It seems that everyone has their eyes on Apple Computer these days. The poor Cupertino-based company can’t sneeze without someone in the media commenting on their future products, plans, or ideas. For example, we’ve heard rumblings for the last year that Apple is working on a iPod/phone combination called the iPhone. Every week brings a new puzzle piece to the table; the latest stuff we’ve heard is that the iPhone will be really cool (as if we needed reassurance) and, of course, will have “a lot of new stuff.” Kinda vague, no? However, another rumored Apple product that we’ve heard about in recent weeks is their own version of Microsoft’s Tablet PC. In this regard, I hope that the rumors are truly false.

Tablet PCs are, of course, those nifty notebook computers with touchscreens instead of standard LCD displays. Because of these touch screens, users can interact via a stylus to do their work, rather than a keyboard and mouse, basically turning their $2000 laptop into a digital clipboard. Microsoft makes a special version of Windows XP, dubbed “Tablet Edition”, which includes a number of additional features to take advantage of the new method of input. However, the machines haven’t taken off quite like Microsoft expected them to, and while they’ve found themselves a niche market to occupy, no computer maker would stake their futures on tablets.

Apple shouldn’t either. At this stage of their game, most of their revenue comes from two areas: portable computers and iPods. While their Macbooks and Macbook Pros continue to sell well, there’s no real demand in the Apple camp for widespread touchscreen availability. Users that do need such technology have purchased external Wacom pads, but the majority of users would have no real use for such a device. Add on R&D costs and the fact that it would divide up Apple’s market share more than before and I don’t see any way that a tablet Mac would be anything but a distraction. The Macbooks, the iMacs, the Minis, the Mac Pros, and the rest of Apple’s happy lineup seem to be handling the load just fine; adding a MacTab doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense.