New Apple Device Really Coming, but What Will it be Called?

The iTablet (or iSlate or iPad) is coming ... Apple is due to hold a media event to reveal some details of its long-rumoured new device on Wednesday 27th of January in San Francisco. Unlike the iPhone, which ran out with only one operator in most markets, it is expected that several phone companies in each country will be given the chance to simultaneously bundle the new mini-pc in with their mobile broadband packages.

Details have been kept a closely guarded secret though the new device is said to be a 10 inch touch-screen, boasting WiFi and 3G connectivity, and pre-loaded with digital copies of books, newspapers and magazines.

Even the name remains a mystery, so much so that UK bookmakers are taking bets on what the new device will be called. So far, the odds on favourite is iSlate at 4/5 (Apple owns the web address iSlate.com), followed by iPad at 7/4 and iTablet at 6/1 down to Etch-a-Sketch at 500/1. 

Reports in today's Guardian newspaper suggest the device could cost around US$1,000 in North America and somewhere near £800 in the UK. It will apparently roll out first in March in the US, with a UK and European launch set for later in the year.

Certainly any one of the three British operators currently selling the iPhone would be keen to strike an exclusive deal with Apple, though at the moment that seems unlikely.