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There are more rumors swirling around the mythical Apple Tablet over the last couple of days.

First of all, the Financial Times is reporting that Apple has reserved a stage for several days in late January at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.  Apple has used this venue previously when announcing new iPods.

MacRumors.com has found evidence that Apple registered the domain name iSlate.com,  which seems to provide some confirmation for other speculation that the rumored tablet could be named the Slate.  TechCrunch has found evidence that seems to indicate that Apple may have registered iSlate domains elsewhere on this planet as well.

MacRumors also describes an Apple patent filing published yesterday that describes mechanisms for providing tactile feedback for a keyboard on a smooth touchscreen.  From the filing:

Disclosed herein are four arrangements for providing tactility on a touch surface keyboard. One approach is to provide tactile feedback mechanisms, such as dots, bars, or other shapes on all or at least many keys. Different keys or groups of keys may have different feedback mechanisms, e.g., a first feedback mechanism may be assigned to “home row” keys, with a second feedback mechanism assigned to keys adjacent the home row, with a third assigned to peripheral keys, which are neither home row keys nor adjacent the home row. Alternatively, an articulating frame may be provided that extends when the surface is being used in a typing mode and retracts when the surface is used in some other mode, e.g., a pointing mode. The articulating frame may provide key edge ridges that define the boundaries of the key regions or may be used to provide tactile feedback mechanisms within the key regions. The articulating frame may also be configured to cause concave depressions similar to mechanical key caps in the surface. In another embodiment, a rigid, non-articulating frame may be provided beneath the surface. A user will then feel higher resistance when pressing away from the key centers, but will feel a softer resistance, which may be enhanced by filling the gaps with a foam or gel material or air.

A New York Times article of a couple of days ago quotes a recent Apple employee as saying “You will be very surprised how you interact with the new tablet.”

The Apple Tablet as an eReader

All of this is very interesting,  and I can’t wait to play with the iSlate or whatever Apple’s tablet is called,  but how will it function as an ereader?  Of course all we can do for now is speculate,  but there are a couple of points that seem rather obvious to me:

1. Display Technology: If the iSlate turns out to be like a large iPod Touch, then it will be best suited for casual reading. If you read for several hours a day you will want a non-backlit transflective type of display such as e-ink. Pixel Qi displays provide the capability to switch between reflective and transmissive (like an LCD) display modes, but so far we don’t know what devices they will be used in.  Pixel Qi is now in production,  and we can expect to see new devices utilizing it announced at CES.
2. Pricing: Apple devices tend to be high-end, especially in the early iterations. Rumors have priced the Apple tablet at anywhere from $500 to $1500. Obviously at these prices the iSlate will probably appeal more to users wanting multifunction devices capable of performing varied tasks in addition to reading books.

At this point I’m going to guess that the iSlate will not be so much direct competition to dedicated ereaders such as the Kindle or the nook which are best for hardcore readers,  but rather will join the ever-expanding list of devices one can also read ebooks on.  Reading books will no doubt be a capability of the iSlate,  but that does not mean that it will be the best device for doing so.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Haleron Technologies iLet Tablet
• Apple iSlate to Ship in March? Cool-er eReaders to get More Content, New Models Coming