Six days to iDay: Frenzy of rumours

The impending Apple iSlate/iPad has been the subject of so many rumours for so many months that it's difficult to realise that we are only six days away from iDay. All will be revealed next Wednesday. If the media event doesn't produce a tablet computer there will be profound disappointment all round the Mac community. Today the excellent MacRumors site has a best guess at what we are about to see and it looks suspiciously like a 10in iPhone, right down to the multi-function button and the traditional 30-pin dock connector. There is certainly a lot of excitement and, no doubt, there have been controlled leaks from "reliable sources". The Wall Street Journal has been dribbling out hints for weeks and it seems like they have a direct line to Cupertino. What we can be sure about is that Apple will surprise with features we haven't even considered. With tablet wars about to break out in 2010, Apple will want to be at the forefront and will want to drive the market rather than being an also ran.