14 DAY TRIAL // In case you haven’t gotten around to searching the iTunes App Store for “iSlate,” the fine folks at Mobile Entertainment have. Surprisingly (or perhaps not), they’ve actually found something called “iSlate,” only it’s not a tablet PC. It’s a portable digital clapper board, which, according to its developer, "helps video enthusiasts add a touch of Hollywood to their videos." It's supposedly targeted at video blogging and online video posting.
The purpose of this article is not to promote an app that, seemingly, few have even heard of, but to polish the dust off an old rumor suggesting Apple had decided on the “iSlate” dubbing for its unconfirmed tablet PC. Had this been the case, some believe Apple would have contacted developer iBuiltThis to pull its app, or rename it. While this sounds plausible at first (Apple has had such requests in the past), it’s not.
The iSlate name (although not very convincing) could be still on for the Apple tablet, while Apple is waiting to formally introduce the device before telling the app’s developer to make any adjustments, a move that would immediately fall on the ears of rumor-focused blogs and websites.
And the reasons for not doing this just yet are obvious. Apple has enough hype on its hands as it is. Telling developer iBuiltThis to change its app’s name would be indirect confirmation that Apple is naming its tablet just that. Apple is also known to have secured iSlate.com. MacRumors was able to find what it called a “historic record” proving Apple's ownership of the domain.
Many regard “iTablet” and “iPad” as equal contenders to being engraved on Apple’s upcoming marvel, but Softpedia believes the company has more than these three rather limited choices of naming the ultra-hyped product. By the way, no iPhone apps bearing either of these two names exist in the App Store.
Meanwhile, the iSlate app may not be in danger at all. In fact, it could sure use the publicity (it’s kind of low on user feedback). And we said this wasn’t a move to promote the app...