Apple Seen Testing Tablet

Let’s face it: the Apple tablet rumors aren’t going away until the device makes its official debut, expected later this week at an event in San Francisco. In the meantime, the guessing game continues, with the latest wrinkle coming from analytics firm Flurry.

Flurry claims to have observed signs of late-stage internal testing of a device it believes to be the mythical Apple tablet at the company’s California campus. It’s all a bit circumstantial at this point, but Datamation takes a look at the latest rumor.

Analytics firm Flurry says it has tracked down 50 devices that it believes are Apple’s tablet, which the firm is expected to announce on Wednesday at an event in San Francisco.

The evidence, though, is a bit circumstantial, although it’s a lot of circumstantial evidence. The devices’ IPs and GPS data indicate they are at Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) Cupertino campus, but not leaving the campus, which leads Flurry to believe these are prototypes being tested.

“Testing of this device increased dramatically in January, with observed signs of life as early as October of last year. Apple appears to be going through its cycle of testing and polish, which is expected from any hardware or software company as it nears launch,” the company wrote in its most recent blog post.

Flurry provides analytics for developers of mobile applications and provides its customers with usage stats, what applications are being downloaded to what device and where they are located. Because it monitors App Store applications, it knows where they are being downloaded and used, which is why it was able to get such a clear look into Christmas day sales.

But here, Flurry is making a bit of a stretch, saying the app tracking matches the “characteristics of Apple’s rumored tablet device,” even though the analytics don’t provide any data about the characteristics of the devices. They could just as easily be new iPhones or iPod Touches, and Flurry is only tracking 200 apps, which is a drop in the bucket for the App Store, which boasts more than 100,000 apps.

Read the full story at Datamation:


Is Apple Testing Tablet? Flurry Says Yes