A Microsoft prototype tablet PC, complete
with pen stylus, circa 2001.

Windows-based tablets have been around for at least 8 years. What will make the iSlate, or whatever it's ultimately called when Apple unveils it tomorrow, more than just another niche product for doctors, salespeople, and students to jot down notes on the run?

Based on what I've heard about its supposed capabilites, and I have no reason to think many of them aren't accurate, here are five rock-solid reasons I believe Apple's new creation will change (yet again) the way we communicate, learn, and play:

Reason 1: Apple designed it

Say what you will about the Apple "aura" or Steve Jobs's "Teflon," but Apple has been successfully driving the design of computing and consumer electronics products for nearly a decade. One success might be a fluke, but Apple has a track record you can't dispute.

I predict the iSlate will have a simple, intuitive user interface with multitouch gestures. In contrast, Windows tablets have so far been designed like conventional laptops, with pen input grafted onto a conventional Windows interface.

Reason 2: Apple's online stores

Part of the success of iPod and iPhone was their seamless linkage to Apple's iTunes and App stores. Paying for and downloading content or software is a no-brainer. Apple will extend this online family to include new kinds of iSlate apps and content. The Android Market is growing, but it is still far behind Apple's stores in integration, scope, and sophistication. And where, exactly, is the Windows equivalent of the iTunes/App store? Exactly my point.

Reason 3: Superior ergonomics and user experience

The iSlate should deliver a user experience noticeably superior to anything else available in this market. This is Apple's raison d'etre. They won't blow it. I expect sharper text than we've seen on any touchscreen or color display (including the best e-book readers). The display will be impressively bright, with a very wide viewing angle in both the horizontal and vertical directions, and should offer new multitouch gestures not available on current iPhones and iMacs/MacBooks (but undoubtedly planned for future models). All this will live in a beautiful case that seems slimmer and lighter than it has any right to be.

Reason 4: Content and apps are king

Sure, people use computers to chat and take notes. But in the YouTube era, it's much more about swift and continuous access to content of all kinds—not just music. The iSlate's operating system will have a close family relation to the iPhone's, both because it's well suited to touchscreen, mobile apps, and because it will let Apple leverage its huge collection of apps. Developers will be able to easily port their iPhone apps to iSlate's larger format and take advantage of its new features. Developers will leap at the chance to sell apps into two markets, instead of just one.

There will be subscription tie-ins to beleaguered blue-chip print outlets, such as the New York Times and, say, Time magazine. Of course, there will be e-books for iSlate's built-in reader. And, likely, there will be content from movie studios, and TV and sports networks. Some, maybe all, of this content will be delivered by new types of apps that go beyond the Web experience to take full advantage of the iSlate's rich, unique feature set. Steve Jobs would never settle for less.

Reason 5: Multiplicity of connectivity

I expect Apple to have learned something from its iPhone/AT&T experience, which was a success but obviously has problems. Exclusivity is a two-edged sword and I'd be surprised to see Apple get in bed again with just one wireless provider, even one with fewer 3G capacity issues than AT&T (e.g. Verizon). The iSlate should have 3G from a choice of providers, who will help lower the iSlate's presumably steep upfront purchase price in exchange for multi-year subscriptions. That model has worked for years to make pricey products accessible to many consumers. Of course, there will be the obligatory Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but 3G is essential: The iSlate couldn't serve its intended purpose if you had to hunt down a hot spot every time you wanted to access the Net.

The time draws near

As I write this, we're slightly more than 24 hours from finding out how many of these expectations will be fulfilled—and what other rabbits Steve has stuffed into that bottomless hat of his. This will be a fascinating time for gadget lovers and anyone who likes to take advantage of the latest technology.My colleague Donna Tapellini and I will be in that San Francisco theater when whatever is to be revealed is revealed. Check back here on this blog for news and expert analysis from us, and all the experts at Consumer Reports. I will also be covering the goings on moment to moment on Twitter: @JeffreyFox

—Jeff Fox

Among other coverage recently of the seemingly imminent Apple tablet computer, the New York Times says the device will sport a 10-inch color display that will allow newspapers and magazines to "deliver their products with an eye to the design that had grabbed readers in print." The Huffington Post is inviting readers to select the e-book readers, if any, that may survive the arrival of the Apple device.

