to develop a device that fits somewhere in between the iPhone and the MacBook. A recent Wall Street Journal article proclaimed that during his medical leave, CEO Steve Jobs has been working on that midsized mobile device, bigger than an iPhone but smaller than a MacBook.

Cnet has all the juicy details. Here’s a recent update.

If you’ve been following the Apple Netbook gossip along with us the last few months, here’s the latest tidbit, courtesy of Barron’s:

A “veteran analyst,” albeit a very anonymous one, has allegedly seen and touched Apple’s rumored “slate-style” PC, which we like to call the jumbo iPod Touch. According to Barron’s source, the new product will be announced in September, released in November, and carry a price tag of between $699 and $799. As previously reported, the tablet (or whatever Apple plans on calling) is ready to go but has been awaiting final approval from Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

As for concrete details about the device itself, the veteran analyst had only one thing to say about his or her hands-on experience: “The machine impresses with its display of hi-def video content. It’s better than the average movie experience, when you hold this thing in your hands.”

Now there’s a shocker. (I don’t think you’d have to be a veteran analyst to predict that).

The article also goes on to say that the PC industry is basically on pins and needles as it waits to see what Apple puts out. According to the phantom analyst, PC makers have paused production on next-generation Netbooks until they see what Apple’s come up with.

Interestingly, while there’s been a lot of talk about this being a media-centric device with a little Apple TV mixed in (what you’d expect from a giant iPod Touch), Barron’s quotes Jon Peddie, head of Jon Peddie Research in Tiburon, Calif., as saying it will be a gaming machine as well.

“Gaming will be a big part of what this [the new device] is about,” Peddie said.

However, as far as we know, unlike the veteran analyst, he has not seen or touched the device.

Via Engadget via 9to5Mac via Barron’s (subscription required to view full article)

Another analyst is stepping up to bat with his predictions on the rumored touchscreen tablet from Apple. Taken from Wired online…

Trip Chowdhry of Global Equities Research claims hearing the tablet will sport an 8- to 10-inch OLED screen and an ARM Holdings dual-core Core9x chipset. He believes the device will cost $900 and ship first quarter of 2010.

That differs a bit from past rumor reports where anonymous sources have told other publications that the rumored tablet would cost between $500 to $700 with subsidy from a carrier and ship as soon as fall of this year. (For our collection of earlier rumor reports, see the links below.) Particularly interesting is the idea of an OLED screen. Is it necessary? It would add to the product’s overall cost, but one could imagine it would help distinguish this rumored device from Apple’s iPod Touch.

Take this rumor with a grain of salt, like any Apple prediction provided by an analyst. (MacRumors’ Arnold Kim wrote an insightful post about analysts and rumor “research” back in 2007; it’s worth checking out.) Chowdhry, like many analysts, has often missed with his guesses. For instance, he predicted that by January 2009, Apple would sell iPhones for $150 at Costco. Stee-rike!

Still, nobody beats Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster when it comes to making ballsy, borderline crazy Apple predictions. Last week, Munster even made an estimate that this unconfirmed device would sell 2 million units, generating $1.2 billion in revenue. Getting a bit of a head start, isn’t he?

Check out the article “Apple to Offer $899 Tablet With OLED Screen?” from Barron’s.

See Also:

• Financial Times Confirms Apple Tablet for September
• How an Apple Tablet Could Pit iTunes Against Amazon.com
• Rumored Apple Tablet Will Sell 2 Million Units in 2010, Analyst …
• Analyst Predicts Apple Will Unleash Touchscreen Tablet Next Year …
• Rumor: $800 Apple Tablet Coming in October
• Rumor: 10-Inch Apple Tablet Landing in Early 2010
• Analyst Claims to Have Seen Apple Tablet

*Continued the conversation via the new post.
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