A Flurry of iTablet rumors; tracking service detects unknown device
Flurry thinks mystery devices are iTablets
Just a few more days until Apple unveils its tablet. Or doesn't, which would be an even more momentous event at this point. Two more days to cram in a few more rumors before all is revealed!
The latest report to have everyone in a tizzy comes from mobile app analytics service Flurry. Flurry tracks app use and device details from code that developers can embed in their applications. See their website for more details. Anyway Flurry claims that it has been tracking about 50 devices that they think are Apple tablets. These devices never leave the Cupertino Apple campus, and they're running the unreleased iPhone OS 3.2. Flurry says it first detected these devices in October but that usage has spiked this month. They've tracked about 200 applications running on this mystery device with the most popular category being games, followed by entertainment.
When asked if this could just be data from iPhones testing a new OS release, an individual identifying himself as Flurry VP of Marketing Peter Farago said:
1) If this were an iPhone we were looking at, the hardware would tell us when we ask it (via the software). So we can rule out that this is an iPhone. Also, we already see verified iPhone devices testing OS 4.0 and these leave (Apple's Cupertino, CA) campus, whereas this device does not. This makes sense given the secrecy around the new tablet device as the launch event nears.
2) The apps being tested match up to what the devices is supposed to feature (e.g., news, books, etc.). We cannot share further detail here due to Terms of Service agreements we have with customers that use our service, but feel that if you were able to see the data we see, at the level of granularity, it would be clear to you as well.
You can read the entire blog post discussing this news here (and don't skip the comments). If the report is accurate it means, of course, that the tablet will run iPhone OS rather than (or, I suppose, in addition to) OS X.
So who is excited about the iTablet/iSlate/iPad? Me? You? How about Steve Jobs? At least according to . They've heard "multiple times second and third hand from completely independent sources" that Jobs has said (referring to the tablet) "This will be the most important thing I’ve ever done." Whatever that means. I wouldn't expect him to be telling people "The new tablet will be an entirely adequate device!"
You want more? There's plenty more. Ars Technica covers the possibility of 3G, docking stations, names, cameras and cost.