The prospect of an Apple tablet computer offering e-book capability certainly spawns questions about whether such a device will do for digital books what the iPod did for digital music. Namely, tame an emerging technology, and all but crush the competition, with a superb and synergistic combination of hardware and software.

Maybe. For all of Apple's track record as a game-changer, I see several issues that a multipurpose iSlate, or whatever it's called, will need to overcome to slay standalone e-book readers such as the Kindle.

First, its probable price. Speculation swirls about what the Apple device might cost, with some reports saying it will be at least $800 while others, including MacRumors, saying it will not be priced "anywhere near the $1,000 price point."

Yet the device is very likely to cost more than the $259 you'll now pay for the Amazon Kindle or Barnes and Noble Nook. Unless people value the other functions of the iSlate enough to add another screen to their lives, I don't think they'll do so primarily in order to read e-books, when competing devices are a third the price.

Next, its screen. A 10-incher would make the Apple device's screen about the same size as that of the Amazon Kindle DX. But that $489 Kindle is, in my opinion, oversized for book reading and its bulk compromises portability.

The device's likely screen technology is also an issue. While an Apple patent raises some interesting promise about what that might be, the color capability of Apple's multipurpose device all but precludes that it be the e-ink technology used in almost all current e-book readers, since a color version of that isn't yet in production. E Ink, at least for moment, offers crisper type and longer battery life than other screen technologies, including the LCD screens of laptop computers.

That said, the experience of using Apple's iPhone to read Kindle books, as you now can by downloading a free app, is surprisingly enjoyable. There's every reason to think that e-reading experience will not only be preserved on the bigger screen of the new Apple device but enhanced, through color and likely greater interactivity with the e-content.

So, while I'm skeptical that tomorrow's Apple announcements sound a death knell for the dedicated e-book reader, I plan to watch closely to see what e-reading capabilities they reveal. The event in San Francisco will be covered in person by Consumer Reports Technology Editor Jeff Fox and senior editor Donna Tapellini.

—Paul Reynolds.

Today's electronics deals, courtesy of The Consumerist:

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Related: Computer Ratings and buying tips; TV Ratings and buying tips; DVD & Blu-ray player Ratings and buying tips; Pocket camcorder guide; Headphone Ratings and buying tips; MP3 player Ratings and buying tips.

Neither Consumer Reports nor The Consumerist receive anything in
exchange for featuring these deals; the posts are intended to be purely
informational. These deals are often fleeting, with prices changing or
products becoming unavailable as the day progresses.

These posts are not an endorsement of the featured products or
the Web sites that sell them—though some of the sites may be included,
and recommended, in our Ratings of retailers for computers and other major electronics (both available to subscribers). Price shouldn't be your only criterion. Be wary of lower-priced deals that seem too good to be true, and check return policies for restocking fees and other gotchas.

For general buying advice for many of the products on sale above, check out our free Buying Guides.

It's been touted as an e-book reader, a gaming platform, a tablet computer with an iPhone-like apps store, a phone, a camera—you name it. The device Apple is introducing tomorrow just might be all of the above—or something else altogether. There have certainly been enough rumors and speculation about it.

Whatever it is and called, my colleague Jeff Fox and I will be on location at its launch event in San Francisco, bringing you the news as it unfolds. Check the blog here often, and follow Jeff's Twitter posts at @JeffreyFox, plus at @CReporter, where we'll be leading discussions among Consumer Reports Twitter followers. We'll also share photos and videos as we capture them throughout the event and after. Mike Gikas, our phone reporter, and Paul Reynolds, our e-book reader expert, will also weigh in with their analyses of Apple's announcements as they happen.

The fun starts tomorrow at 10 a.m. PST (1 p.m. EST). But check back today, too, for our updates and insights as the launch draws closer.

—Donna Tapellini

Combing through hundreds of blog posts and news articles daily, Dirk Klingner, our technology-trend watcher, sifts through the noise to bring you the tech news most important to consumers. If you have a tip on a story you want to share, leave a comment below.

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