Again I’m seeing this rumor about an Apple tablet or PDA in development. I’m trying to figure out how this device would look to fit into their current laptop and phone lineups. What I end up with is a few guesses and the conclusion that this is a very difficult move for Apple to make.

Apple is moving at a tremendous speed here. First, they released the iPhone and a new beautiful iMac. Then we we’re hit with a whole new line of iPods, including multi-touch technology. Now their new operating system Leopard has gone Gold Master and will be released for shipping on October 26th. All this has happened since mid-summer.

So considering the speed at which they’re moving right now, I guess a PDA or tablet isn’t all too far-fetched. Their products range from portable media players and phones to all kinds of computers. A tiny computer is undoubtedly something they’d do very well. But I’ve asked myself this before and I’m doing it again; where does it fit in?

I’m an Apple kind of guy and I believe in innovation that strives for integration. What I mean by this is, I want less devices, not more. The thought of having both a PDA and a phone is just absurd. We have the technology to merge these two devices and I see no reason why we shouldn’t.

Since the iPhone is the smartest phone every made, I strongly believe that a PDA from Apple would be a step backwards in terms of integration. But we need extended functionality, you may say. Extended functionality can be achieved on the iPhone with software upgrades that allow for third-party applications. Perhaps some hardware upgrades are needed to get a full PDA experience, but that’s something to work on for the next version.

So let’s forget about PDAs for a while and imagine an Apple tablet. It could be much cheaper than a MacBook, but offer similar office functionality, multi-touch technology and a 160 GB hard drive. Then we’d have not an organizer, but a complete office utility made for presentation, document handling, file storage and so on. Doesn’t that make much more sense?

PDAs are done, they’re being eaten by cell phones — or the other way around, depending on how you look at it. We need to move past them and watch where the technology is going. Tablet computers haven’t reached their full potential, not by a long shot. I believe they are the most natural and logical way for Apple to go in the next few months.

Remember, Apple doesn’t deal with old news.