Which Of These 20 iTablets Will Be Your Next Mac?

To say that Apple is on a roll is to understate the obvious. Since the introduction of the iPod and Mac OS X in 2001, Apple has been on a growth path of massive proportions.

Unit sales of Macs, iPods, iPhones. iTunes. App Store. Revenue. Profit. Customers. Mindshare. All the gears are moving in concert. What of the future? What insanely great new product does Apple have lined up to attract the attention and money of the masses? Where is that iPad cum iTablet? Choose your favorite from this list of 20 design concepts.

The iTablet iPad Mac

Silicon Alley Insider has assembled 20 Guesses About What The Apple Tablet Will Look Like.

Some are clunky 20th century designs which resemble old PowerBook screens. Others look exactly like an iPod touch, only much larger. Other designs fall somewhere in between.

A major issue facing Apple is the string of product hits dating back to 2001. Apple’s high flying stock price would be pummeled if the company introduced a major product that was not a bona fide hit on the order of an iPod or iPhone.

Apple has done a superb job of leveraging assets to form another asset. For example, Mac OS X shows up on the iPod touch and iPhone as iPhone OS. The iPod beget the iTunes Store, and a Windows version of iTunes.

The iTunes Store became home to the iPhone’s App Store. Whatever product Apple introduces as a multi-touch pad-like, tablet-like device will not only have a gee whiz factor, but also needs to have a clearly defined purpose.

What Will The iTablet iPad Do?

That’s the big question. Is it just a big iPod touch? Or, is it a portable communications device which doubles as a MacBook mini?

Silicon Alley Insider assembled the 20 most impressive design concepts into a 20 page presentation of the future Apple product. Will it be the device we use to watch TV in the bathroom?

Will it replace a MacBook or be so attractive and inexpensive that Mac users will keep their Macs and buy the iTablet iPad touchBook mini, too? That’s my guess. Here’s my favorite of the 20 designs.

Most bets are placed on a design similar to that by Gizmodo’s Jesus Diaz. Think iPod touch but paperback book size, running Mac OS X and iPhone OS (and those 85,000 App Store apps).

Replacement Or Addition?

The most curious consideration among the technology pundits and designers is, “what will the tablet do?” If it’s priced much less than a low end MacBook, will it cannibalize Mac sales?

Will Apple’s tablet be considered a portable device? Probably, though not in the same vein as the iPod touch or iPhone, both of which fit comfortably in the pocket.

Will buyers forgo purchase of a MacBook instead? Or, will they buy both? As you can tell, there are far more questions than answers.

But Apple could have another huge hit on the list with a device that becomes a mobile movie theatre, television screen, communication center, that also plays tens of thousands of games, runs tens of thousands of apps, and could be a Mac.

Look through Silicon Valley Insider’s 20 design concepts for the one that catches your eye.