It Might be a Tablet, but…

So everyone is a-buzz over the rumors that Apple is set to announce some sort of "tablet" computer later this month. And if you are even a casual internet citizen then you've probably also subscribed to this theory. I am not immune.

But in thinking about what it will be or what it won't be, I'm not going to give you 10,000 words because most of them are bound to be wrong and we'll find out soon enough anyway.

So I'll keep it very simple. Conceptually I think we're going to see some sort of computing device that relies heavily on multi-touch interaction. I'm not even going to speculate on the form factor or hardware or anything like that, because ultimately that's not what's going to be the coolest thing about it.

It's going to be the interface which sets this thing apart. Just as the iPhone introduced new ways to manipulate objects on the screen, this thing is going to be the Holy Grail of direct manipulation. You'll be able to do things that you can do on a Mac or an iPhone, but they'll be even more fun and just plan natural. Just how we can't imagine map manipulation without pinch-to-zoom, get ready for many more just like it.

When it's all said and announced, I think perceptually this thing might more closely resemble a small version of Microsoft Surface as opposed to a large version of the iPhone.