iSlate(iTablet?)-Paradigm Shifting the Apple Way

A guest post by Mike Smithwick, author of Distant Suns 2 for the iPhone and blogger at distantsuns.com. Mike is a seasoned iPhone developer who has developed numerous iPhone applications. Follow Mike’s work on Twitter for more information.

So it looks like the Apple fanboi community is whipping itself up to the near-ritualistic semi-annual frenzy in speculation over the much rumored, and denied, and rumored again tablet device.

In the spy biz, it’s called “chatter.” That is, when the communications circuits of various targets-of-interest come alive one can safely conclude that something big is about to happen. And the chatter on the Mac-circuits is deafening.

In the weeks before each new iPhone or iPod is released, the chatter slowly reveals each tasty morsel via leaks, rumors of rumors, hidden codes buried deep within web server logs, photos from Mr. Blurrycam (that may or may not be faked), and cases from Chinese companies who bribed the manufacturers into getting a peek so they could get a head start on things. And when it comes to the long and tortured history of the mythical tablet, this nerdly striptease might finally be reaching its apex.

We now know that Apple is planning a “major product announcement” on January 26 in San Francisco. Supposedly a few select developers have been contacted to ensure their apps could run on larger screened devices. References to an iPhone OS “4.0” have been showing up in web servers and the supply chains for screens larger than an iPhone and smaller then a MacBook have cranked into overdrive.

In Apple’s history, they may not have always been the first to the party with a particular technology, but they always push the envelope when they finally arrive. Part of the Apple design ethos is to examine an existing technology, find its weaknesses and improve it. Too many companies do things that are cool just for coolness’ sake, or take the attitude that “good enough is good enough,” whereas Apple waits to get things right. Read the rest of article…