Hwang was a 14-year veteran at the U.S. division of Samsung when he told Primary Global Research LLC executive James Fleishman, and a hedge fund manager identified only as “Greg” about the South Korean company’s shipment of LCD displays intended for use in Apple’s iPad. Hwang passed on the information at a lunch between the three parties in Dec. 2009, a full four months before the actual shipping date of the original iPad, in April 2010.

The testimony is part of a case against Fleishman regarding allegations of insider trading, and Hwang was granted immunity from prosecution from the judge presiding over the case in exchange for his testimony. Hwang said that he made about $38,000 working for Primary Global Research as a consultant between 2004 and 2010.

The case shines a light on what’s normally a part of the Apple news cycle that mostly occupies the shadows. Analysts and research groups often cite supply chain checks and reports often come down from “supply chain sources,” but this is a fairly clear look at exactly what that could mean behind the scenes. Hwang’s may be an extreme example, as he was eventually sought out by the FBI and asked to testify against Fleishman, but if you’re wondering where the latest component shipment report came from, it just might be from an informal lunch meeting in exchange for a “consultancy fee.”

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The report from DigiTimes, which has a fairly successful history of discovering information about the parts going into future Apple devices ahead of their release, says the iPhone 5′s display panel, despite not being much larger than the current iPhone’s 3.5-inch one, will nonetheless appear larger thanks to a new design. The bezel surrounding the display will be able to be made smaller, which will allow the screen to sit closer to the phone’s edge. This will make it look much bigger, and allow the iPhone 5 to sport an even slimmer, more compact form factor. It’s also possible that these reports address just one of two new iPhone models coming this fall, if speculation about a cheaper version of the iPhone arriving alongside a full-fledged iPhone 5 prove true.

Sources also claimed in the report that the iPhone 5′s back will be metal, instead of reinforced glass. That’s a rumor we’ve heard mentioned before, but so far, we’ve yet to really see much supporting evidence to back it up. Some think it would interfere with reception, but aftermarket mods that accomplish the same thing with the iPhone 4 do exist, and users don’t seem to report any reception problems (it may help that the antenna on the iPhone 4 is actually outside the device) so in theory it should work fine.

I argued early this year that the next iPhone might not need a considerably larger screen. While I still believe it likely won’t hinder its selling ability, after using the Samsung Galaxy S II with its 4.3-inch screen for a while, I do think a bigger display would be beneficial to iPhone owners. What do you think? Would a smaller screen be disappointing, or a welcome change if it helps the iPhone 5 take up even less room in your pocket?

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In contrast, TheAppleBlog’s Darrell Etherington urged caution in predictions of an iPad 3, though he suggested there might be room for a complementary model. Arguably, his caution was prudent. During the iPad 2 launch event in March, a Keynote slide declared 2011 to be the year of the iPad 2. Singular.

Even so, Apple leadership has a habit of altering the company’s course, often very suddenly, as with the transition from Mac OS to OS X or from PPC CPU architecture to x86. More recently, after years of asserting a 13-inch display was the minimum size for a laptop, the company launched the 11-inch MacBook Air. Perhaps similarly, after asserting a 9.7-inch display was the minimum for a tablet, Apple might yet launch a 7-inch iPad 2.

The problem with a 7-inch iPad is that there doesn’t seem to be a lot of interest, or rather, there’s a huge amount of interest in the 9.7-inch iPad 2, which suggests consumers aren’t sweating the lack of a smaller version. From AppleInsider, Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White’s “barometer” of Apple component suppliers suggests their triple-digit growth “was driven largely by the ramp of iPad 2.” Fortune reports on a “small but growing group” of analysts predicting 7 million iPads sold this quarter. That would come after Apple sold a record 7.3 million iPads during the holiday quarter last year, and would be a strong indicator of iPad sales in excess of 30 million this year, double last year’s total. Finally, DigiTimes is citing supply-chain sources that “have not yet received any notice for next generation iPad products and do not believe iPad 2 is a transitional product.”

The circumstantial evidence so far is against another iPad this year, including a 7-inch model. Setting aside the repeated denunciations of the smaller display by Apple executives, the real question would be, why introduce a new model when the current one is so successful? There is no reason, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Take the example of the iPod Mini. In 2005, the multi-colored iPod Mini with its hard-drive storage was hugely successful, and yet in the fall of that year, it was promptly replaced by the smaller iPod nano.

There’s something about the “year of the iPad 2″ assertion that seems too certain, too definitive for a company as unpredictable as Apple. Since when does Apple provide any information about its product release plans more than a few weeks in advance? Despite indications that Apple is sticking to one iPad model release per year, there’s just no such thing as a safe bet when it comes to this company.

