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back to article Apple iPad to launch January 26 (maybe)

We've got a fiver to wager on Apple's intensely rumored iPad being launched on Tuesday, January 26. Being journalists, we're not exactly rolling in cash, so why are we suddenly so profligate with our coin? Three reasons: Item #1: "Very connected sources" who have "been amazingly accurate" in the past have told The Boy Genius …

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  1. David Simpson 1
    FAIL

    Apple of my...

    Oh Yeah Bitches! Steve Jobs is going to ride onto stage on a unicorn reading Macuser on an Apple iPad with 7, 8 & 9 inches screens all built in to one unit ! YEEEHA the new iPhone is going to change carbon into soya so we can fart our way to world peace YEEEHA We Love You Steve {Slurp slurp slurp}

    11 8
    1. Adam T
      Reply Icon
      Pint

      3..2..1..

      And the Christmas binge drinking has begun :)

      2 2
    2. Barry Lane 1
      Reply Icon
      Heart

      @ David Simpson

      You seem to be a little overwrought. Perhaps you should lie down somewhere dark and quiet for a while.

      3 1
  2. jai

    iPad interaction

    you missed the most interesting part of the latest rumours.

    on this NYT blog http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/2010-the-year-of-the-tablet/

    a "source" has told them "you'll be surprised by how you interact with the tablet"

    does this mean you finger? (not so surprising considering the iPhone)

    a stylus? (shocker - considering Jobs' view of phone stylii)

    or something althogether more rude??

    0 1
    1. Paul Charters
      Reply Icon
      Stop

      You missed one...

      ....I think you missed 'frisbee-ing into the bin across the room'.

      1 2
    2. Annihilator
      Reply Icon
      Coat

      Interaction

      "you'll be surprised by how you interact with the tablet"

      Any bets it's an Etch-A-Sketch?

      2 1
      1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge
        Reply Icon

        Ah - you cracked it!

        I think you've solved it, and I now also know what the promised innovation is.

        Paraphrasing Eddie Izzard, with a normal Etch-A-Sketch you have to leave "vapour trails" between things you draw. I bet Apple has *finally* solved that one!

        Yes! We're saved!

        </sarcasm>

        0 0
      2. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Lolz

        I so hope there's a 'shake it to reset' feature...

        Ahem. One word.

        NEWTON.

        0 0
    3. Richard 102
      Reply Icon
      Paris Hilton

      Minor issue

      "or something althogether more rude??"

      You forgot the Paris icon.

      1 0
    4. Ivan Headache
      Reply Icon

      How about

      that patent about controlling by looking at the screen?

      2 0
  3. Andrew James
    Megaphone

    whoop whoop

    [fanboi] whoooooooo Steve you rockkkkk!!!! yeeeeehaaaawwwwwwww!!! [/fanboi]

    Will be nice to finally get some definate answers about this and see some sort of review of tech specs and actual performance and functionality rather than the 12 months worth of rumour there has been surrounding this particular Jobsian iSlab.

    0 2
    1. chr0m4t1c
      Reply Icon

      Doesn't matter about the specs

      Whatever the specifications, the Apple haters will hate it irrationally, the fanbois will love it irrationally and a good chunk of forum traffic will be generated by people who claim to be on the fence, but feel compelled to share their superior knowledge with us:

      "Only 96 USB ports? Hopeless, Apple, I need 97 at least - go back to the drawing board and try again, I'm not one of those idiots that buys rubbish with 96 USB ports just because it comes from Apple."

      Meanwhile in the real world people will buy it; some will love it and some will hate it, but most will probably just find it to be a useful tool and get on with it.

      Personally I'm intrigued by the concept in the same way I've been drawn to tablet PCs for a good few years - I've never bought one because I really don't have any reason to spend the extra money, but as a long time techie and gadget magpie I sometimes find myself drawn to the shiny stuff.

      The "Archos 9 pctablet" almost drew me in, but between the price and the frankly woeful support I had for the last couple of items I bought from them I'm giving it, and Archos, a wide berth for now.

      5 2
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        FAIL

        @chr0m4t1c

        "...and a good chunk of forum traffic will be generated by people who claim to be on the fence, but feel compelled to share their superior knowledge with us"

        It seems to obvious now. Thank you for sharing your superior knowledge with us.

        2 0
        1. chr0m4t1c
          Reply Icon
          Thumb Down

          @ @me

          No, that was my opinion I was sharing.

          I have no knowledge of the alleged product.

          0 0
      2. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Tablet? Can I have paracetamol please?

        Don't see a need for a tablet PC in my life yet.. If i identify a need I will consider the Apple product (as I always do if I think it might be suitable, hence I have an excellent iPod Nano) but don't expect me to stop fanboi baiting.

        It's not about irrational hatred of Apple stuff, it's about baiting the morons who'd willingly eat the corn from Steve Job's faeces and tell everyone else how delicious it was.

