Technology news and Jobs 
VIRTUALISATION Taiwan component report fans Apple tablet rumour mill
VIRTUALISATION Taiwan component report fans Apple tablet rumour mill | Taiwan component report fans Apple tablet rumour mill |
|
| by Stephen Withers | |
| Wednesday, 16 September 2009 | |
  
Featured Whitepaper
5 Best Practices for Smartphone Support
According to a report by Steve Chang published by the China Economic News Service (CENS), Apple's tablet will have a 9.6in touchscreen, a processor designed by Apple subsidiary PA Semi, and a "long lasting" battery pack. That description accompanies claims that four Taiwan-based companies have gained contracts to supply parts for the tablet. CENS asserts that Wintek will be the supplier of the tablet's touchscreen, in line with six-month old rumours to that effect. Reportedly, DynaPack International will supply up to 300,000 battery packs, Wanshih will provide the majority of the mini-coaxial cables needed, and the power chokes will come from Mag. Layers. The components will apparently start flowing in December, implying a February or March debut for the tablet. It's been known for over a year that Apple intended to use PA Semi to develop chips for its handheld devices. The New York Times quoted CEO Steve Jobs as saying "PA Semi is going to do system-on-chips for iPhones and iPods". Now an Apple tablet isn't necessarily an iPod or an iPhone, but the CENS report does add credence to the idea that the tablet will run iPhone OS rather than Mac OS X. However, it does not completely shut the door on the idea of a Mac tablet. PA Semi had significant expertise with the PowerPC architecture. So despite the recent release of Intel-only Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, there's still an outside chance of a 'back to the future' moment with a PowerPC-based tablet. But assuming CENS is right about PA Semi's involvement, my money's on an iPhone OS tablet. |
Tags
| < Next story in category | Previous story in the category > |
|---|