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Are You Looking at Me?

The new iPad will have FaceTime support via a front-facing camera. If it doesn’t, I will eat my hat. Apple is all about FaceTime, and I’m fairly sure the only reason the first iPad didn’t have it is because Apple wanted that to be an iPhone 4 launch feature, and the company knew full well that in a year’s time, it would become an upgrade incentive for original iPad owners. Whether the iPad will have a rear camera as well is less certain. It would help keep the device on par with Android hardware, and Mark thinks it could come in handy for business users. On the other hand, I think most users probably wouldn’t take advantage of it much, and Apple isn’t known for doing things just because everyone else is doing it.

You Look Familiar

The biggest question mark surrounding Apple’s new iPad is probably the display. Will it be double the resolution (2048×1536), as some early rumors speculated? Or will it remain exactly the same, as more recent murmurs indicate? I think the iPad 2 will have a similar screen to the original, but with quality improvements that don’t change the resolution but nevertheless affect the look of the screen. Whether it’s better contrast, brightness, viewing angle or screen depth, we’ll see something that makes the iPad 2 visually pop, but Apple won’t go Retina Display with this revision. The iPhone’s screen remained relatively the same until the iPhone 4, after all. It can afford to keep the same quality of display in place for one more year, especially if it continues to beat all others when it comes to price.

Have You Lost Weight?

The iPad 2 will be thinner than its predecessor. Apple loves to do this with its portable devices; the iPod touch is a perfect example. Apple will have refined the design of components to allow for a thinner case. We might also see a thinner bezel around the screen, allowing for a smaller overall surface area, but the screen will almost certainly remain 9.7 inches. Apple won’t reduce the size of the bezel by too much, though, because the iPad still can’t be held comfortably with one hand without putting a finger on the front of the device. Some suggest a carbon-fiber body might be on the way, but I’d wager that Apple will stick with an aluminum back for this model. BGR this morning posted what it claims might be a picture of the next iPad’s back casing. The casing pictured appears to replicate the design rumors that have been floating around, with a flat back and more prominent speaker, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this is, in fact, what we get.

Have You Been Working Out?

Apple will make sure the next iPad gets improvements under the hood, even if it doesn’t go overboard and throw in dual-core processing or tremendous amounts of RAM. Recent rumors suggest that it’ll get an upgrade to a more powerful processor, an A5 to succeed Apple’s in-house designed A4, which currently powers the iPhone 4 and the iPad. At least 512MB of RAM is also pretty much a guarantee. Don’t be surprised if Apple keeps these changes relatively modest on paper, though. The key to iPad’s success is, after all, how well it performs in the hands of users, something more muscle-bound machines haven’t yet been able to match.

There’s a Certain Something About You

All of the above items are what we can pretty safely expect to see, but none of them will really bowl over customers the way Apple likes to with new iterations of its devices. FaceTime is a big addition from Apple’s perspective, but consumers at this point will be shocked only if it isn’t there. Instead, there are a number of possibilities for something new that really shakes things up.

There are three likely possible wow factors for the iPad 2 in my opinion. The first is the inclusion of a Thunderbolt port. Many early case prototypes for the new iPad feature a space for a port that’s too small to be USB, and was originally suspected to be for Mini DisplayPort. Apple showed it was serious about Thunderbolt by including it in the new MacBook Pros it introduced last Thursday. It makes sense for iPad, because it could make for ultra-fast syncing and data transfer between the iPad and new Macs, rewarding customers who embrace both of Apple’s computing platforms. And even for those who don’t, Thunderbolt on the iPad could be used for simple, single-cord A/V out to connected displays. I think this is possible for this generation, but it’s more likely Apple will wait until Thunderbolt has more presence in its Mac line before we see it go portable.

Second, Apple could introduce iOS 5 alongside the iPad, with additional, device-specific features that are only available to customers who pay for the hardware upgrade. Maybe these could be the oft-rumored NFC features many think are on their way to iOS devices, or AirDrop capabilities like those in the new OS X Lion developer preview that allow for easy, fast device-to-device direct file transfer. This seems like the most realistic wow factor candidate for this generation of hardware.

Finally, the new iPad could come with a price reduction. Apple is already leading the tablet pack when it comes to the cost to consumers, but even a $25 drop would do a lot to solidify that position and overshadow a relatively modest, evolutionary hardware update. Apple has been making the iPad for a year now, so presumably it’s been able to reduce production costs along the way.

Those are my expectations going into Wednesday’s event. What are yours?

