Apple to unveil new product, amid speculation

All eyes are in the technology world as Apple prepares to unveil its latest creation, amid speculation it is a tablet computer.

At 1800 GMT on Wednesday the company will hold a news conference in San Francisco to launch the new product.

Media and tech blogs have been in overdrive, amid rumors the product will be a keyboard-less tablet device.

For weeks, a flurry of photos and videos purporting to show the new device have been circulating.

"One never knows what Apple might or might not do on any given Wednesday in January," said Mike Gartenberg, vice-president of strategy and analysis at research firm Interpret.

Market winner?

"One thing we do know for sure is we are going to see some sort of new device or category of device." The safe money is on the product being a tablet or slate-like computer which traditionally bridges the gap between smart phones and laptops.

"The question here is does Apple have a different take on this category? It has to be something that has a reason to exist all by itself and not something that lives between a phone and a computer," Mr Gartenberg told BBC News.

Until now the tablet market has been regarded as a middling one with revenue of around $950m (£597m).

But many industry watchers believe Apple will do for this sector what the iPod did for MP3 players. Apple said it sold 21m iPods last quarter and, while that represented a drop of 8% on the previous year, the company boasts a 70% market share. "Our base case assumes the new tablet adds four million shipments, $3.2bn (£2.1bn) revenue and 82 cents of earnings per share in 2010, but we see potential upside to six million units," said Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty.

"Apple is not building products for tens of thousands of enthusiasts. They are building products for tens of millions of customers," he said.

'Jesus Tablet'

Speculation has been rife about what this mythical device, sometimes dubbed the "Jesus Tablet", will actually do.

The closest followers of these trends are the blogs and so-called Apple fan sites which have tracked everything from patents to supposed leaks from various manufacturers and people claiming to have actual photographs. Apple has done an amazing job keeping this thing under wraps," as told by Paul Miller, editor of tech blog Engadget.

"We have just tracked eight years of rumour and speculation about a tablet device from Apple, and here we are the day before the big announcement and there is basically zero tangible information on it," said Mr Miller.

Among the rumours is that the gadget will be a gaming device, an "e-reader killer" or a really big iPhone.

Multi-touch will be at the heart of everything.

"Apple is looking at a new paradigm of user interface where the finger replaces the mouse and the keyboard," said Leander Kahney, founder of CultofMac.com and author of Inside Steve's Brain, a book about Apple boss Steve Jobs.

"This is a very important step in mainstream computing."

The tablet is expected to connect to the internet via Wi-Fi and 3G cellular networks.

'Very excited'

It will have a full browser and access to more than 125,000 software applications found in the Apple App store.

In terms of partners, Apple has reportedly been talking to publishers to bring books, newspapers and magazines to the tablet as well as to broadcasters to bring TV shows and movies to users.

Cost will be crucial and commentators say with an expected price tag of possibly between $700-$1000 (£440-£680) people could be put off.

"We're betting even die-hard adopters [those who are first to embrace new gadgets] won't be showing up en masse to buy the tablet," said Wired blogger Daniel Dumas.

For those interested in technology, the wait will soon be over. But not without Apple's boss doing his bit to whet everyone's appetite.

Mr Jobs said on Monday: "The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product we are very excited about."

Tablets take off in 2010 but solar power may struggle

"Tens of millions" of tablet computers will be sold in 2010, according to technology analysts at Deloitte.

The keyboard and mouse-free devices are likely to be a top trend among consumers, they anticipate.

Deloitte's prediction fuels rumours that Apple is set to unveil a tablet-style computer at a press event it is hosting on 27 January.

However, the impact of tablet sales on the burgeoning e-reader market could be substantial, the report said.

"For every million net tablets sold there will be a corresponding impact on e-readers," said Jolyon Barker from Deloitte's Technology, Media and Telecommunications department.

The company's report, which forecasts the tech trends for 2010, describes tablets as "the Goldilocks of devices (not too big, not too small)".

It said that previous attempts to launch tablet PCs - notably by Microsoft - had been largely unsuccessful for many reasons.

"The graphics, software, and user interface were underwhelming, not well connected to cellular or WiFi networks, and, most important, they have largely served as work-oriented data-entry devices."

"By contrast, an easy-to-use, consumer-focused device used primarily for media and web browsing is much more likely to be widely accepted by the market."

The report also explored other technologies.

Despite a focus on environmentally-friendly technology at this year's Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas earlier in January, Deloitte predicts that cheaper electricity rates may put a dampener on the demand for alternatives - particularly solar power.

"Solar power technology could struggle in 2010 due to the cost of solar equipment, tools and raw materials, overcapacity and weak economics," said Jim Sloane, Deloitte's lead technology partner.

The firm also predicts that the computer chip industry is going to focus on size and low-cost rather than performance and power.

Deloitte says that this move is driven by portable devices such as netbooks and laptops - especially as the more economical chips require less electric power.


Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8467654.stm