Reading through to the Download Squad story, I got the distinct impression that the list of specs was wholly speculative. Now it's immutable, and the blogs are primed for disappointment if this thing eventually ships with less than 2GB of RAM (which seems absurd for an OS that's all about the browser).

Also, context-free wager: if this is real, it won't ship until 2011.

My question is, will this have the same problems as the Google phone, ie no customer service and terrible service issues?

After the ass-whooping Google handed Apple with their iPhone competition, I eagerly await the Google Tablet.

(awaits for Will to provide us with exact release date and full actual specs)

The DownloadSquad article is ridiculous. The author comes up with 5 different phrases for speculation: "You can bet..." and "It'll likely be..." and "possibly..." and "Expect it to be..." and even "I'd go so far as to say...".

Remember what happened with Google's Nexus One? Flop. They just don't have the infrastructure to support these types of products.

@6: After loading up on the weasel words, the author admits to inventing the specs in the comments. "Hardware is pure speculation -- my source didn't have any details for me. Launch date and carrier he did have."

@Steven J Baughman

Google's attempt at selling a phone direct was more of an experiment to see if you could sell a phone with out a carrier, and it was a failure (I have to admit that I do have an unlocked Nexus One though and think next to a rooted Droid Incredible it's the best smart phone out there).

However, Android Platform phones now outsell iPhones by quite a large margin. There are more Android Phones in the wild than there are iPhones. And Apple had almost an 18 month head start. Google has the advantage of working with multiple manufacturers and multiple carriers. Apple just can't compete with that.

You're going to love the iPad 3D. That is going to totally rock, what with the built-in camera, the 3D display (straight on, which does battery drain so it only specs in at 4 hours on full 3D, and about 3 hours if you're running iFace with a mid-shutter snap for MMORPG vid/voice).

It will make the new iPad look like a baby. A cool baby, but nothing like it.

Granted My 2 year-old HP Pavilion tablet cost quite a bit more than an iPad, but it also has all the bells-and-whistles (integrated web cam, larger storage capacity, faster CPU speed, on-board Wi-Fi, etc., etc.), in addition to being able to run simultaneous multiple applications (and of course, I'm also not locked into Apple's bullshit DRM restrictions, either.)

So, I don't think it's entirely accurate to say there's not a SERIOUS tablet computer out there, considering how low-end the iPad is compared to full-feature tablets that are already on the market. But yeah, give Google six months after launch and the Appleholics will be crying on each other's shoulders in commiseration for having been duped into buying this piece of crap.

(At least until the iPad II or whatever they call it inevitably comes out, at which point they'll dutifully salivate as they've been trained, even though the new iteration still won't be able to match specs with whatever else has hit the market by then.)

I always wondered why bloggers have compared iPad to tablet PC's. They are two very different things. A "tablet PC" is a FULL computer with touch screen/stylus, where a "tablet computer" is used for email/notes/media and is very portable. It's unfortunate that the names are so similar and that journalists don't seem to know enough about what they are writing about to distinguish between two VERY different products.

I really wish Apple noted this in the marketing of the iPad (instead of using the word "magical" repeatedly) but then Steve Jobs couldn't surrender to the delusion that he single handedly shaped the face of the future of "tablet" computers. Poor delusional Steve, the mans ego knows no bounds. I don't care though because I like their products and am informed enough about technology to buy what suits me best. If something works better for you, high five.

I love my iPad and it is used for hours around our house (and in the wild for picnic scrabble!) but it is only used to consume media. That is all. It's not like I'm hacking into the slog commenting system like I do on my MacBook Pro. heh

Exactly, SY. A "tablet PC" by definition, is full of suckage.

An iPad is full of joy.

Plus it just plain works. All the time. Every time.

@12, for very small values of "exactly". What you wrote and what SurlyMom wrote don't even begin to resemble each other. I only wish you did nothing but consume media; then we wouldn't have to read your vacuous ramblings here.

I just wanted to say it was pure genius putting that picture next to your title. It gave me a good chuckle. Thanks Paul!

Hello Firefox!

@11:

I guess (and I'm speaking only for myself) you sort of answer your own question in the second paragraph. Jobs has tried to make the iPad sound like the greatest innovation since the invention of the computer (but then, he says that about EVERYTHING Apple develops), even though it is in point of fact a pale imitation of much better, stronger, faster products that have been on the market for some time.

