Apple followers and Windows devotees alike are abuzz over the rumors, spawned from the Wall Street Journal report, that Steve Jobs is cooking up “a portable device that is smaller than its current laptop computers but bigger than the iPhone or iPod Touch.” - (WSJ). In other words, “he’s working on a cool new computer that is about… yea big.”

So… what is it? Let the speculation begin.

And so, speculation takes off on its careening course-sure to start arguments, inspire hateful comments, and keep bloggers busy. But it sure is fun.

So, here’s a bit of speculation. Assuming we have in the not-so-distant future a tablet-like device or a netbook being produced by Apple, what is it going to be like? Here are some general prognostications. Sorry, no pictures yet.

1. It’s going to cost more than its non-Apple cousins. Apple has never been a company to slash prices to raise sales. In fact, they take a nearly opposite strategy. So, if you’re hoping for a smaller device that will cost less, you may want to keep looking at those Acer netbooks.

2. It’s going to refine nascent tablet or netbook technology. Tablets haven’t caught on as well as they should have. Sure, you’ll see a few of them here and there, but they are still a near-oddity. Perhaps this will change things. Since Apple took the cell phone and turned it into a 2.5″ x 4.5″ locus of entertainment, power and communication, maybe they will revolutionize the tablet, too. The same goes for the netbook. Whatever the netbook is, it hasn’t reached its full potential yet. There is room on the netbook bandwagon for Apple-a notorious latecomer.

3. It’s going to quack like a Mac. Whatever it is, it’s not going to look like Windows. Apple has a multi-billion dollar look and feel that sells. Buyers will rush to purchase the new device, probably because they crave the simplicity and stability they’ve come to cherish from their other Apple devices.

4. It’s going to surprise us. He has a penchant for the unexpected-Steve Jobs that is. He’s the kind of guy that likes the real grand finale to happen after the grand finale already happened. Chances are, there will be some new bells and whistles that not even www.macrumors.com can predict.

5. Or, maybe it will be one grand disappointment… but that’s the kind of speculation that starts arguments and inspires hateful comments.

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