A rumor has begun to spread, stating that Verizon and Apple are in cahoots together to design a tablet computer. This tablet would be a large touchscreen (Boy Genius describes it as a 'giant iPod touch') with either an on screen keyboard, or a full physical keyboard. It's possible that this tablet would attempt to bridge the gap between tablets and E-Readers by fulfilling both functions.

Apple is supposedly working on this project with Verizon, who will subsidize the device and offer it on their network. That more than likely means this tablet will be 3G enabled. The mock-up we've seen looks gorgeous, and I very badly want to believe that this rumor is true. An Apple tablet wouldn't just be a great product, it would energize every other manufacturer in the business to both up their game, and lower their prices.

Unfortunately, this rumor has a very good chance of being nothing more than dead air. This rumor comes from The Street which is run by Jim Cramer and friends. Cramer is far from a reliable source, and he's already gotten in trouble for advising hedge funds to spread false rumors about Apple. While that alone isn't reason to dismiss this rumor, it should be enough to convince you to take it with several big grains of salt.