14 DAY TRIAL // People familiar with the Apple tablet have allegedly contacted AppleInsider with information regarding the shape and size of the device, as well as other particularities like connectors and buttons. These people also picked out a tablet mockup – out of the dozens floating around on the Internet – to say it is “strikingly close to the real deal.”
Citing “people familiar with the device,” AppleInsider claims to have learned that, “The rendition [...] created by Flickr user Fotoboer.nl last August is strikingly close to the real deal. [...] It would be more precise [...] if it weren't missing a handful of design elements of the iPhone.”
On a more particular note, they say the device is “nestled in an aluminum shell that leverages the Apple's expertise in unibody construction but thinner proportionality than the original iPhone, the tablet reportedly sports all of the same buttons found on the handset, right down to its iconic home button -- which, like the volume toggle, is missing from the rendering.”
The device is also said to boast the same in/out connectivity as the current iPhone model (the 3GS). These elements include a 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack, built-in speaker grills, a microphone, GPS, 3G connectivity and a 30-pin dock connector, according to AppleInsider. A 10-inch display is allegedly “framed by a black border that bleeds into its wrap-around aluminum enclosure,” the same report reveals, again pointing to the rendering in question.
In other (yet related) news, Taiwan-based notebook battery makers Simplo Technology and Dynapack International Technology are said to have been tapped for supplying batteries for Apple’s upcoming tablet PC. As usual, DigiTimes cites the Chinese-language Commercial Times, which revealed this week that, “The two companies are also battery suppliers for Apple's MacBooks.” The report goes to note that both companies may see their global market shares increase from 22% and 10%, respectively, thanks to this deal and additional battery orders from new clients for 2010.