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AppleInsider is reporting the new 13-inch MacBook Pro will include a 2.3GHz Core i5 processor, 4 GB of DDR3 RAM, a 320 GB HDD, and a 13.3-inch display with a resolution of 1280×800. Graphics duties will be handled by an Intel HD Graphics 3000 integrated card, and it’ll also sport a rebranded FaceTime HD camera. The 13-inch Pro is also rumored to introduce SDXC support, and a new high-speed data port/display connector dubbed “Thunderbolt,” based on Intel’s Light Peak technology.

The specs are supported by a shot of the MacBook Pro box posted by Fscklog that is said to depict the specs of the 13-inch MacBook Pro. Both AppleInsider and Mac4Ever have also received photos which show the new branding for the Thunderbolt High-speed I/O port. There’s also an image which claims to show the new Thunderbolt port, which, if the photo is accurate, looks exactly like Apple’s Mini DisplayPort on current machines. This makes sense, since the new tech is supposed to be backward-compatible with Mini DisplayPort connectors.

MacRumors claims to have separately confirmed that these are indeed legitimate images and specs, and that they depict the configuration of the low-end, 13-inch MacBook Pro configuration.

Meanwhile, SlashGear is reporting the higher-end 13-inch MacBook Pro will get a third USB port, along with the option to go with a matte screen capable of 1440×900 resolution. The 15-inch model will apparently be able to handle 1680×1050, and weigh 200g less than the previous iteration. The new 17-inch MacBook Pro will actually be gaining weight, 300g, to be exact, and have 8GB of RAM standard, according to SlashGear. Battery life is said to be increasing to between 11 and 12 hours, depending on the model.

These new rumors, especially those concerning the 13-inch MacBook Pro, seem to be standing on fairly solid ground. If Apple is indeed intending to reveal new machines on Thursday, and if they go on sale the same day, then it’s likely retailers are already in position of the new models, so the possibility of a genuine leak is quite high. There’s also the fact that Intel is planning to announce Light Peak at an event Thursday, timing which seems too perfect to be coincidental.

The inclusion of Light Peak tech as Thunderbolt also makes a lot of sense, since it appears to be backward-compatible with Mini DisplayPort tech. That means the general population will continue to use it as a display connector, while tech enthusiasts and early adopters can take advantage of its I/O capabilities. And, if Apple is building Thunderbolt into the next iPad, as rumors that it might include a Mini DisplayPort-sized opening suggest, it could make for lightning-quick transfers and syncs between desktop and iOS devices down the road.

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The MacBook Air Inheritance

Apple finally updated the long-neglected MacBook Air last fall, and the changes the update brought turned the ultra-portable from red-headed stepchild to starring player. Apple would be crazy not to try injecting some of that magic back into the Pro lineup. Here’s a look at what Air-inspired changes might make their way into the new MacBook Pro.

Flash Storage

Some have speculated Apple will move to flash storage for the MacBook Pro, just like it did with the MacBook Air. Flash storage would save space inside the case, and help the computer run faster and more efficiently. The most recent rumors (via BGR) suggest that while new MacBook Pro base models won’t include only SSD storage by default, they will offer small, separate SSD drives (between 8-16 GB in capacity) to exclusively house the operating system, while remaining system storage will still be handled by a regular hard-disk drive. Pricier upgrade options will allow users to choose to use SSDs exclusively for internal storage.

It’s a rumor that makes a lot of sense, actually, since it lets Apple offer the large storage capacities Pro users often look for in their notebooks while still providing the instant-on advantages of a flash-based OS X installation. Going with a hybrid model will keep costs low for base configurations, allowing Apple to hold on to its margins.

Lighter and Smaller

The MacBook Air also lost weight and girth with its last update, and we saw the introduction of an 11-inch model. I don’t think a smaller screen size is in the cards for a Pro refresh, but we’ll definitely see weight savings.

Apple managed to fit its multi-touch glass trackpad and new, long-lasting battery tech in the MacBook Air, which suggests it learned lessons about how to make those components much smaller and lighter than they had been before. The new MacBook Pro will reap the benefit of these advances, getting lighter in the process. Rumors suggest we’ll see a half-pound weight savings, which wouldn’t surprise me.

I doubt we’ll see a dramatic change in the overall physical footprint of the Pro models, since Apple will want to keep up the product differentiation between the Air and the Pro. We might see a tapered design, but changes to overall thickness will be minimal. In terms of outward appearance, some rumors also suggest we’ll see a larger trackpad, which could make sense if Apple has found a way to save internal space on that component’s design.

