Is TechCrunch For Real About the Web Tablet? I Don’t Think So and Here’s Why

The blogosphere and tabletscape is all crazy about Mike Arrington’s “Web Tablet for under $200“. I think it is a great idea and I hope they are serious, but I don’t think that they are. What I do believe, and this is mere speculation, is that Mike is telling everyone that Apple is indeed releasing a web tablet: a larger iPhone or iPod Touch, better known as the Mac Tablet.

Here’s why I think the TechCrunch Tablet isn’t real:

• Mike doesn’t tell anyone why he wants one. He just says that he wants an ultra-thin device like the MacBook Air. He also wants it to have a touch screen like the iPhone / iPod Touch. Mike, are you a secret tablet geek and have not told anyone? How would you use it?
• Apple had their earnings conference call yesterday, in which they laid out a mystery device. The New York Times speculates it is their Mac Tablet – smaller than a laptop, but larger than an iPhone. ( thanks for the link, Mickey)
• The timing of Apple’s conference call and TechCrunch’s piece is quite ironic
• TechCrunch is a news network and conference company. Heading up an effort on open sourcing the development of a web tablet seems totally out of place.
• I could be totally wrong here, but in all of Mike’s writings, I can’t recall seeing him talk about tablets. The sudden need to create a cheap web tablet, again, seems strange.
• I believe the $200 price point is Mike’s way of saying the Mac Tablet will be cheap and consumer accessible.
• He wants a trim OS that turns on instantly. That is there already with the iPhone OS X.
• He wants full browser support. Again, it is there with Safari. It is interesting to note that in his main piece, he talks about using FireFox. However, in the comments, Mike also mentions using WebKit as an alternative browser, which is the Mac OS X system framework that is used by Safari.
• Many folks I talk to about the iPhone and iPod Touch tell me they would love a bigger version – almost the size of 8 1/2 x 11 or the size of a Kindle.

Again, mere speculation. I’d love to chat with you about your tablet idea, Mike – got time for a podcast?