Rumor du jour: Apple ordering 10" tablet screens

Another week, another day, another round of tablet rumors for the now all-but-confirmed January event. The latest news bouncing around the Interwebs is that Apple has placed an order with panel supplier Innolux for a bevy of 10" touch panels to stick in the new devices, be they called iSlate or whatever the marketing team eventually hits on the dart board. This vibes with what we'd heard earlier about the screen being either 7 or 10" in the diagonal, and it reveals a little bit more about the process: apparently Apple wanted to go with this release earlier, but they were concerned about the strength of the glass. Now they've got the stronger glass they need, so supposedly the rumors on the wind say they're ready for a January announcement, with a release coming in March or April. They've even got another supplier lined up to crank out even more of these screens if needed.

A translated WSJ article also says a Taiwanese company called Chang Uei Precision has been signed up to provide "connectors" for the device, but that sounds quite vague and they say a release isn't planned until Q3 of next year.

As always, this all remains hearsay -- Apple hasn't even officially announced an event in January yet, much less hinted that they'll be releasing a revolutionary tablet-style device. So remember what Grandma said about counting chickens before they hatch, and don't. But if any of these rumors prove to be true, it'll be an interesting 2010.

[via Engadget]
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