Better Display

The MacBook Air introduced a high-resolution display that many designers I’ve spoken with say more than makes up for its diminutive screen size. Since it introduced the Retina Display in the iPhone 4, Apple has seemed intent on distinguishing itself even further from its competitors when it comes to screen quality, although the company has always prided itself on its success in that area.

New MacBook Pros will likely leverage the same screen technology introduced with the MacBook Air to bring slight but visible improvements to resolution and pixel density. The same sort of step-up resolution is a good possibility. (The 11-inch Air provides the resolution typically associated with a 13-inch screen.)

Of Ports and Processors

Inside and out, the new MacBook Pro is expected to be a new machine. Rumors suggest the Pro will use Intel’s new Sandy Bridge family of processors, which were initially delayed when Intel discovered a flaw in the chipset’s design. With those problems reportedly ironed out, Apple could introduce the new generation of chips, which provide new Pros with better processing speeds and energy consumption.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro is especially in need of a processor refresh, since it still uses an Intel Core 2 Duo chip, while the 15- and 17-inch models have moved on to Intel’s i5 and i7 series processors. Improved graphics cards are also a likely bet for all models.

Some rumors suggest Apple will be adopting Light Peak technology in the new Pro notebooks. Light Peak is an Intel-developed connection interface that provides more than double the transfer rates of USB 3.0. Apple worked with Intel to develop the technology as a means of replacing USB and FireWire. Light Peak is capable of transferring an entire Blu-ray movie in less than 30 seconds.

The possibility of Light Peak’s introduction with this round of MacBook Pro updates is far from a sure thing. On one hand, Apple introduced FireWire soon after it was completed, and before it was widely adopted. On the other hand, the company was slow to introduce USB to its products, and might be reluctant to add a port that as yet, means little or nothing to most consumers. Our own Liam Cassidy thinks it’s very unlikely we’ll see Light Peak this time around.

Not Long to Wait

We should find out soon enough what Apple has in store for this round of updates. Reports of Apple employee briefings and delayed shipments put a release date at sometime within a week, possibly even Thursday, which also happens to be Steve Jobs’ birthday. What are you hoping to see?

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Gruber laid out the possibility of an iPad 3 arriving ahead of schedule in the fall, following the iPad 2′s release this spring, in an article about the tablet scene and Apple’s plans within that picture for 2011. For the record, I’m not questioning Gruber’s predictive abilities or the value of his educated guess in this instance, but I am questioning how quickly other outlets took up the report as gospel, without even considering alternate possibilities. The Atlantic’s vanilla reblog is typical of most stories coming out of Gruber’s post.

In the interest of balance, I’d like to offer some counterpoints to Gruber’s prediction, because in many ways, Apple releasing two iPads in one year (especially this year) doesn’t make sense at all. Take, for example, Gruber’s opinions regarding the comparative merits of April and September as release dates:

I don’t think April is a particularly good month for an annual iPad release. I don’t think it’s a particularly bad month, either, but it doesn’t make as much sense as September. April is four months into the new year, but still feels like “early” in the year. That leads to whispers and rumors during the holiday season that people should wait. Shipping new hardware in April adds another milestone to the iOS release schedule, too.

I’d actually argue just the opposite. An April (or spring) release makes sense for the iPad, precisely because, as Gruber notes, “[t]he iPad was a massive hit during the past holiday season.” Apple stands to gain little from positioning the iPad as a fall release, since it already enjoys a huge sales bump from holiday shoppers. With an April launch, the iPad stands to see higher-than-average sales periods twice a year (once at launch and once again around the holidays), rather than just one enormous one. Despite the inevitable suggestions that people should wait for new hardware releases when the end of a cycle draws near, I’d argue that by and large, average consumers will still go out and buy what they want to, leaving those of us closest to the tech pulse to worry about upgrade cycles. The iPad’s 2010 holiday success is testament to that belief.

Another argument that came up in favor of an iPad 3 release in September was that iPods, which currently get their annual refresh then, don’t have the kind of consumer appeal they once did. The iPod touch is great, but it’s a known quantity, argues Gruber, and not likely to generate the kind of enthusiasm a new iPad would. It’s another good point, but it ignores the possibility that Apple may have intentionally put the iPod and Mac releases (new Mac hardware often comes in October) just ahead of the holiday season because those are the products that stand to gain the most from pre-holiday hype. Announce a new iPod line in the spring, and not only does it run the risk of being seen as less than exciting by consumers, but it also might be forgotten by Christmas. If Apple uses an iPad 3 to steal the show from its other fall releases, mind share among consumers might dwindle even further. I don’t think Apple’s willing to let that happen just yet.

