If there’s one thing in life more exciting than an update to a current Apple product, it’s the potential launch of an entirely new Apple product. At least, that’s what the technology world would have you believe.

Only those lucky few with homes under rocks will have missed the fact that Apple is expected to launch a tablet product on 27th January. But what’s it going to have? What will it do? And why are you going to want it?

Let’s ask the rumour mill. [Concept Image: Fotoboer.nl]

Availability
Normally when Apple launch a product, they hold a simultaneous UK press conference, but not this time. Certain sources are suggesting perhaps this means we’re all getting excited over nothing and perhaps the iTablet isn’t going to be coming here any time soon.

Name
Apple Tablet, iSlate, iItWillBlowYourFreakin’Mind – take your pick.

Content
Rumours here are rife. Some say it will stream iTunes. Some say it’ll have eBook functionality at the fore, with Apple already making groundbreaking content deals with book publishers. Still others say it’s going to revolutionise the way we read magazines (see UK Wired’s Ed’s letter this month for hints on that). And then there’s the rumours that it will run apps from the App store.

Screen size
Rumours range from it sporting an 11- to 7- inch screen size. And the screen size is going to dictate how much fun vs work you can have on this little baby.

OS
It could be Mac OS X, it could be the iPhone OS. It all depends on Steve’s functionality vs ease-of-use decisions.

Input
It’s likely to be a touchscreen – Apple don’t like styluses (styli?). So, much like the iPhone, it’s predicted to have an on-screen keyboard, and multitouch.

Cost
You get the feeling any figures picked out here have been plucked out of the air, but $1000 seems to be the number most people are plumping for. So, with the exchange rate, plus the premium charge you get for having the honour of buying things in the UK, we’re looking not far off £900. Probably.

Colour
Actually, no one’s really said much about this, and if indeed it is a premium product, along the Macbook/iPhone line, it’s likely to be sleek and shiny. But imagine if there was a Nano-esque version – it could come in aquamarine! And cerise! And beige! NOW WE ARE TALKING, PEOPLE.

So, after the key points, can you see a space for this in your life? Does it do sufficiently more than an eBook reader? Can you justify it as well as your laptop? Are you going to make room in your bag for yet another gadget? Shamefully, in my Apple-loving heart, I know the answer to this is ‘yeah, probably’.

More on those rumours at:

Electric Pig
Pocket Lint

I’ve been reviewing the Sony Reader Pocket Edition (£159 from WHSmith) for the past few weeks and I’m sold. But if you’re wondering if you can justify spending so much money on a gadget that essentially does the same job a book has been doing for the past few hundred centuries, here’s some fodder for your pros list.

1. Save some paper
There’s still quite a large debate over whether the manufacturing process in producing these electronic books actually produces more carbon than you’ll save using it, but paper doesn’t just waste trees, the process of making paper is also extremely polluting.

So long as you’re not planning on upgrading every year, an ebook uses a lot less power than a laptop, and should work out more eco-friendly in the long term.

2. Give your eyes a rest.
I have to edit a lot of articles and books, and using the Pocket Reader has saved me from printing out and lugging round huge great piles of paper.

The fact that you can use this to read long documents is a big plus point. Sure, you can do that on a computer, but getting away from a LCD screen and onto a lovely ebook screen is bliss. And there’s something about the book-sized gadget that makes it all seem a bit less laborious.

By the way, if you’re likely to use yours for proofing, you might be better off with the Touch, so you can annotate directly on screen. Check out writer-illustrator Viv Schwarz’s review of her Sony Reader for some inspiration on how you could use yours.

3. Catch up on the classics
Project Gutenberg means that you can access a huge database of free ebooks and since many of them are out-of-copyright classics, you can fill up your ebook reader with some masterpieces and do a spot of self-improvement.

4. Treat yourself to some special editions
Ebooks aren’t going to kill off real books – not just yet anyway. But now you’ve got the perfect excuse to ditch the pulp fiction paperbacks and treat yourself to some really special hardbacks and limited edition books. Instead of filling your book shelves with countless holiday reads, you’ll be able to spend time building up a library of beautiful literary delights. The Folio Society would certainly be pleased.

5. Free up some space
Whether it’s your bookshelves or your suitcases, you can clear your cupboard space and take just one electronic book away on holiday instead of 10 dog-eared novels.

Bought an ebook reader? How did you justify the purchase?

Check prices of Sony Reader on eBay