        0 1
  4. Robin

    Well?

    Can we have a torrent of comments saying how expensive, shiny and behind-the-times this currently unavailable product will be, along the declarations of who will and will not buy it please?

    Thanks.

    2 1
  5. Annihilator
    Heart

    Journalism

    I really really love it :-)

    "The Reg tried to confirm the Financial Times report about the January 26 date, but the Yerba Buena Center for the Art's facilities rental website was "temporarily offline while it is being updated" when we tried to access it at 3:00 p.m. Pacific Standard time on Wednesday, and their office didn't immediately respond to our request for comment."

    Fanciest description of "their website was down and they didn't answer the phone" I've ever seen.

    2 1
  6. Wibble
    Happy

    For release when?

    Makes sense that applications aimed at the iPhone would work on a larger device. I wonder how the text input would work - both a virtual keyboard and some other fold-out docking device?

    The smaller form factor be excellent for simple tasks such as browsing and running iPhone+ apps.

    When's the release date? My money's on it being announced to the world in Jan and allow time for application developers to develop/alter their iPhone applications for release in April.

    Will it be yet another device like the iPhone that grabs the market and pushes it forward into the 21st century?

    0 2
  7. GrandpaChris

    iTouch Two/iPad pocketbook for Boomers

    I for one would like to see a larger pocket book size screen so I can read The Reg without squinting or right-left movement. Eyes can almost read 8 point text. I like being old. It has set me free. I  like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could  have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert  every single day (if I feel like it). Almost!

    0 2
    1. I didn't do IT.
      Reply Icon
      Headmaster

      Careful...

      Old age can induce rambling and feelings of the past being better than it really was.

      Believe me - I know! ;-)

      0 0
  8. Jonathan Hogg
    WTF?

    What's it going to be for?

    The interesting question is what will we use an Apple tablet for? The game-changing thing about the iPod was the iTunes Music Store; the iPhone had a pretty clear functional use (although the App Store success seems to have taken Apple by surprise). I'm most interested to see how Jobs is going to sell a tablet and what partners he has lined-up for launch date.

    There's been a lot of noise recently about magazines in tablet form, but magazines already seem to have the perfect form factor to me: one that is unlimited by batteries and folds up into something I can cram in my coat pocket. Are people going to pony up hundreds of dollars for a brittle, but animated version of the same?

    0 0
    1. Cody
      Reply Icon

      what we will use it for?

      What will we use it for? We'll use it to take out of its case and put it on the table at Starbucks while we sip our lattes. Hope it has a nice well visible logo on the lid, though. Otherwise its not going to be much use at all.

      2 0
      1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge
        Reply Icon
        Joke

        Nope - we'll provide a case with logo

        Look, Apple is all about usability and making things easy. All the nonsense about taking things out of cases has to stop, so it'll come with a case that has enough opening to see it's not empty or filled with cardboard but you can just put it on the table as is (yes, it'll be wipe proof, we've seen how you drink your Latte, thanks).

        It also helps when travelling, because we want to stimulate demand. We learned from the iPod that leaving distinct features visible ensures thieves are alerted to the high value items you carry, and they'll rob you. That, in turn, will prompt you to buy a new device, enabling us to sell twice as many devices and proclaim it a raving success!

        Honestly, you couldn't work that one out yourself? Sjeez.. What are you, a Zune user?

        0 0
  9. Eddy Ito
    Jobs Horns

    What's the catch?

    Oh yeah, we in the U.S. will be stuck with the obligatory 5 (50?) year @T&T notwork lock in, no running of "unapproved" code, and a monthly subscription rate that makes Steve's annual taxes look like chump change. My guess, for those in other parts of the world is that you'll be able to replace "@T&T" with the network operator of Steve's choice in your home country... eventually.

    0 1
  10. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    yay

    The first app for it will be a port of the newly released duke nukem forever.

    1 0
  11. John Sanders
    Linux

    I do have a question?

    If i buy one, whatever icrap they release, will everybody shut up?

    I'm kinda bored of hearing about the mac-arronic-tablet thing.

    Tablets are crap gatherers, and the fact that your finger obscures whatever it is on top of doesn't help either.

    The only use for a "light computer-tablet oriented device" I can figure out is to run the RDESKTOP client to connect to my win2k3 box without having to leave the couch.

    0 2
  12. killzone

    I can think of one..

    with bluetooth and infrared it'd make an ideal learning remote. highly customisable touchscreen interface, maybe a logitech harmony downloadable app. or apple could just beef up their existing remote app.

    so many possibilities :>

    0 0
  13. Absent
    WTF?

    iTunes will now sell books and

    ban Lady Chatterley's Lover for being too corrupting to iKids.

    0 0
  14. Deadlock Victim

    The Onion already beat El Reg to the scoop...

    "you'll be surprised by how you interact with the tablet"

    http://www.theonion.com/content/video/apple_introduces_revolutionary

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