Consider, too, that the iPad was released at a specific time of Apple’s choosing the first time around. Because Apple faced no competition, and no competitor devices were even really imminent, it had absolute freedom regarding when it chose to ship the device, and it chose April (following a January introduction). Admittedly, Apple had no way of knowing the iPad would be the success it has been, but it doesn’t seem like the kind of company that would be caught unprepared for that eventuality. I think Apple chose April knowing full well that it might become a marquee device for the company, and that it had, and continues to have, very good reasons for doing so.

There’s also the issue of the supply chain implications resulting from a two-model single year release for the iPad. Apple maintains its price advantage over its competitors in the tablet game largely because it knows how to effectively manipulate the supply chain to its advantage, making component scarcity and pricing an issue for other manufacturers. Ordering parts for an iPad 2 and iPad 3 that need to be released within months of each other, and have to be different enough in terms of their hardware capabilities to convince buyers to upgrade early could seriously endanger Apple’s cost advantage.

Finally, there’s another outside possibility that my colleague Kevin Tofel suggested which might make more sense than a fall iPad 3 introduction: a fall 7-inch iPad product announcement. Steve Jobs is on record against a 7-inch iPad, but he’s been known to contradict himself in the past. The introduction of a 7-inch iPad would manage to reinvigorate Apple’s fall announcements without aggravating consumers who purchased the iPad 2 in spring, and would steal focus from any competitor tablets released in the interim. The 7-inch form factor has yet to really prove itself, but Apple is in the best position of any tablet maker to take a risk and see if it strikes a chord when combined with the usability of OS X. Jobs’ disparaging comments about 7-inch devices could even be an intentional misdirect aimed at competitors. It’s a long shot, but not any more of one than Gruber’s suggestion.

Gruber’s track record is good, and MG Siegler of TechCrunch did back him up with some information from anonymous sources (which isn’t conclusively tied to a fall shipping iPad 3), so it’s quite possible that he’s right. But the evidence above, and Apple’s track record with product releases, suggests it might be wise to exercise a little caution before becoming a true believer.

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The “Tweener” Won’t Die

Apple is on record as saying that the 7-inch form factor for tablets is a bad idea, since it falls in the middle of the 10-inch and 4-inch or so sweet spots established by the iPad and smartphone devices. But a source talking to iLounge revealed that an iPad component maker has been asked by Apple to develop a part for a 7-inch iPad model. While that’s enough to suggest Apple might not have put the smaller form factor to rest just yet, I don’t think it’ll result in a shipping 7-inch iPad 2. But, depending on how the market develops in 2011, a diminutive iPad 3 definitely isn’t outside of the realm of possibility.

Carbon Fiber Body

No, I’m not talking about an upgraded street racer. The latest scuttlebutt, which echoes earlier rumors, is that iPad 2 will have a carbon fiber case, reducing weight and improving flexibility. Though maybe not quite as good looking as aluminum, this would be a welcome change for users like me who aren’t particularly tied to using cases and who have been known, on occasion, to drop or ding their beautiful Apple hardware. Again according to iLounge’s source, Apple is already testing out carbon fiber cases with the iPad 2, but they might not make it to market, since aluminum versions are also being tested.

Stylus Support

As many will know, the iPad currently does support a very special kind of stylus. I use a Pogo Sketch, but there are a wide variety available for use with capacitive touchscreens which use a soft, electrically conducive material about the width of a pencil to emulate a finger. It’s not a perfect solution, in the way a Wacom tablet with pressure sensitivity is, but it does the job. Patently Apple found a patent for a pen stylus with a greater degree of accuracy designed specifically for iPad-style screens. The stylus described in the patent uses a built-in accelerometer and other sensors to make it pressure sensitive, and enable motion-generated contextual commands. The patent was originally filed in 2008, however, so while iPad 2 is a convenient target for deployment of such at a tech at the moment, it’s something Apple has had in its pocket for a while now.

RFID/NFC Accessories

We’ve already seen rumors of NFC-capable iPad 2 and iPhone 5 devices, and now iLounge is reporting that those might communicate with NFC-equipped accessories. This would allow connection to happen between devices and the iPad 2 without the need for Bluetooth to be active or pairing to occur. Another possible application described by iLounge would let the iPad 2 automatically enter power-save mode when put inside a case equipped with an RFID tag telling it to do so. If the iPad 2 does get NFC (which isn’t a stretch), these kinds of accessories will no doubt surface, too.

