As the rumoured release date for the new mystery tablet creeps up, a pair of new rumours are adding some intrigue.

First off is a new report that the market for 10in touch screens has become increasingly tight in recent days. It seems someone has been buying up as many 10.1in units as they can get their hands on. The mystery buyer is said to be none other than Apple Inc.

In case you've recently been lobotomised and haven't quite been able to connect the dots, this would indicate that Apple is going into production mode for a 10in tablet, quite likely the one due for its unveiling in the next few weeks. Given Apple's prefered timetable for unveiling new products, taking pre-orders and shipping, this means that those analyst predictions of early March are looking more and more likely.

There have also been new reports on the nature of the device. A few blogs are reporting that the device will utilise the iPhone OS, and operating as what has been described as "an iPhone on steroids". If true, those reports would suggest that the device will function more like a conventional e-reader/tablet system rather than as a netbook/sub-notebook type of device.

14 Jan 2010