Upcoming Apple tablet is No. 1 priority of Steve Jobs - report
By Katie Marsal
Published: 07:45 AM EST (04:45 AM PST)
Since his return to Apple in June, company co-founder Steve Jobs has been focused on bringing the hardware maker's yet-to-be announced tablet device successfully to market, a new report claims.
Corroborating information relayed by
AppleInsider weeks ago,
The Wall Street Journal reports that Jobs has been
personally involved with the tablet, even prior to his recent sickness. Citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, the report states that Jobs killed development of the tablet twice in recent years, once due to poor battery life, and another because of a lack of internal memory capacity available.
Jobs reportedly responded via e-mail to the
Journal and said that much of what was reported by the anonymous sources was "incorrect," though he declined to elaborate. The company's chief executive has been
back at the helm since June.
Apparently employees had become accustomed to the absence of Jobs this year, after he left Apple to
obtain a liver transplant. The report states that his return has been "jarring" for employees developing the tablet, as Jobs is very hands-on.
"Those working on the project are under intense scrutiny from Mr. Jobs, particularly with regard to the product's advertising and marketing strategy, said one of these people," the report states. "The people familiar with the matter declined to give details on the tablet or disclose when the device would come out."
While the story does not provide any specific details on the tablet or its availability, it does reiterate information relayed to
AppleInsider by sources, namely that Jobs has been
heavily involved and extremely demanding with the development of the device. However,
AppleInsider sources have maintained that the project was reset, rather than terminated, repeatedly due to Jobs' own dissatisfaction. Sources have said that the portable device, with a 10 inch touchscreen and 3G connectivity, will be available in early 2010.
In various patents for the design of handheld computers, Jobs' name has been
included among the creators, confirming how integral of a part he has been in the design of products like the iPhone, and likely also for the upcoming tablet.
