Sources: Apple tablet a "Kindle killer," multi-year project
updated 10:45 am EST, Mon December 28, 2009
Two tips say tablet is real, discuss Jobs' role
Talk of an Apple tablet gained some anecdotal support today through tandem rumors in the latest episode of This Week in Tech. Digg founder and show guest Kevin Rose claims to know a source that describes the mystery device as a "Kindle killer" due to an emphasis on e-books. He himself doesn't list features but hears that the device is enough to disrupt the e-book reader category.
"Expect to see a lot of Kindles on eBay after the announcement," he says.
Fellow guest and Rackspace technology blogger Robert Scoble also claims to have an Apple source of his own and echoes the focus on text. The tipster claims that the tablet will be one of the first to truly take advantage of the Quartz interface layer's advanced support for text. Scoble also makes an allusion to content deals with print firms and that the tablet is one of Apple CEO Steve Jobs' most important projects in recent history, being a "multi-year" project much like the iPhone.
The blogger adds that the fragility of Jobs' health has been understated and that the executive was closer to death before his liver transplant than previously hinted at. It's known that Jobs had sought the transplant in Tennessee to speed up access, and it's rumored that he had bought a mansion for a short period to give himself a regular home during his stay.
Both Rose and Scoble have historically mixed track records for Apple-related rumors. Scoble is so far mainly known for echoing a report that Jobs was in good health only months before his operation. Rose is known to have provided inaccurate rumors about iPhone hardware in the past but has also been extremely accurate in some areas, including iPhone OS 3.0 features and photos of the fourth-generation iPod nano.
Their assertions also come on the back of several tablet-related rumors that have culminated in talk of a late January event to introduce the touchscreen gadget, with finished hardware shipping in March or April.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Oct 2006
at?
"The blogger adds that the fragility of Jobs' health has been understated and that the executive was closer to death before his liver transplant than previously hinted at. "