Of course, we realize laptop PC's and iPads are very different beasts; the problem is that Jobs keep trying to sell his very limited-function, DRM-shackled chihuahua of a tablet as IF it were a more powerful, more robust greyhound of a touch-screen laptop, which clearly (well, clearly to anyone NOT under the influence of his magic hypno-ray) it is not.

And again, my HP is fully portable, and does EVERYTHING the iPad does - quite a bit MORE in fact, even if all you're interested in is portable media (for example: how's that DVD drive working out for you? What's that you say? The iPad doesn't HAVE a DVD drive? Oh, um, okay then) AND I don't have to attach a bunch of external doo-dads or dongles (can you say "upselling"? I knew you could!) in order to get it do perform basic functions like Skyping or video chat (or, um, playing DVD's) or even listening to digital music files, since I've got a pair of pretty decent (for a laptop) on-board speakers, and not just a single cell phone sized speaker, in addition to the headphone jacks (x2!).

(And Will, my Windows Vista powered tablet also "just plain works. All the time. Every time." I don't think I've had more than a handful of crashes on it in the nearly 2 years I've owned it, and those were due mainly to compatibility issues when trying to use very old apps.)

Seriously, if all you're going to use this for is to play Scrabble, an actual Scrabble game can be had for a hell of a lot less than $600.

Face it, you guys have been sold a bill-of-goods, and you're going to cry like babies when the next-gen tabs come out and leave your sorry asses in the dust...

@13 I've tried to explain to you that the iPad isn't for you - or any geek - it's a consumer device that does what people want to CONSUME MEDIA.

You keep missing the point.

Just like you will argue, even though I'll be proven correct (once again), that it shouldn't be so popular and that the iPad 3D that is being made won't sell like hotcakes.

Cause it will. And most non-geeks will love it.

Sucks to be you. Stick that in your wiki and smoke it, cause reality doesn't happen on the Net, and there's nothing you can do about that.

Will, I've never argued against the iPad. I've said before I might even buy the rumored new smaller one. But you can't understand that; you can't understand ANYTHING, on this subject or any other, so why don't you shut the fuck up? You are so incredibly tiresome.

As is your continual jetstream of bullshit, like the non-fact that 3D iPads "are being made". You're getting mixed up with the Nintendo 3DS announcement again.

I can't even really accuse you of "twisting the facts", because whatever the fuck your relationship with the world of facts is, it's not volitional.

Will @17 wrote: the iPad isn't for you - or any geek - it's a consumer device that does what people want to CONSUME MEDIA.

Aside from what might be a discrepancy in mine and your's definition of "geek" *, you're totally right here. That's the biggest reason why—like KUBE, or "premium" vodka, or Dane Cook—it's not for me, but I'm sure lots and lots and lots of people find it neat. The other reason being, as highlighted by my most recent Quicktime vs. Premiere Pro battle, that pretty much any and all Apple software that touches my life gives me a fucking headache.

*saw an iPad user on the train this morning. Handier than a laptop on a crowded train for sure, but, ugh... you don't have to be the arbiter of what's awesome to notice the aura of shame.

Boys, BOYS! You're both pretty!

Now, get a room already...

@13 I agree about Jobs and the Apple marketing team being misleading, but if your getting your information from the manufactures in this day and age- you're doing it wrong.

Also, you're tablet pc weights three times what an iPad does which is significant when you are talking about portability. So it's really neat your laptop can do that screen thing but, if you want to hold a book for over an hour, you'll probably end up looking like popeye.

I apologize, I should have pointed out that I meant for "consuming digital media". I rarely purchase new media in a form that is tangible. If it turns out I have to have a book, cd etc, then I go get it, but again rarely does that happen. It's not an eco thing, I am just amazed about digital files. I mean, how do they get all those tiny actors in there?!

Whoops I meant @16

Yes, I realize that at 4.5 lbs. my HP tablet is MASSIVE! Why, that's the same weight as an entire six-pack of Mountain Dew! I'm sure most Appleholics could probably barely lift it - because it's SOOOO HEAVY! ARGGGHHHH!!!

(Seriously, you're complaining because something that weighs less than 5 pounds is HEAVY? Have you ever considered perhaps, oh I dunno, doing a few push-ups or something?)

