Picture of Apple’s new tablet leaks online as anticipation hits fever pitch

Apple is widely expected to launch its next generation gadget – an iSlate entertainment device – in San Francisco tomorrow.

Speculation suggests it will look like a larger version of the iPod Touch with a bigger screen that will let people watch movies, play music, read books and surf the web.

Apple has invoked maximum security around the announcement which will be made around 7pm UK time.

Is this leaked picture of Apple’s hugely anticipated iSlate device? The company is widely expected to launch its next generation tablet gadget in San Francisco tomorrow

It appears the iSlate will have a wi-fi connection to the internet and there is speculation that it will also link to the web via the mobile phone network.

If this is so, users will be able to download video, music, books and newspapers while on the go rather than being tied down to wi-fi internet hot spots in the home or town centres.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is expected to put millions of technology fans out of their misery with an announcement tomorrow

The web has been alive with rumours about the look and cost of the new iSlate, which could effectively replace the conventional lap-top or smaller net-books used by many.

One German electronics retailer suggested the iSlate would cost 499 euros – £436 – if bought as part of a mobile network package from T-mobile.

It appears users would be expected to pay a monthly fee based on the amount of data downloaded over the mobile phone system.

It was suggested the price would soar to an eye-watering 899 euros – £786 – if the iSlate was bought without a mobile network package.

When Apple launched its iPhone into the UK, this was based on an exclusive distribution deal with the O2 network and Carphone Warehouse.

There is no information on which companies will distribute the new device in the UK.

The announcement will be made by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs at an event in San Francisco. The company is under constant pressure to reinvent its ground-breaking gadgets and come up with new products.

Its last announcement in September 2009 brought a new generation of its iPod Nano, which included a video camera, FM radio and voice recorder for the first time.

Earlier this week, Mr Jobs fuelled anticipation about its expected launch of the iSlate – or tablet computer – as he revealed a 50 per cent leap in quarterly profits to $3.38 billion.

‘The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product that we’re really excited about,’ he said.

Some 220million Apple iPods have been sold around the world to date, a staggering 73.8 per cent of all MP3 players. Twenty million of these are its iTouch media player.

The company has also sold an amazing 30million iPhones in just two years. There are more than 100,000 software applications for the phones, while consumers have made two billion downloads.

The company’s iTunes music and video download store is the number one seller of music in the world. Some 8.5billion songs have been purchased via a staggering 100 million accounts.

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