Apple might also be able to figure out, finally, the best way to turn a keyboard-based laptop into a pad and back again. Swivel screen? Hinge? Apple's industrial design team could take an innovative approach to the challenge.

This is all speculation--brainstorming, almost--because even the most optimistic rumors have not pointed toward this sort of machine, though it's something Apple has doubtless considered (and rejected) at some point.

Maybe the current success of the company's touchscreen products, the iPhone and iPod touch, can convince the company to expand touchscreens up its product line. As for the current rumors, they seem to all reference a single device, with a touchscreen, and perhaps running iPhone 3.0 software.

It will be intended primarily for entertainment, to be sure, but will also likely sport its share of business apps, just as the iPhone now does. The persistence and increasing frequency of these rumors could indicate that Apple is thinking big, but I hope Apple will think bigger still, at least where touchscreens are concerned.

David Coursey actually has a tablet PC. He tweets as and is available via e-mail from .