Announcement and Release Date

According to Japanese blog Marcotakara, the iPad 2 will be announced at a event later this month that will be “relatively small” according to its sources. This likely means that it’ll be held on-campus at Apple HQ in Cupertino, but it will probably still be its own dedicated event, unlike what earlier rumors had suggested. And while the announcement is rumored for February, Marcotakara suggests March as the actual release month of the iPad 2. The blog isn’t the only one throwing around possible release dates, however. Unlikely source Elton John has been talking to various media outlets about getting an iPad 2 in April for the purposes of video chatting with his son. He also referred to it as a “Skype iPad,” which suggests that maybe he isn’t the best authority to consult regarding something like the iPad 2.

Right before the official unveil is both my favorite and least favorite time in the Apple product life cycle, since there’s so much speculation circulating to build anticipation, but you also run the risk of getting your hopes up for features that will never ship. What do you guys think? Is all the hype surrounding new products an advantage or disadvantage of being an Apple fan?

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MacOtakara cites an “anonymous Chinese source,” as the origin of the new rumor. According to the source, the new iPad’s back won’t have a curved back, and will taper into a flat surface, much like the iPod touch’s current back casing. It’s a minor change, but it could reduce overall device width, and make it a little bit easier to use the device when it’s placed on a flat surface.

The iPad will also take up less space on your desk, if the new information proves correct. The overall footprint of the iPad 2 will apparently shave a little more than 3mm off of its current height and width, resulting in a 239mm x 186mm total size. The screen will remain the same, with the size savings being shaved off the bezel that surrounds it instead.

The new design would also see the ambient light sensor move to the back of the device, which might be done to allow for the smaller bezel. That Apple would change the position of the light sensor strikes me as odd, since you’d think the best place to test the light would be on the screen, since that’s the whole point.

Finally, according to this new source, the bottom of the device will feature a larger, “wide-range” speaker with a mesh grill cover. This also strikes me as odd, since the current iPad has a remarkably good speaker in my opinion, but it might help prevent it from being so easily covered.

As always, take these rumors with a grain of salt, but it’s the season we should start hearing tons of reports. And as is usually the case with each Apple product release, some will inevitably turn out to be correct.

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While those basically guarantee what many already suspected, there’s also another new category, a placeholder called “Reserved 10 20.” It’s obviously a reference to today’s date, but little else is clear beyond that. Maybe Apple has an additional surprise product in its pocket, a true “one more thing?” Or, it could be for Apple’s new operating system, and remains unnamed because Apple wants to make extra sure not to give away the name before later today.

Engadget also posted additional details about the new MacBook Air ahead of today’s announcement, which it says come from a trusted source. It’s basically a full spec sheet for the 11.6-inch version we’ll supposedly see alongside a revamped 13.3-inch model:

• 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (with a 2.33GHz option).
• 2GB of memory.
• No optical drive.
• Mini DisplayPort, USB, and SD on the left, and MagSafe and another USB on the right.
• New, single-piece button trackpad, like on the Pros.
• Smaller footprint, but same thickness as the current MacBook Air.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see this thing unveiled this afternoon. My 12-inch PowerBook is long due for retirement. Tune in here at TheAppleBlog for coverage of today’s event, which starts at 10 AM Pacific, or 1 PM Eastern.

Update: As of 12:15 p.m. EDT this afternoon, the Discussions pages have all been yanked, showing a “not found” error. It’s likely they will reappear after this afternoon’s event, and apparent that someone really did jump the gun and posted them too soon.

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When Apple announced the launch date for its new device earlier this month, it only imparted solid details (on both price and dates) for the U.S., providing only a vague ‘late April’ time schedule for the rest of the world. But if Apple store workers from Canada are to be believe,d the iPad could see its international debut on April 24.

According to iPad in Canada, Canadian Apple staff have been informed that April 24 and 25 are “blackout periods.” Apparently these “blackout periods” are an interval of time, typically over a day or two, specified by Apple that employees can not book off. The source claims that these required working periods are rarely called upon and signify that something big is going down.

The speculated date makes sense, as not only does the 24th and 25th fall over a weekend, similar to this weekends launch, it also lines up with Apple’s earlier hints of a late release date in April. Of course it is worth noting that the original report references Canadian Apple Store sources only and does not divulge any further details on international dates. But it would seem highly unlikely of Apple to play around with too many dates.

Finally, iPad in Canada went on to theorize as to when the iPad would be available for pre-order. It is hoping that the international launch will play out in a similar fashion to the U.S., with a pre-order campaign kicking off three weeks before the availability date. If its guess is correct, Apple could be revealing all in the coming days, with international pre-orders possibly opening as soon as this Friday.

