Most companies can't pay enough money to get the world to notice the debut of a new product. Apple, on the other hand, locks down every shred of information about whatever is about to emerge from Cupertino -- and the tech world (and plenty of non-tech folks) go wild with speculation. It works every time! What an amazing phenomenon.
Like everyone else, I've been reading all the breathless guesswork about what the rumored Apple 'iSlate' might be. Naturally, I'm going to jump in the fray. I have no idea what Apple is actually going to announce, but I know what I want. Here's the list:
[ Paul Venezia is not an Apple fanboy. He's a networking guy. Seriously. Check out his Networking Deep Dive Report. ]
1. At least the core specs of a MacBook Air
For the device I'm thinking of, a dual-core 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo would be OK. Of course, a Core i7 would be better. Add in a 128GB SSD and we're golden. Except it needs at least 4GB RAM. Oh, and an 8-hour battery.
2. Built-in wireless WAN, 802.11n, wired Ethernet (either embedded or via USB)
I don't want to have to drag around 3G dongles, but I do want to be able to leverage at least 100Mbps wired connections for certain tasks. Having used a MacBook Air extensively for a few years now, I've found that I don't mind the USB Ethernet adapter and rarely use it. However, I definitely want to be able to use a 3G or 4G network without plugging anything in.
3. At least a 10-inch display (multitouch, natch)
It's a tablet, right? It's supposed to be the logical extension of the multitouch trackpads found in all Apple laptops, but on the screen. It needs to be fully usable with your fingers as well as with a stylus for drawing and writing.
