Apple patent shows possible design for upcoming Tablet PC

On the last day of 2008, TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington sparked a rumor about Apple’s plans to unveil a “large sized iPod touch with a 7 or 9 inch screen” in the fall of 2009 that will be their very first tablet PC. Arrington further revealed that, “Prototypes have been seen and handled by one of our sources, and Apple is talking to OEMs in Asia now about mass production.” Well, I’m not dreaming of ever seeing the prototypes and handling them myself, but something tells me that the device illustrated above, taken from one of Apple’s recent patent applications, shows us the exact same thing Michael Arrington is referring to: apple’s upcoming tablet PC.
Apple’s recent patent application, titled “DISPLAY HOUSING FOR COMPUTING DEVICE”, shows what looks like a mobile Internet device without a keyboard but possibly with a touchscreen display. The Apple logo is even prominently displayed in several of the illustrations, which could mean that this design is near complete.
Of course, as these designs are just found in a patent application, Apple might still come out with an entirely different device if the rumors about their upcoming tablet PC come true this year. Hopefully, more info about it surfaces in the near future. See more illustrations after the break.