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The seeming randomness of what gets a response, and the often short, cryptic replies, seem reminiscent of the famous fortune-telling toy, not that we aren’t all hanging on every single-word reply.

The latest terse missive seen above was in response to a question those of us with iPhone and multiple email accounts have been asking for years. TUAW reports reader Julio R. asked if the “iPhone will ever have a universal mailbox just like Mail has on my Mac?”

In typically minimalist reply, Jobs responded, “Yep.” While that’s not as affirmative as “Yep – definitely,” I’ll take it. A universal inbox is easily the most obvious missing feature of Mail on the iPhone. While that might be the most satisfying response from Steve Jobs of late, it’s hardly the only one.

A couple of days ago, 9to5Mac posted a response from an individual asking about Apple supporting Google’s Picassa library format. Not surprisingly, the response was negative, nor was it surprising that Jobs wrote Apple had a better alternative, saying “iPhoto on the Mac has much better Faces and Places features.”

There’s really no Magic 8-Ball equivalent to that, but a day later a MacRumors reader allegedly was told in response to the interminable wait for new Mac Pros “not to worry.” The common “Yes” response was given by another TUAW reader asking if it would be possible transfer Google Docs to an iPad through iWork.com, a response supposedly sent from Jobs’ iPad.

From AppleInsider, also sent from Jobs’ iPad and about iPads, was the response to a question about where the iPad will be sold, that being ‘initially at Apple Retail and online stores and Best Buy.” One has to wonder how AT&T, which sells the iPhone and will be providing a data plan for the iPads, feels about that email.

Assuming these responses are not fakes, those hoping to become one of the chosen ones should probably consider their questions carefully. It’s probably a good idea to ask a question that’s interesting, not to Apple customers, but to Steve Jobs, and one that he can answer in a way that satisfies him. Asking why the iPhone is chained to a second-rate carrier like AT&T, or why there is no to-do option for Calendar on the iPhone like iCal has on my Mac will probably not be responded to. At least not so far. Like the Magic 8-Ball, the best questions are short and binary, “yes” or “no” replies.

So, what question are you thinking of asking Steve?

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Apple plays the media game as well as anyone. There’s a rigorous cat and mouse game of filing patents, trademarks, and domain registrations, fake images, rumors, leaks, and misspoken (or are they?) comments in public forums. Each of these manage to whip the public into a frenzy of anticipation which can last for years. But add to this equation, the ravenous fans, bloggers, and tech pundits, who all keep the ball rolling, and it easily enters a completely new level of crazy.

Then the day of reckoning arrives (as it did Wednesday), and perhaps the stock dips and the feedback is mixed as many fans quickly turn on the company that they revere. I get it — we’re all so smitten with the genius of these products we use all the time, that we expect nothing but perfection from Apple. But as the anticipation builds, over time, the “requirements” of the consumer outpace what may be logical or even feasible. And then what happens when reality doesn’t live up to the expectations we’ve developed in our heads (and on our blogs)? An empty feeling of disappointment following Steve’s unveiling.

History has shown that these frustrations and feelings of discontent will generally dwindle with time. Sometimes it’s with the first hands-on experience, and sometimes it’s a slightly longer road as the new thing (the ‘MacBook’ name, for instance) becomes familiar and accepted. The problem as I see it, is that the more time we have on our hands to wonder, the more creative we (by ‘we’ of course, I mean the Internet) get with the things the mythical device might do.

Think about it, we didn’t even know if Apple was actually developing a tablet. For at least a couple years there’s been much talk and guessing that it would, but we really didn’t know for sure. So people start thinking about what an Apple tablet would look like, what it would do, and so on. From there, the creative juices start to flow, and the list of specs and possible technologies spin quickly out of control. Sure, I would’ve loved to have seen a camera on the iPad. It also would’ve been pretty neat if it had some sort of proximity awareness of other iPads. Or if it functioned in a way that brought my home media viewing system together — that would’ve been ideal.

But take a step back and consider what Apple did: It now offers a great middle device for doing the simple things that a majority of computer users need, for only $500! As an aside, some close friends pined for a MacBook to replace their aging iBook, but they couldn’t justify it because the iBook was nicknamed “The Email Checker.” Now for only $500 they could pick this up and browse the web casually, use Facebook, and do the simple tasks that their somewhat outdated (and slow) machine does for twice the price. I for one think that for what it is, the iPad is going to be spectacularly successful.

