News of an Apple tablet hit the blogosphere hard this week, bouncing off of Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster’s latest statements about “the likelihood” of the device coming next year. As expected, online media of all sorts, shapes and sizes picked up on the prediction – which, like all analyst statements, probably won’t happen, but sounds fantastic anyway.
According to Munster, indications from their “component contacts in Asia, recent patents relating to multi-touch sensitivity for more complex computing devices, comments from Tim Cook on the April 22 conference call and Apple’s acquisition of PA Semi” point towards an Apple Tablet with a display between 7 to 10 inches will be coming in the first half of 2010. With all due respect, though, what makes an analyst’s statement more qualified than the same guesses from Apple fanboys who have been spouting the same nonsense all year round?
An Apple tablet is definitely an interesting proposition, especially with people already guessing it will look like a larger version of the iPod Touch (and folks like Munster feeding that rumor). As of now, though, the attention that an unfounded rumor is getting, from an analyst who constantly makes predictions that never really happens, is bordering on ridiculous.
Of all the major blogs that covered this latest of Apple rumors, Boing Boing probably had the most poignant take. According to them “Gene Munster makes this prediction over and over again because it’s easy, and because he knows he will eventually be right.” They go further, quoting CNBC’s Jim Cramer, who one said “It’s easy because the people who write about Apple want that story, and you can claim its credible because you spoke to someone at Apple, but [you know] Apple isnt going to comment.”
Can we all give the Apple rumors a rest now please?
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