Apple has barely finished smack talking netbooks, but already word is out that the ever-elusive Apple tablet has a network signed up in the US to pipe through 3G mobile broadband. Want to know who it is and what this means for us here in Britannia? Better keep reading.
According to the business gossip hounds at The Street, an Apple tablet with a “big price tag” and 3G built in will run on Verizon’s network in the US, with the carrier subsidising that big up front sum somewhat. The Apple tablet will be data-only so it won’t make calls like the quirky Archos Android slate expected in September – presumably so as not to cannibalise iPhone sales – but unfortunately, there’s still no word on a release date or what operating system an Apple tablet will run.
Apple tablet: what we know so far
It’s good to see the Apple tablet is still turning through the rumour mill, but what does a Verizon deal mean for us on this side of the pond? On the one hand it does mean we could see a similar set-up here with Vodafone, which owns a big chunk of Verizon Wireless, but on the other hand Verizon uses a different 3G network to the European standard, meaning a release could be delayed while the Apple tablet insides are changed – the delay that the Palm Pre has suffered.
So, was the Apple trash talk smoke and mirrors or Cupertino’s way of saying it’s releasing an Apple tablet instead? We’ll have to wait and see, but one thing’s for sure: netbook or tablet, it’s not going to be cheap.
Out TBC | £TBC | Apple (Via The Street)