The consensus is pretty much solid: On the 26th or 27th of this month, Apple will introduce a tablet computer.

Consensus can be wrong, and with Apple wrong is most often the correct type of consensus. Mac fanboys do tend to raise the bar of expectation beyond what Apple corporate is often able to achieve. That still doesn’t stop them from hoping for the best.

The certainty about the Apple tablet is flying so furiously that the only thing remaining to be decided is what it will be called.

Will it be the Mac Tablet?

Will it be the iPad? (my personal favorite)

Will it be the iTablet?

How about iSlate?

Yes, iSlate is the current top-choice. Just as happened with the iPhone, Apple has recently registered the name iSlate. That fact has accelerated the Apple tablet hype to a new level. Here’s the latest speculation from Gizmodo, which looks almost legitimate (or at least enough so to fool a casual reader).

Then again, there were some cool iPhone concepts out there, including some interesting video animations, before the iPhone finally appeared. Many of them were really exciting, but then again most fanboy fantasies are. How can they not be?