The OS on Apple's Tablet is 'Pretty,' Tipster Says

A person the Silicon Alley Insider refers to as “an industry source” has contacted the site with information regarding the operating system employed by Apple’s forthcoming tablet. This person has allegedly seen the OS first-hand. Surprisingly, the person didn’t see the actual device as well.

Silicon Alley Insider reports that it has received a few comments (which are ambiguous to say the least) in regards to the Apple tablet’s operating system, saying, “Some fresh Apple tablet gossip from an industry source who tells us they have seen the OS: (Not the device.).” The comments go as follows:

- It's "pretty" -- obviously.
- "The UI has a good bit of new sexy to it."
- "It's a big iPhone, but it's not just a big iPhone."

Softpedia notes
Needless to point out, nothing new is dished out here. This can’t even be considered a valuable piece of information, with every industry watcher expecting the operating system used by Apple’s tablet to be at least “pretty,” and akin to that of the iPhone / iPod touch. Adding that this person hasn’t actually seen the device itself leaves us wondering: what exactly did this person see it on? A regular computer? And, if so, seeing the operating system isn’t enough to picture the control method, the size and shape of the device and so on? More details were definitely in order from a person who’s seen the "iSlate"’s OS first hand, Softpedia believes.

However, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to assume this person is an Apple developer equipped with a beta build of the software, tasked with carrying out tests in the rumored simulator included with SDK 4.0 for the device.

Softpedia reported earlier this week that Apple’s January 27 product announcement would not only see the introduction of the tablet, but also the iPhone OS 4.0 and an associated Software Development Kit (SDK) for programmers, based on a CultOfMac report citing French site Mac4Ever. According to earlier speculation (kicked off by AppleInsider), developers were reportedly instructed to create bigger-scale demos of their applications (presumably using the new developer tools) for Apple-typical stage-demos. It is yet to be confirmed whether these leaks have been accurate.