Who Was Wrong? Apple Tablet In The Fall Edition

Yesterday was Apple’s Rock & Roll event, a hyped up and iPod themed event that saw the release of an iPod nano with a camera and a new iPod Touch and iPod classic. But none of those devices sound anything like a tablet and neither did Steve Jobs or marketing executive Philip Schiller make any mention of it.

One of the unique dimensions of Apple rumors is that since there are more rumors flying than bees in a beehive on a hot summer afternoon, you can assess who was wrong with their predictions. If we go by the assumption that no other Apple product announcements will occur this year because it is unlikely that Apple will schedule two major events in less than 4 months, we can say that whoever predicted that the Apple tablet will be released/announced in the fall will be deemed to be incorrect. Credit must be given to Mac|Life and IntoMobile for already compiling an exhaustive history of Apple tablet rumors that go back as early as 2001.

In the order that these rumors were published, first up is TechCrunch, when Michael Arrington in late 2008 mentioned that “three independent sources close to Apple” said that an iPod Touch device with a 7 or 9 inch screen will be released in the fall of 2009. Comments galore totaling 507 ensued.

Taiwan publisher InfoTime gets jealous and in July 2009 claimed that a netbook with a touchscreen will debut in October 2009. TheStreet also goes on record saying that an Apple tablet will be released by the end of 2009.

Also in July 2009, Financial Times correspondent Matthew Garrahan feels the need to generate buzz by saying that a full-featured tablet should make it in time for Christmas 2009.

Then Barron’s decided to make a late jump in August stating that a “veteran analyst” said that a tablet device could be announced in September for a November release date. I also want to be a veteran analyst. Where do I apply?

No one knows who erred: the writers reporting these rumors or their sources that all too often are “familiar with the matter” and “close to Apple”. To be fair, businesses are constantly changing their prior decisions. It may very well be true that Apple was going to release a tablet this year but changed its plans  for whatever reason. We will wait till next year to asses independent reports by AppleInsider and Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, both stating that the tablet is due in the first half of 2010.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 10th, 2009 at 9:07 pm and is filed under Analysis, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.