Finally, Apple Unveils the Tablet

Officially, Apple has never said a word about making a tablet computer. Yet for months, everyone in tech (including NEWSWEEK's own Dan Lyons) has been talking and writing and arguing about the Apple tablet as if it's already here. The product has already received more press than most products that actually exist. Bloggers debate its faults and flaws, its strengths and shortcomings--such is life in the weird and wonderful world of Apple. And this does not happen by accident. Apple orchestrates this stuff. It did the same thing with the iPhone, remember? For a year before the product was unveiled, rumors circulated and fake prototype photos popped up all over the place. It's all about creating hype, and wrapping a product in a cloud of mystery and drama, so that by the time you do unveil it people are dying to buy it just to see what all the fuss is about.  

The great thing about Apple, however, is that usually the products live up to the hype. Certainly the iPhone has. Arguably, it is the single most important tech product of the past decade. Will the tablet be as profound? We think it will be. Amazon's Kindle has pioneered the market for a portable reading device. But Kindle is far from perfect. Our bet is that Apple enters this space the way it did with the iPod and iPhone: it lets others do the pioneering work and make all the mistakes, then comes along with a product that blows the predecessors away. Better design. Better build quality. Better service. And a user interface experience that's light years ahead of everyone else's on the planet.