Apple tablet confirmed by Asus?

Seems like we've been hearing rumors of a Multitouch-capable Mac since the day that the iPhone was revealed. And if history has taught us anything, it's that the most persistent Apple rumors usually have a ring of truth to them (iPhone, anyone?). So it's not too surprising that the once dormant Mac tablet rumor has again come to the fore. Crave UK claims to have the inside scoop on the top-secret device, provided by "friends" at Apple laptop contract manufacturer (and Eee PC vendor) Asus. Allegedly, "Asus is helping Apple build a Tablet PC" and the deets are as follows: "We checked back with our source at Asus on a different day and they confirmed that the Apple Tablet will not be based on existing Asus designs such as the R1. It will come from a completely new blueprint, possibly based on the patent Apple filed back in May 2005 [pictured above]. We're guessing it'll be based on Intel Core architecture, a tweaked version of Leopard, and have all the multi-touch, CoverFlow goodness we've seen in the iPhone and iPod touch." While that sounds great and all, one has to wonder whether Apple would really want to enter the floundering tablet PC market--especially this late in the game.

For more on the tablet rumors:
- see this Crave UK article