Apple Tablet Madness is Catching

This is me jumping on the Apple Tablet rumormongering bandwagon. Few devices in the past year have generated the kind of excitement and wild-eyed speculation as the fabled Apple Tablet. Several major publication houses are even staking their future on such a device. While I am not a member of the Cult of Apple even I am not immune to the excitement created by the mere possibility such a device exists. Let me explain.

As I said, there is a plethora of rumors concerning the features of the fabled tablet and there is plenty of debate over which ones will actually be in the device. However, there is absolutely no argument that if done right Apple has the ability to completely change the way we think of personal computers with this device.

For those self proclaimed 'computer geeks' who are constantly tweaking their rig a desktop will always be the best way to go, but 90% of the users out there want something that is simple, functional, and just works. The popularity of the iPhone is a perfect testament to this philosophy; there are no folders to navigate, no esoteric configuration settings, yet with thousands of apps available it can do just about anything you want it to.

The Apple Tablet is poised to take this paradigm to the next level. This device will be designed from the ground up to perform all the functions the casual home user will want; reading magazines, newspapers, books, and blogs, watching streaming videos ala NetFlix and Hulu, surfing the web, social networking, and email as well as being able to take advantage of all the apps your heart desires. Additionally, if I am correct, the device will have a very intuitive interface similar to the iPhone so the average person can pick it up and use it without any training. Combine this with wifi and 3G "always on" internet connectivity and we could very well see, if not the death of the home desktop, at least a very capable replacement.

I can't wait for the January 27th Apple event to see exactly how much of my soul I will have to sell for one.

Update: Jebus over at Gizmodo stole my idea and wrote this article.

Double Update: Bwahahaha!

Triple Update: I love Bossy