The Day the ‘Kindle’ Died (updated)

Apple gets ready to announce its latest creation

Today Apple is set to announce its latest creation in San Francisco, California. The device is said to be the heavily rumored iTablet or iSlate tablet PC. The tech world is on edge awaiting this highly anticipated announcement. If the tablet is in fact for real, this would mark yet another shift in the mobile device industry. Within the last ten years Apple has gained a large share of the portable MP3 player market with its iPod and recently the iPhone. An Apple designed tablet PC would be a significant game-changer in the e-reader and personal multimedia device industry. Not only would the iSlate (that’s the name we are betting on right now) challenge the Kindle e-reader it would also make digital album purchases more enticing, much akin to the days when we bought whole albums. Why? Because digital music releases are now starting to offer more multimedia bundled within album releases that go beyond a PDF of the liner notes. Interactivity with your favorite bands/musicians is going to get a serious upgrade…if it’s all true.

UPDATE:

It’s called the iPad. The price points are a bit wacky. There is no camera as earlier speculations have reported. I guess we have something to look forward to next year. Here it is, if you have not seen it already.

Heavily Rumored ‘iSlate’ Expeted to be Announced Jan. 27

Various tech blogs and news sources are reporting that invitations for an event to be held by Apple at Yerba Buena center on January 27, 2010 will possibly announce the iSlate. The rumor mill has been spinning out of control on the uber-secret Apple tablet PC product. If the iSlate is in fact real this could be a significant game changer in the tablet PC and digital reader markets ( a la Amazon’s Kindle ). iTunes would see the sale of full albums increase due to the ability for the iSlate to display multimedia extras bundled in full album purchases only. Also the possibility of this devices reading capabilities is fairly exciting as well. While the Kindle can download and display books and magazines look for Apple to take those capabilities to a whole other level—in color! ( image unconfirmed )

Knight Ridder’s Tablet Pre-Quel

Just to clarify, we are not talking about the TV show featuring David Hasselhoff’s awesome turbo-boosting, wise-cracking, laser firing car K.I.T.T. But here is a Knight Rider vid just for those confused few: