Is Apple working on a Mac tablet?

There's no knowing, really, but that doesn't keep the rumors about the possibility from swirling around the Internet. A story written by David Richards on Smarthouse says Apple scientists have built a working prototype of a Mac tablet PC and the company is preparing for a launch in mid-2007.

A lot of news outlets have picked up on that one story and just gone to town with it. Apple is hard-core when it comes to keeping mum about these kinds of things, so there's no word coming from the horse's mouth.

Here's what is being bandied about from the Smarthouse article. Three Taiwanese companies are reportedly vying for a manufacturing deal for the tablet PC, which is said to have a touch-screen, Intel processors, a docking station and additional memory.

Forget being about to check on news and email when you're on the go, this little rumored machine will supposedly let you control things at home when you're on the road. No, no, it can't make your spouse start cooking dinner or the kids clean their rooms. What it purportedly will be able to do is allow you to change the temperature settings when you're on your way home or turn on a kitchen light and the stereo so you don't have to enter a dark and quiet house.

Now, if it could run me a hot bath and pour me a glass of red wine, I'd be really impressed.

Ok, so a rumor is just a rumor, so I went to my best source on all things Apple – John Welch, a Unix/open source administrator at Kansas City Life Insurance and a Mac industry analyst. He has seen the flurry of online stories and pundits opining on the Mac tablet but he agrees that so far, it's all rumor based on the one Smarthouse story.

"Is it possible? Sure," he says. "Apple has a lot of tablet features in OS X, like handwriting recognition. They just don't build dedicated hardware for it, like touch screen devices."

OK, so Apple could do it. But will they?

Welch says his best guess is that Apple will do it if they can build an "uncompromised" machine. He says they won't want to create a "crippled machine" that's slow and has low battery life. After all, what would be the point? Most tablet PCs on the market are underpowered, adds Welch. He calls them curiosities that just don't have what it takes for the business user.

If Apple is going to announce a Mac tablet, chances are they would do it at MacWorld in early January. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Welch gives it a 55 percent chance of becoming a reality.