Apple's touch pad: more rumors

July 28, 9:16 AMApple Products ExaminerLisa Spangenberg

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There's been speculation and rumor and fervent hope that Apple will release a hand-held device that isn't an iPod or an iPhone since the demise of the Newton. There was a fresh burst of enthusiasm, outside of Apple anyway, for such a device with the folding-in of the Newton inspired (and some shared code, I'm told) with the Inkwell feature of OS X. The iPod Touch only increased the enthusiasm.

I'm one of those people who very much wants a touch screen, portable device, one with WiFi and Bluetooth, and a headphone jack. I want it mostly for media use—movies, videos, music, and, most especially, ebooks. So this headline "Publishers 'in talks' with Apple over Kindle rival" really caught my eye. Especially this particular bit of speculation:

The device is expected to be launched alongside new content deals, including some aimed at stimulating sales of CD-length music, according to people briefed on the project. The touch-sensitive computer will have a screen that may be up to 10 inches diagonally. It will connect to the internet like the iPod Touch – probably without phone capability but with access to the web, and to Apple’s online stores for software and entertainment.

That reference to "stimulating sales of CD-length music is also awfully interesting, given this piece here:

Apple is working with the four largest record labels to stimulate digital sales of albums by bundling an interactive booklet, sleeve notes and other features with music downloads, in an effort to change buying trends on its online iTunes store.

I really hope that both articles are fairly accurate; the potential for annotating music and films, much like Voyager's multimedia CD-ROMs, is huge. I'm not a fan of the Kindle, and while I'm still using my Palm PDA to read a lot of ebooks, my iPhone is rapidly becoming my favorite ebook reader.