Fortunately, my tablet has this amazing ability to lie flat on a surface while the screen can be rotated 180 degrees and angled for optimal viewing, so I don't need an extra dock or a stack of books or whatever to prop it up when I'm watching it, nor am I overly concerned about developing over sized forearms as a result of holding it in my hands for long periods of time, because, you know, I can actually lift 5 lbs without becoming exhausted from the tremendous exertion that entails.

COMTE, I can see that someone duped you into believing that the piece of shit laptop with the neat display trick was the future of tablet, but they lied to you sweetheart. I can also understand how Apple making a variety of popular products that people enjoy is a direct insult to your existence. Message mother fucking received. Thanks.

Two things though, real quick.

1.) For the actual tablet market (if you see HP on the list, you're looking in the wrong place, your are in the tablet PC market, see my original comment), pushing five pounds is wayyyy too heavy. One of the best things about kindle is it's weight. They are amazingly light! But the more hardware you add, the heavier it gets. That's why your kick ass HP can also be used as a five pound weight for strength training.

2.) I want you to go out and find the first live grenade you can, pull the pin, and just hold it out in front of you. Let me know how long you can hold it for.

The Android phone platform may be growing faster, but MAN do the apps suck.

The MLB app on Android is a great example: even switching between games usually fails to update, and often you have to kill the app and restart it just to get it to refresh the scores. Plus, you can't watch live games like you can on its iPhone brother.

It's so buggy that there's no way it could pass Apple's approval process. I wish Google were big-brother enough to have one in place. Without one, you get exactly what you'd expect: a grab-bag full of shit.

My company makes a popular app for both Android and iPhone. They behave similarly - and actually the Android one isn't as good - but in the Android Market it's rated much, much higher. That's how low the bar is for Android apps (and how high it is on iPhone) - Android users are thrilled when one actually WORKS, where iPnone users will downgrade you if they don't like your color scheme.

@24:

Yeah Kindles are great - if all you want is something to read ebooks on. So yeah, pack that Kindle and the iPad and the iPhone and the Nano - keep BUYING all that shit, because it's light and cheap. Meanwhile, I've got ONE machine that does ALL of that, plus I'm not constantly worrying about whether the geeks at the Genius Bar will look down on me if I don't either walk in (or more importantly, walk OUT) with whatever the latest gee-gaw is they've just put on the shelf, and which will be obsolete and a signifier of your inevitable inability to keep up with the Newest Trend the second you walk out the door.

I'm still waiting for all you Pavlovian test subjects out there to tell me what's so superior about iPads; so far, all I've heard are: they're light and cheap. That's because (duh!) they have puny memories, pitifully weak OS's that freak the fuck out if you attempt to open more than one app at a time, require a bunch of add-on peripherals to run anything besides rudimentary functions, and will only allow you to use whatever apps and features Jobs decides - this year - you can use on them, because maybe next year he'll get some crazy hair up his ass and decide whatever you've been using this year won't work next year, and there won't be a fucking thing you can do about it, because Jobs is Jobs and he can do whatever the fuck he wants, and all you can do is grumble and try to convince yourselves that you didn't really NEED that previously indispensable app or feature anyway.

But hey, they're only $600+ and weigh only 1.5 lbs! Because it's all about price-point and not making your puny arms tired, and not about what the thing can (or in this case CAN'T) actually do.

See, the thing is, if I pull the pin on a hand grenade, I have sufficient arm strength (from carrying around that oh-so-heavy HP tablet) that I can always throw it clear away. Most Appleholics would be hard pressed to even be able to PULL the pin, let alone hold the thing - after all, an M67 weighs nearly a whole pound - way more than your puny little atrophied muscles are capable of lifting.

I'm not looking for a one stop shop for my gadgets because I'm not driven by hate to find some shitty product that can half ass bring me all types of media.

If I want something to strictly read with (i.e. Kindle) then I'll get one. If I want an iPad in my house to use for games, recipes, reading, web surfing, and the like, well guess what?! I'm going to get one. You're attacking me as a person because I like tech toys (and have no shame in telling people that, yes for the most part, I enjoy Apple products the most) and dont mind spending a little cash on it. If your initial reaction is to tell me about my lack of frugality is irresponsible, you are wrong again. Hopefully by now you are use to it.

We have lots of gadgets around our house. I like to hack them, mod them, or just throw them at bitchy Sloggers from the bushes. If you have a problem with that you can kiss the dark side of iPad.