And then there was the lack of any mention of the iPhone SDK 4.0 availability, Aperture, iLife, and on and on. But think about what this event was — it was the release of a new product from Apple. It’s something never before seen by 99.999 percent of the world. Steve doesn’t want to take away from the hype with anything if it doesn’t directly impact his new offering. Perhaps we’ll see or hear evidence of some of the aforementioned software in coming weeks as the iPad buzz subsides, but yesterday’s event was not the forum for such things.

So a couple of days later, we’re beginning to come down from the Apple event. For some it’s been everything they were hoping for (and did I mention, for only $500?!). For others, frustration and disappointment. But listening to the rumor mill and pinning our hopes to those wild, and largely unfounded ideas is what made it hurt the most. Maybe we should stop that. I enjoy the rumors as much as the next guy. But perhaps it’s time to reign our technolust in just a skosh and enjoy the ride.

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The iSlate (or is it now iTablet again?) frenzy has me particularly annoyed and Gawker’s recent “scavenger hunt” for clues about the mythical new Apple device makes me want to zap their PRAM with extreme prejudice. I’m puzzled as to what purpose knowing about potential Apple’s products a few weeks early could serve? Asking people to risk their jobs to serve the Apple paparazzi machine is completely irresponsible.

I’m also concerned that the rumor mongering is expanding at an exponential level. Theorizing what Apple could or should come up with is great. For an awesome retrospective of such products check out Appledesign: The Work of the Apple Industrial Design Group. The line between fictional Apple announcements and rumors is thin. In 2010, with image and video editing tools, fans can create a fictional Apple product, report it as a rumor, and be taken seriously. Actual true, verifiable Apple news a few weeks before a suspected product announcement grinds to a halt. Personally, I think TheAppleBlog has done a good job or steering clear of the more fanciful theories out there and focusing on what is more plausible and real.

My friends at Apple have some interesting takes on the rumor frenzy which I find fascinating. As TheAppleBlog already reported, some leaks are intentional. The more rumors spread and mutate, the less likely the “true” leak is recognized. With so many different images of what the Tablet could be, nobody is 100 percent sure of what it actually is. More fascinating is that sometimes these fan visualizations of what could be are viewed by Apple employees and could be incorporated into later products. The rumors could serve as prototypes of the next generation.

So is that why everyone is into rumors? To improve Apple design? I suspect for most it’s just impatience. Everyone’s so excited for “one more thing,” they’re willing to risk it all for a glimpse. And this is different than paparazzi taking pictures of celebrities walking their dogs how?

Wait until Christmas morning to open the presents and stop looking in the closet to see where Mom stashed the Hanukkah goodies.

This is just one writer’s opinion on the lack of value in rumors. What’s yours?

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The tablet isn’t doing any of the amazing things we’ve heard about, like acting as an e-reader for a new magazine format. Instead, its user appears to be shopping for IKEA furniture or something similar. Regardless, the UI and hardware design does look like something that Apple could’ve made. Note also the tantalizing images of past Apple products in the background, including the Apple Newton.

It could be an elaborate fake, of course, and the video quality isn’t terrific, but it isn’t bad either. So far, this is the best example I’ve seen of a tablet rumor that could turn out to be solid evidence of what’s to come from the Mac maker. Thoughts?

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Even after the newest touch model was released, teardowns revealed what looked like a space reserved for the camera internally. Apple seemed to be holding back for some reason, and recently reports have been made that that is indeed the case, and that a camera-wielding iPod touch will appear in Spring of 2010.

The news comes via The Examiner, which ascribes the information to sources within Apple. They claim that as most people suspect, a camera was indeed planned for release this fall, but the product failed to meet Apple’s exacting standards:

We have heard from an inside source who claims the camera version of the iPod Touch 3G will be released this Spring. The source confirms to us that the iPod Touch 3G with camera had actually been planned for release this past September, but had problems passing quality control. Unlike Samsung, Apple actually has a Quality Control department.

The article goes on to say that the camera going into the iPod touch will be the same as the one in the current iPod nano, not that found in the iPhone. Presumably, that means that the new touch won’t be able to shoot still photos, which is something the nano camera isn’t able to do.

This newest claim about the iPod touch is backed up by earlier reports of production problems just ahead of the September event, which were said to have frustrated Apple’s launch plans. The nature of the problem wasn’t specified, but French Apple news site HardMac reported it affected “the first dozen of thousands units produced.” 

Spring 2010 makes sense as a launch time frame, too, because Apple did upgrade the iPod touch alongside the other iPod models in September, even without the addition of a camera. Even if it resolved production issues quickly, because it went ahead and launched the product without the component, the Mac maker will have to wait a decent amount of time before introducing another new model in order to clear on-hand stock and defer unnecessary production reconfiguration costs.

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