Apple Tablet ...A Sneak Preview?

In the next five hours Apple is expected to unveil its new tablet computer. Wired, a very respected source of technology information, posted the photos and text below on its website early this morning.

Is it real? You decided...

These photos purportedly show the Apple Tablet, locked down in a security frame. They were sent by an undisclosed source to Engadget, and, to my eye at least, appear to be the real thing.

The screen looks to be around 9 or 10 inches and looks pretty much like what we expected: a big iPhone. The home button at the bottom says to us that this is all about books and magazines, and less about movies (although when you’re watching a movie in landscape format, you don’t do much button pressing). Another cutout at the top of the security frame suggests either another home button (unlikely) or a camera.

We can see from the screen that there is Wi-Fi on board, and the “No Service” message points to a data connection, although it doesn’t reveal the carrier. Another source tells Engadget that the back of the device will be aluminum, like the MacBook Pro, and that ” pricing will run $800 on contract with Verizon and $1000 without when it arrives in March”. This tallies with what we have already heard.