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Apple gaming tablet iSlate rumoured for January 27th announcement, March launch

3D user interface also uncovered

Apple gaming tablet iSlate rumoured for January 27th announcement, March launch
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Apple loves being in the eye of a raging rumour storm, and the highly-anticipated tablet (tenuously pegged as the iSlate at the moment) is whipping up a huge one.

The latest leak is found dripping through the Wall Street Journal, which claims that "people briefed by [Apple]" have spoken of the large form iPod touch will provide a distinctly multimedia slant on the typical tablet experience, with newspapers, films, TV, internet and books taking the fore.

We can apparently look forward to an official unveiling on January 27th, with the iSlate itself rumoured to launch as early as March.

Patent-hounds have been sniffing around in Apple's filings, too, and uncovered a cryptic document supposedly tracing back to Cupertino that details a three dimensional user interface.

It's listed under the names of three Apple employees, apparently, and is designed to allow users to navigate, control and manipulate objects within a virtual 3D space, suggesting the iSlate might feature a rather delicious looking and easy to use object-based interface.

Naturally there are no specs available yet, and while Apple does have a habit of holding back on certain key functions it's also renowned for not repeating itself. Whatever the iSlate turns out to be, you can bet it's a corner of the computing market no one else has ventured into.

Spanner Spencer
Spanner Spencer
Yes. Spanner's his real name, and he's already heard that joke you just thought of. Although Spanner's not very good, he's quite fast, and that seems to be enough to keep him in a regular supply of free games and away from the depressing world of real work.