Predict Our Apple Tablet Coverage, Win an Apple Tablet

Gadget Lab has been accused of being somewhat obsessed with the Apple tablet. Guilty as charged! We are obsessed, we admit it.

After all, who wouldn’t be obsessed with a device that promises to revolutionize mobile computing, make our iPhones look tiny and stupid, overhaul book publishing, inject new lifeblood into the consumer electronics industry, and maybe even save the dying world of print magazines upon which our livelihoods depend?

Okay, so we may be going a bit over the top, especially for a product that doesn’t exist — and may never exist.

It’s important to remember that Apple has never confirmed it’s even working on a tablet. Everything up to this point is speculation and conjecture. But the signs are very suggestive, and most industry observers, including Gadget Lab, expect Apple to release a tablet-like device in 2010.

Even if Apple doesn’t release a tablet, other manufacturers likely will, from startups like Fusion Garage to (rumors suggest) HP, Dell, Nokia and others.

Still, most eyes are on Apple, thanks in part to its impressive track record with the iPhone. Love it or hate it, the Cupertino company definitely knows how to reimagine a product category and reinvent an industry.

For that reason, we’ll keep covering the rumors, the leaks, and — if it emerges — the device itself. We cover this topic because you readers have let us know, with your comments and your many, many clicks, that you are interested in it.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun with it.

So here’s the deal: Predict how many stories Wired.com will publish about an Apple tablet during 2010. Whoever comes the closest will win an actual Apple tablet (assuming one exists). If there is no such thing at the end of 2010, we’ll give the winner a consolation prize: A subscription to Wired magazine.

How to enter: Fill in the form below. It’ll go into a Google spreadsheet, where it will sit, undisturbed and unseen by our reporters and editors, until January 1, 2011. At that time, we’ll count the number of Apple tablet stories that have appeared on Gadget Lab and elsewhere on Wired.com. Whoever comes the closest will win the prize. In case of a tie, the winner will be chosen at random from among those whose guesses are closest.

Deadline: All entries must be received by January 15, 2010, at 5pm Pacific time. At that point we will close the form and seal the spreadsheet until January 1, 2011.

Problems? Questions? Snarky remarks? Put them in the comments below. And good luck!

Illustration: Matt Skach