Apple Tablet: if it’s coming, are you ready?

While there’s no guarantee that Apple will launch a tablet computer on Wednesday, Jan. 27, the web has been a-buzzing for over a month with rumor and speculation. If you haven’t kept up,  Gizmodo or CNET have recaps for you on the latest gossip.

But unless you’re in the market for a new small computer or are in love with all things Mac, why should you care? Well, for one, Apple tends to drive the competition to keep up. Already Amazon has announced that it’s opening an apps store for its e-reader, the Kindle. Similar to the way the iPhone changed the smart phone market when it debuted in 2007, Apple’s tablet could push other firms to copy and improve on the tablet’s design in their own products.

So, like the iPhone, you may not actually want or need the iSlate, iTablet, iPad or whatever name Steve Jobs reveals on Wednesday, but it will shape your technology purchases down the road.

Unless it’s another AppleTV.

Stay tuned…